How to improve the speed of your computer or laptop if it is very slow

Sometimes it happens: a computer or laptop runs unusually slowly.

Everything seems to move at an abnormal speed and each task takes longer than usual to complete.

This may occur due to various causes. The most common: running out of storage space on your hard drive or having been the victim of a virus or malware (malicious software) attack.

To get your device working at full speed again, it is best to follow them suggestionssupplied by Microsoft for Windows 11 users.

How to improve the speed of your computer or laptop if it is very slow

The software giant says that “one of the best ways to get the most out of your computer is to make sure you have the latest version of windows11”.

It adds that “when you check for updates, your PC will also check for the latest device drivers, which can also help improve team performance”.

Another tip is, of course, to check if little or nothing remains hard disk space. For this reason, inside Placementgoing System and storage. Open settings Warehousing and check the available space.

Obtain more space for files and applicationsgoing Placement and then to Warehousing AND System. Open settings Warehousingchoose Temporary filesselect the items to delete and click on To remove File.

There are several options for saving files in a specific way: the PC itself, OneDrive, the Microsoft cloud, or both places. Microsoft warns you syncing with OneDrive can “slow down your PC”. The solution is to pause this synchronization.

To pause syncing, in the Taskbar look for A guide and click Help and settings and then inside Pause syncing. Then, choose the break time. Restart your PC and see if the performance issues have improved.

Another way to get space is to use the feature ReadyBoostwhich allows you to use a removable drive (such as a USB flash drive) to improve performance without the need to add more RAM.

Microsoft explains that, to use ReadyBoost, the user will need “a USB flash drive or memory card with at least 500 MB of free space and a high data transfer speed.”

It may also happen that the slow operation is caused by a virus or malware who successfully bypassed the protection system. To scan your PC for these malicious programs, use Windows Securityincluded in Windows 11, if you don’t have an antivirus program.

On the other hand, if you have a program installed, it will be able to scan your computer (in general, they do this continuously by default). If suspicions arise, just open it and perform a detailed analysis. Important: Avoid running multiple antivirus programs at the same time. Windows Security, for example, doesn’t work if you already have another similar program on your computer.