Operating System

Why is Your Windows 10 Slow? Common Causes and Solutions

Many people started using Windows 10, when it came to the market, but despite its great features, it has a lot of criticism from reviewers and ordinary users. The main criticism of these people were why Windows 10 is slow. It is been very frustrating when the system is very slow. Here, in this article, we presented the reasons and solutions to fix this problem. Stay with us if you have the same problem with your Windows 10.

Reasons of Why Windows 10 Is Slow?

Many users of Windows 10 complain that it takes a long time for their Windows to response, or it gets stuck with different programs at the same time. This problem is caused by many reasons that we presented below:

  • Virus and malware infection.
  • Too old PC or laptop.
  • High CPU usage.
  • Overheating.
  • No free hard drive space.
  • Running too many background programs.
  • Corrupt hard drive.
  • Hardware failure.
  • Outdated drivers.

In the following part, we will tell you how to fix this problem, and improve your Windows 10 performance.

How to Fix Windows 10 Running Slow?

Check the solutions below to fix this problem:

Restart your System

If your computer hasn’t restarted recently, make sure to restart it before doing any of the solutions below:

  1. Go to the Start icon.
  2. Select Shut down or Sign out.
  3. Restart.

Scan for Malware and Viruses

If your computer has one or more viruses, it can cause your computer to run slow. You can use an antivirus software, or you can delete the virus without an antivirus:

  1. Run the Windows Command Prompt with the Admin Privilege.
  2. Type the following command:

attrib g:*.* /d /s -h -r -s

  • Press Enter.

Close Background Programs

Sometimes too many programs running in the background caused the system to be slow, which could eat up the memory, processing power, laptop battery life, and internet bandwidth. Closing the start up programs can efficiently speed up your system.

If you want to check what programs are running in the background and how much memory and CPU they are using:

  1. Press Windows + Ctrl + Del keys to open Task Manager.
  2. View that is taking up the most memory in the Process bar.
  3. Select the useless ones and close them form running in the background.

Update Windows

If you don’t have the latest Windows updates installed on your PC, you should update it. To do so:

  1. Select the Start icon.
  2. Go to Settings.
  3. Select Update & Security Settings.
  4. Click Windows Update.

Update your Drivers

An outdated drive may slow your system. To update it, follow the steps below:

  1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard.
  2. Type Device Manager.
  3. Click the search result to open Device Manager.
  4. This will take you to a list of all the hardware installed on your system.
  5. Scroll to and click the category that is slow and unresponsive.
  6. Click on the arrow next to whichever hardware category you would like to update.
  7. Right-click on the hardware.
  8. Click on the Update Driver.
  9. Repeat this process for each element under your selected category.

Clear your Internet Data

When you browse the Internet, your computer collects data that can eventually build up to the point, which they cause performance issue, so the simple way to do this is using tools that come with your Internet browser of choice.

Disable Startup Programs

Whenever many programs open and start as soon as you start up your system will be slow. To disable the items from starting, follow the steps below:

  1. Press the Windows key.
  2. Type in Startup Apps.
  3. Select the Startup Apps.
  4. Look through the list of apps.
  5. The apps that say High Impact are making your computer startup slowly. Go through it.
  6. Select the switches to turn them off.

Delete Temp Files

When your system run different programs, temporary files are stored on your hard drive. If you delete these files, your computer’s performance will improve. Use Disk Cleanup to delete temp files, or automatically delete them.

Free up Windows 10 Disk Space and Increase Space of C Drive

When a hard drive has some issues, it might cause a hard drive overloaded, so you can use EaseUS CleanGenius to clean all the junk files.

Clean Junk Files

To do so, follow the steps below:

  1. Download and install EaseUS Partition Master Suite on your system.
  2. Select the download PC Cleaner on your panel.
  3. Run EaseUS CleanGenius on your system.
  4. Navigate Cleanup.
  5. Select Scan.
  6. EaseUS CleanGenius will start to scan immediately to scan all the useless files.
  7. Tick System Junk Files and Invalid Entries.
  8. Select Clean.
  9. After it finishes, you can see clearly how many MBs or GBs of data are cleaned.
  10. Click Done to finish the process.

Increase System C Drive

Another reason that may cause the Windows slow is your C drive is full, and you should clean junk files for more free space.

Clean Junk Files

  1. Download EaseUS Partition Master Suite.
  2. Install EaseUS Partition Master Suite on your system.
  3. Select to download PC Cleaner on your panel.
  4. Navigate Cleanup.
  5. Select Scan.
  6. Now the software will start to scan all the useless files.
  7. Click on System Junk Files and Invalid Entries.
  8. Select Clean over all your system.
  9. After it finishes, you can see how many MBs or GBs of data are cleaned.
  10. Select Done to finish the process.

Increase System C Drive

If you clean junk files and still have problem, you can expand your C drive using EaseUS Partition Master.

  1. When your C drive doesn’t have enough space, hover your mouse over the C drive to see the Low Disk Space alert on EaseUS Partition Master.
  2. Select Adjust with 1-Click to extend C drive.
  3. By hitting OK, EaseUS Partition Master will automatically extend C drive.

Note: You can also select Manual Adjustment to extend the C drive manually. To do so, choose the C drive, drag dots rightward to add more space. Then, select OK to confirm.

  • Select the Execute Task at the top right corner.
  • Click Apply to start all pending operations.

Erase Computer and Start Over

If none of the above options do not work, reinstall Windows or erase everything and start over.

Note: Remember to back up data before you take action to erase data.

Use DISM or SFC to Stop Corrupting Windows System Files

Sometimes your system experiences driver errors, blue or black screens and other issues that affect on daily use. To fix it, Windows 10 OS gives you two major tools to fix the problem. One of them is the Deployment Image Service and Management Tool (DISM), and the other one is System File Checker (SFC).

DISM

  1. Type PowerShell in the Windows search bar.
  2. After the desktop application opens, right-click on it and select Run as Administrator.
  3. Type in dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth in the Window which appears.
  4. Press Enter to start finding corrupt files and replace them.

SFC

  1. Open PowerShell from the Windows search bar.
  2. Select Run as Administrator.
  3. Type sfc/scannow.
  4. Press Enter.
  5. Now the process will find and replace corrupt files.
  6. When it finishes, restart your system.

Increase Your Hard Drive Space

The lack of storage for temporary files which are used by programs causes your OS to run improperly. Find what is taken up the most space on your hard drive. Then delete or transfer those unnecessary files. To do so, follow the steps below:

  1. Open Storage in Windows Explorer.
  2. Select This PC.
  3. To get rid of temporary files automatically and make sure you have enough space, turn on Storage Sense.
  4. Choose a Folder from those that come up. Temporary Files, Apps and Games, and Other are among these categories which take up the most space.
  5. Continue clicking to reach a folder in Windows Explorer.
  6. Select the file that you want to delete.
  7. Click on Delete.
  8. Open the subfolder.
  9. A Windows Explorer File will open.
  10. Delete the files you don’t need.

Change PC Power Plan

Even when you have great system with a great battery, you may experience a situation that your battery doesn’t work well, especially when you use a lot of applications or browsers. It is probable that your system’s Power Plan is on Battery Saver or Recommended. To maximize the performance, you should change it to the High-Performance mode. To do so follow the steps below:

  1. Type Power Options in Windows 10 Search bar.
  2. Open Edit Power Plan in the Control Panel.
  3. Select Change Advanced Power Settings in the lower-left corner.
  4. Select High Performance.
  5. Press Enter.
  6. Click OK.
  7. This will increase your PC performance, and also your CPU speed. It will drain your battery at a faster rate.

Increase the Speed Using Windows Troubleshooter or Performance Monitor

In some situations, you checked all the solutions above and still you have problem with the speed of Windows 10. There two tools that help you too see what’s going on. One of them is Windows Troubleshooter, and the other one is Performance Monitor. Follow the steps below to see how they work:

Windows Troubleshooter

  1. Go to Control Panel via the Windows Search field.
  2. Select System and Security.
  3. Select Security and Maintenance.
  4. Click on Start Maintenance under Maintenance.

Performance Monitor

  1. Type Perform/report in the Windows Search box.
  2. Press Enter.
  3. The Performance Manager will automatically run a report and diagnose problems that affect on your system.
  4. Also, it will recommend solutions for each issue that it found.

Turn Off Windows 10 Visual Effects

Windows 10 uses visual effects by default such as shadows that give program Windows a show of depth, animations that make on-screen motion appear smooth, transparencies, thumbnail previews and more. The problem is that these effects all use system resources that it reduces the speed of your system.

  1. Right click the Start button in the bottom-left corner.
  2. Select System from the Start Menu.
  3. In the opened windows, select Advanced System Settings on the left-hand side.
  4. In the System Properties window, select the Advanced tab.
  5. In the Performance section, select Settings.
  6. In the Performance Options, select Visual Effects tab.
  7. Select Custom to untick individual effects that you may not need like thumbnail previews.
  8. Select Adjust for Best Performance at the top to disable all effects at once.
  9. Hit OK.

Disable Unnecessary Services

There are many services available on your system that some of them are necessary and some of them are unnecessary. If you want to fix computer running slow, disable unnecessary services to improve Windows 10 performance. To do so, follow the steps below:

  1. Press Windows key and R to open Run dialog.
  2. Type services.msc in the box.
  3. Hit OK to continue.
  4. You can see all services that are starting with your Windows 10.
  5. Select the unnecessary services.
  6. Right-click it to choose Properties.
  7. Change the Startup type to Disabled.
  8. Select Apply.
  9. Hit OK to save the changes.
  10. Reboot your computer, and check whether the Windows 10 very slow and unresponsive issue is fixed.

Defrag Hard Drive

To in order to fix the problem computer slow, try defragging hard drive. To do so, follow the steps below:

  1. Type defrag in the search box of Window.
  2. Select Defragment and Optimize Drives.
  3. Choose the desired drive.
  4. Select Analyze.
  5. After scanning the drive, select the fragmented drive.
  6. Select Optimize.
  7. Wait for the process to be finished.
  8. After it finishes, restart your computer.
  9. Check whether Windows 10 is still slow or not.

Adjust the Size of Virtual Memory

Virtual memory is a necessary part of Windows 10 to improve performance. If you come across the problem Windows 10 is very slow, you can try adjusting the size of virtual memory.

  1. Type View Advanced System Settings in the search box of Windows 10.
  2. Select the best-matched one.
  3. In the Advanced tab.
  4. Select Settings under Performance section.
  5. Switch to Advanced tab.
  6. Select Change under Virtual Memory section.
  7. Uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
  8. Select the Drive.
  9. Choose Custom size.
  10. Input the Initial Size and Maximum Size.
  11. Click Set and OK to save changes.
  12. You will set the size of virtual memory for that drive.
  13. Restart your computer.

Stop Windows Module Installer Service

In order to fix computer running slow Windows 10, you can select to disable Windows Module Installer Service. To do so, follow the steps below:

  1. Press Windows key and R key to open Run dialog.
  2. In the opened window, type services.msc in the box.
  3. Select OK to continue.
  4. In the Service window, find out Windows Module Installer service and click on it.
  5. Change the Startup type to Disabled.
  6. Change its Service Status to Stopped.
  7. Select Apply.
  8. Click OK to confirm changes.
  9. When it finishes, restart your computer and check whether the Windows 10 is slow or not.

Upgrade System to SSD

Another way to make your system faster is to upgrade to SSD. To know how to upgrade system to SSD, follow the steps below:

  1. Download MiniTool ShadowMaker and install it on your system.
  2. Launch it.
  3. Select Keep Trial.
  4. Enter the main interface.
  5. Open Tools page.
  6. Select Clone Disk.
  7. Choose Disk Clone Source.
  8. Hit Next.
  9. Select a Target Disk.
  10. Select Start.

Note: All data on your target disk during disk clone process, so first backup files if you have important files.

  1. The Disk Clone process begins.

Note: It will take some times depending on the number of files on your hard drive.

  1. When it finished, you will get a warning message which said that the source disk and target disk have the same signature.
  2. You should remove or disconnect any of them.

Note: If you want to boot your system from the target disk, first change the BIOS settings.

  1. After upgrading system to SSD, check whether the problem is solved or not.

Enable a Faster Startup Option

To do so, follow the steps below:

  1. Press Windows key and S.
  2. Enter Power Settings.
  3. Click on Power & Sleep Settings.
  4. Select Additional Power Settings.
  5. Select Choose What the Power Button Does from the menu on the left.
  6. Click on Change Settings That Are Currently Unavailable.
  7. Make sure to check Turn on Fast Sturtup.
  8. Save Changes.

Disable Blur Effects and Transparency

To do so, follow the Steps below:

  1. Go to the Settings app.
  2. Select Personalization.
  3. Select Colors.
  4. Set Transparency Effects to Off.

Conclusion

One of the main problems of Windows 10 is that it is sometimes slow. Here, in this guide, we will fully explain how to speed up Windows 10. Have you experienced this problem? What did you do? Which method above will you choose if you face this problem.

Reyhane A

Reyhane is an author and technology enthusiast who has a passion for writing about Windows tips and tricks. Born and raised in Tehran, Iran, Reyhane always had an interest in technology, which led her to pursue a degree in computer engineering from the University of Tehran. After completing her studies, Reyhane began working as a software engineer, where she gained a wealth of experience and knowledge in the field of technology. She soon discovered her love for writing, and began sharing her knowledge with others through her blog. Reyhane's blog quickly gained popularity, and she became known as an expert in the field of Windows tips and tricks. Her articles are known for being clear, concise, and easy to understand, making them accessible to everyone, regardless of their level of technical expertise. Today, Reyhane continues to share her knowledge with the world through her blog and YouTube channel, where she provides tips and tricks for Windows users to help them optimize their computer's performance and get the most out of their technology. In addition to her passion for technology, Reyhane enjoys traveling, photography, and spending time with her family and friends. She is also an avid reader and is always on the lookout for new books to add to her collection. Reyhane's dedication to her work and her love for technology have made her a respected figure in the industry, and she continues to inspire and educate others through her writing and online content.

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