A computer slow down can be caused by many different factors. One of the main causes of slow speed is a lack of free storage space on your hard drive. When your drive is full, Windows slows down as it struggles to find room for new files, and this can make all your applications slower. To speed up your PC, you’ll need to free up storage space. Here are some tips on how to achieve this:
1. Delete Temporary Files
Windows stores temporary files on your hard drive for a variety of reasons. They could be from installations or leftovers from previous versions of Windows or Office. Over time, temporary files can clutter your disk and reduce the amount of free storage space. To delete them, open File Explorer (Windows key +E), then go to C:\Users\your username\AppData\Local\Temp. Select all temporary files and hit Delete.
2. Uninstall Unused Programs and Services
Having too many programs running in the background can affect your computer’s performance. Go to Control Panel>Programs and uninstall any software that you don’t use. The same goes for services – open Services (type ‘services.msc’ in the search bar) and disable any unnecessary services. This will free up memory and storage space.
3. Move Files to an External Drive
If your internal drive is full, consider moving files to an external drive. This can be done using a file manager, such as Windows File Explorer, to copy and paste them. Remember to back up your files before moving them.
4. Adjust the Size of Your Virtual Memory
The virtual memory acts like an extension of your computer’s RAM. It can be adjusted in the ‘Performance’ tab of the System Properties window. Reducing the size of virtual memory will free up storage space.
5. Defragment and Optimize Hard Drives
You may also want to defragment and optimize your hard drives. This process reorganizes data stored on them for faster access. You can do this in Windows 10 via File Explorer > This PC > Manage > Defragment and Optimize Drives.
6. Compress Large Files
If you have large files such as videos, photos, or music that take up too much space, you can compress them to a smaller size. This can drastically reduce the size of those files and free up storage space.
7. Use an Optimization Tool
Last but not least, you can use a third-party optimization tool to clean up and speed up your PC. WinUtilities is one of the most popular optimization tools that can help you detect and remove junk files, optimize system settings, manage startup programs and services, and much more.