Why is my laptop so slow? Do you experience lag when trying to use your computer? If so, this article will help solve the problem. The reasons for a sluggish computer can be many and varied.
It is not uncommon to find your laptop running slower than it used to. If you are experiencing this, don’t worry- you are not alone.
Why is My Laptop So Slow? the brief answer
There are many reasons why a laptop may get sluggish or slow down over time.
Some of them might be things like low RAM, Low SSD storage, Old Os version, Too many programs running at the same time, malware and viruses, etcetera.
Worry less as we will be discussing why is your Laptop is So Slow? and How to Fix a Slow Laptop so that your computer can run as fast as it should be again.
The reasons for a Sluggish Computer and How to Fix a Slow Laptop
There are so many reasons that make our laptops to be so slow and frustrating. So buckle up your sit and hold tight as I take you through the courses.
1. You have too many programs running in the background
When you turn on your computer, it starts to load a variety of programs in the background, and each one of these programs takes up some of your laptop’s processing power.
So the more programs you have running, the slower your laptop will run.
To fix this issue, try closing as many unnecessary programs as possible by using the Task Manager.
You can access the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete on your keyboard.
Once you’re in the Task Manager, click on the “Processes” tab and then close any unnecessary programs by clicking on their corresponding “End Process” buttons.
If you’re not sure which programs to close, just experiment and try closing different programs until your laptop starts running faster.
2.You have too many startup programs
Another reason your laptop may be slow is that you have too many startup programs.
These are programs that automatically start up every time you turn on your computer.
To fix this issue, try disabling some of the unnecessary startup programs by going to the “Startup” tab in the Task Manager.
You can access the “Startup” tab by clicking on Start > All Programs, then right-click your mouse on any program that is automatically starting up with Windows and choose Disable.
Related article: Why Does My Laptop Keep Freezing? & How to Fix it
Some programs are necessary to start each time you turn on your computer so be careful which ones you disable.
To avoid slowing down your laptop again in the future, be sure to only enable startup programs that you actually need.
So if you don’t think a particular program is necessary for your computer to run properly every time it starts up, then just disable it!
3. Your laptop is infected with a virus or malware
The third reason why laptops are slow is that they have been infected with viruses or malware.
To fix this issue, you will have to remove the viruses from your laptop with an antivirus program.
There are many free anti-virus programs available online so just do a quick Google search for “free virus removals” and choose one that works best for you.
Be sure to update your anti-virus program regularly to make sure your laptop is always protected against the latest viruses.
You can also try disabling startup programs as described in step two, because some malware actually starts up each time you turn on your computer and slows it down.
If this doesn’t work then try restarting your computer into Safe Mode by pressing F11 while starting up your computer.
In Safe Mode, your laptop will only load the essential programs necessary for it to run and you can then try removing the viruses with your antivirus program.
It’s also a good idea to scan your computer for malware on a regular basis using an online malware scanner like Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.
Just be sure not to download any suspicious files while doing this as it might infect your laptop with malware.
And finally, always make sure you have the latest updates for all of your installed programs.
Sometimes a program will stop working properly if its update hasn’t been downloaded yet so be sure to manually check for new updates every now and then.
If there are updates available, just click the “Update” button to update all of your programs.
4. Your hard drive is almost full
If your laptop’s hard drive is almost full, it will start to run slower because there isn’t enough space for all of the necessary files.
To fix this issue, try deleting some of the unnecessary files on your computer by going to My Computer and right-clicking on your C: drive (or whichever drive is being used as your hard drive).
Then select Properties and click on the Disk Cleanup button.
This will open a new window where you can delete any unnecessary files by ticking the corresponding boxes.
Be sure to only delete files that you don’t need anymore, like temporary internet files or old program installers.
Leaving unused space on your hard drive will help your laptop run faster in the future.
You can also try defragmenting your hard drive by going to My Computer and right-clicking on your C: drive (or whichever drive is being used as your hard drive).
Then select Properties and click on the Disk Defragmenter button.
This will open a new window where you can defragment your hard drive by clicking the Defragment button.
Doing this regularly (every month or so) is very important as it organizes all of the files on your computer’s physical hard drive and also helps to speed up its performance.
5. You don’t have enough memory (RAM)
If you don’t have enough memory (RAM), your laptop will start to run slowly because it has to use virtual memory which is a lot slower.
To fix this issue, try adding more memory to your computer by going to My Computer and right-clicking on your C: drive (or whichever drive is being used as your hard drive).
Related Topic: can you upgrade ram on a laptop?
Then select Properties and click on the General tab.
Under the Physical Memory section, you will be able to see how much memory your computer currently has.
If it’s below the recommended amount, then you can try adding more memory by clicking on the Add button.
Just be sure to match the type of memory listed next to your computer’s memory or it won’t work properly.
Also, make sure you have the latest updates for all of your installed programs because some might not be compatible with more memory and could cause a conflict that would slow down your laptop even further.
6. Your internet connection is slow
If your laptop is connected to a slow internet connection, it will start to run slowly because the programs have to wait for new data from the server before they can proceed.
To fix this issue, try turning on Airplane Mode on your phone and opening up a web browser like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.
Then connect to any website and see if the page loads faster.
If it does, then your problem is most likely with your internet connection and not with your laptop.
There are many things you can do to speed up your internet connection like using a different web browser, clearing your cache and cookies, or using an online speed test to check your download and upload speeds.
If your laptop is connected to a fast internet connection (like through WiFi or an ethernet cable), then it should load web pages pretty quickly even without Airplane Mode turned on.
So if you’re experiencing slowdowns even when using the browser with no internet connection, then there might be something wrong with one of your programs or with your laptop’s hardware.
You might need to upgrade your hardware if it’s not powerful enough to handle all of the programs you’re trying to run at the same time.
7. You Have Many Fragmented and Temporary Files
Another reason your laptop might be running slowly is that you have many fragmented and temporary files which can take up a lot of space on your hard drive.
To fix this issue, try using a disk cleaner to delete these unnecessary files.
There are many different disk cleaners available but my personal favourite is CCleaner.
It’s a free program that you can download by going to the CCleaner website and clicking on the Download button.
Once it’s installed, open up CCleaner and go to the Cleaner tab.
Then check the boxes next to Temporary Files, Recycle Bin, and Windows Log Files and click on the Run Cleaner button.
This will help to clean up some of the unnecessary files on your laptop so it can run more smoothly and quickly.
In addition, you should also try defragmenting your hard drive by going to My Computer and right-clicking on your C: drive (or whichever drive is being used as your hard drive).
Then select Properties and click on the Tools tab.
Under the Defragment Now section, you will be able to see how fragmented your hard drive is.
If it’s over 50%, then you should try defragmenting it by clicking on the Analyze button first.
This process might take a while to complete, but it will help to optimize your hard drive and make your laptop run a bit faster.
These are just some of the reasons why your laptop might be running slowly.
Our Conclusion on Why is My Laptop So Slow and How to Fix a Slow Laptop
In this blog post, we’ve discussed the various reasons why laptops can be slow and how to fix a laptop that is running too slowly.
First, there are all of those pesky little programs slowing down your computer from opening or running as quickly as they should.
Second, you might have enough memory on your system but not enough space because files need more room for them to work correctly.
Third, it could be time to take advantage of some great deals on new laptops! If you want help deciding which solution will best suit your needs and budget.
Feel free to leave any questions or queries in the comment section below and will be happy to answer.
