How to Speed Up Your Computer — 20 Proven Fixes (Windows & Mac)

Every app that launches at startup competes for CPU and RAM during boot — and many keep running silently in the background all day. Disabling unused startup apps is the fastest free improvement you can make.

• Windows 10/11: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager › click Startup apps tab › right-click anything you do not need and choose Disable. Look for Spotify, Teams, Discord, OneDrive, browser updaters.
• Mac (Ventura/Sonoma/Sequoia): Open System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions › toggle off items you do not need at login.
• Time required: 2 minutes. Effect is felt on the very next restart.

Each browser tab consumes RAM. 20 open tabs in Chrome can consume 2–4 GB of memory on its own. If your system has 8 GB RAM or less, this alone can make everything feel sluggish.

• Close browser tabs you are not actively using. Use bookmarks or a read-later app instead.
• On Windows, open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and sort by Memory to find the biggest offenders. End processes you do not need.
• On Mac, open Activity Monitor (Spotlight › type Activity Monitor) › sort by Memory column › quit processes consuming the most RAM.
• Consider switching to a lighter browser: Firefox or Edge use less memory than Chrome.

Many new computers come loaded with trial software, manufacturer utilities, and apps you never use. These consume storage, run background services, and slow everything down.

• Windows: Settings › Apps › Installed apps › sort by Size › uninstall anything you do not recognize or use. Common culprits: McAfee trial, Norton trial, WildTangent games, manufacturer "suites".
• Mac: Open Finder › Applications › drag unwanted apps to Trash. Use AppCleaner (free) to remove leftover files.
• Also check browser extensions — a browser with 15 extensions installed is noticeably slower than a clean one.

Windows accumulates gigabytes of temporary files, old update packages, and cached data over time. Clearing these frees up disk space and can improve I/O performance.

• Windows — Disk Cleanup: Press Win + R, type cleanmgr, select your drive, click Clean up system files. Check all categories — especially Windows Update Cleanup (often 3–10 GB).
• Windows — Storage Sense: Settings › System › Storage › enable Storage Sense to automatically clean temp files.
• Windows — Temp folder: Press Win + R, type %temp%, select all (Ctrl + A), delete.
• Mac: Restart while holding Option to clear RAM. Browser caches: each browser has a Clear Cache option in Privacy settings. For deep cleaning, use OnyX (free).

Outdated drivers — especially graphics drivers — cause performance degradation, stuttering, and crashes. OS updates often include performance patches and bug fixes.

• Windows: Settings › Windows Update › Check for updates. Also update graphics drivers via Device Manager or the GPU manufacturer's site (NVIDIA GeForce Experience, AMD Radeon Software).
• Mac: System Settings › General › Software Update. macOS updates are generally reliable for performance.
• After updating, restart fully — do not just sleep the computer.

Malware and adware are among the most common causes of sudden slowdowns. Cryptomining malware, in particular, runs your CPU at 100% continuously — silently consuming all your processing power.

• Download and run Malwarebytes Free (malwarebytes.com) — it catches threats that Windows Defender misses.
• Run a full scan, not a quick scan. Allow 30–60 minutes for a thorough check.
• Also run Windows Defender (Windows Security › Virus & threat protection › Full scan) as a second opinion.
• Signs your computer may have malware: browser redirects, new toolbars you did not install, pop-up ads, CPU constantly at 80–100% at idle.

Windows 10 and 11 are filled with animations and transparency effects that look polished but consume CPU and GPU resources. On older or low-spec machines, disabling them gives a noticeable speed boost.

• Press Win + R, type SystemPropertiesPerformance.exe, press Enter.
• Select "Adjust for best performance" to disable all effects at once, or manually uncheck specific ones like animations, shadows, and transparency.
• Alternatively: Settings › Accessibility › Visual effects › turn off Animation effects and Transparency effects.

Windows Search constantly indexes your files in the background so you can search quickly. On older HDDs, this indexing competes with everything else and causes noticeable slowdowns — especially right after boot.

• Press Win + R, type services.msc, find Windows Search, double-click it, set Startup type to Disabled, click Stop, then OK.
• Note: This means Windows Search will be slower to find files. If you rarely use Windows Search, this trade-off is worth it.
• Alternative: Keep Search enabled but reduce its scope. Type "Indexing Options" in Start menu › Modify › remove folders you do not need indexed.

On traditional spinning hard drives (HDDs), files get scattered across the disk over time, forcing the read head to travel further to assemble each file. Defragmentation reorganizes data for faster sequential reads.

• Type "Defragment and Optimize Drives" in the Start menu. Select your HDD and click Optimize.
• Important: Do NOT defragment an SSD. SSDs have no moving parts and defragmentation shortens their lifespan without any speed benefit. Windows knows this and will show "SSD" type next to drives — it will only TRIM those, not defragment.
• Set defragmentation to run on a weekly schedule if you have an HDD.

SSDs slow down over time as cells fill with old data. The TRIM command tells the SSD which blocks are no longer in use so it can erase and reuse them efficiently, maintaining speed.

• Windows runs TRIM automatically on SSDs via the same "Optimize Drives" tool. Open it, select your SSD, and click Optimize — Windows will run TRIM, not defrag.
• Confirm TRIM is enabled by opening Command Prompt as Administrator and running: fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify. A result of 0 means TRIM is active.
• On Mac, TRIM is enabled by default for Apple SSDs. For third-party SSDs, it can be enabled via Terminal: sudo trimforce enable.

Both Windows and macOS use free disk space as virtual memory and for temporary operations. When your drive is more than 85% full, performance degrades significantly. Aim to keep at least 15% free at all times.

• Check: Windows Explorer › This PC to see drive usage. Mac: Apple menu › About This Mac › Storage.
• Delete large files you no longer need. Sort Downloads folder by size to find culprits.
• Move photos, videos, and large files to an external drive or cloud storage (Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive).
• On Windows, empty the Recycle Bin. Files deleted stay in Recycle Bin and still occupy drive space.
• On Mac, use Finder › File › Empty Trash. Also check System Settings › General › Storage for Recommendations.

The Windows page file is virtual memory on disk. If it is misconfigured or fragmented, it can slow things down. Letting Windows manage it automatically is usually best.

• Search for "Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows" › Advanced tab › Virtual memory › Change.
• Select "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" and click OK.
• Restart your computer. Windows will rebuild the page file at optimal size.
• If you have an SSD, the page file on it is already fast. If you have an HDD, this matters more.

Corrupted Windows system files cause unpredictable slowdowns, crashes, and errors. The built-in System File Checker (SFC) and DISM tools scan and repair them.

• Open Command Prompt as Administrator (search cmd › right-click › Run as administrator).
• Run SFC first:

• Wait for it to complete (5–15 minutes). If it finds and fixes errors, restart and run it again.
• Then run DISM to repair the Windows image used by SFC:

• This takes 10–20 minutes and requires an internet connection. Restart when done.

If all software fixes fail and your computer is still slow, a clean Windows or macOS reinstall removes years of accumulated junk, corrupt drivers, and software conflicts. It returns the OS to its original speed.

• Windows: Settings › System › Recovery › Reset this PC › choose "Keep my files" (removes apps but keeps documents) or "Remove everything" for a truly clean slate.
• Mac: Restart in Recovery Mode (hold Cmd + R on Intel Mac or hold the power button on Apple Silicon) › reinstall macOS.
• Back up your data first — always. Use Time Machine (Mac) or File History (Windows) before proceeding.
• After a clean reinstall, only install the apps you actually use. A clean Windows with 5 apps is dramatically faster than an old install with 50.

No software fix comes close to the speed improvement of replacing an old spinning hard drive with a solid-state drive. It is the single best investment you can make in an older computer.

• Boot time: 60–90 seconds → 10–15 seconds.
• App launch: Programs open 3–5x faster.
• File operations: Copying and saving files is near-instant.
• Cost: 500 GB SATA SSD: $55–$90 CAD. 1 TB SSD: $80–$130 CAD.
• Install method: Clone your existing drive to the new SSD using free software (Macrium Reflect for Windows, Carbon Copy Cloner for Mac), then swap the drives. No reinstall needed.
• Compatible with almost all laptops and desktops made since 2010. Most laptop SSD swaps take under 30 minutes.

If your computer has less than 16 GB of RAM, adding more is the second most impactful upgrade after an SSD. More RAM means more apps and browser tabs can stay loaded in memory instead of being swapped to the slower disk.

• 8 GB RAM is the minimum for comfortable modern use. 16 GB is the new standard. 32 GB for power users, video editing, or software development.
• Check what you currently have: Task Manager › Performance › Memory (Windows) or Apple menu › About This Mac (Mac).
• Cost: 8 GB DDR4 SODIMM (laptop): $25–$45 CAD. 16 GB kit (desktop): $40–$70 CAD.
• Note: Some modern laptops (especially MacBooks with Apple Silicon, and many slim Windows laptops) have RAM soldered to the motherboard and cannot be upgraded. Check your model's specs first at crucial.com.

When a computer overheats, the CPU and GPU automatically reduce their speed to prevent damage — this is called thermal throttling. A dusty laptop that normally runs at 3.5 GHz may throttle down to 0.8 GHz, making it feel dramatically slower.

• Signs of thermal throttling: computer is hot to the touch, fan runs loudly even at idle, system slows down under load but feels okay when cool.
• For laptops: use a can of compressed air to blow through the vents. For a deeper clean, open the bottom panel and clean the heat sink and fan directly.
• For desktops: open the side panel and use compressed air to clear the CPU heatsink, GPU fans, and case fans.
• Aim to clean dust every 12–18 months, more often in dusty environments or households with pets.

Thermal paste between the CPU and its heat sink dries out after 5–7 years. When it degrades, heat transfer becomes inefficient and temperatures spike, causing more frequent throttling.

• If your computer is more than 5 years old and runs hot despite dust cleaning, replacing the thermal paste is worth doing.
• Popular thermal paste options: Arctic MX-4, Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut. A small tube costs $8–$15.
• This is more technical than dust cleaning — requires opening the laptop and removing the CPU cooler. If you are not comfortable doing it yourself, IT Cares can handle it during a performance tune appointment.

If your computer is slow specifically in games, video editing, or 3D applications, and your CPU and RAM are adequate, the bottleneck may be your GPU.

• Only applies to desktop PCs with a dedicated GPU slot (PCIe). Most laptops cannot have their GPU upgraded.
• Check GPU load in Task Manager › Performance › GPU. If it is consistently at 95–100% while gaming, you are GPU-limited.
• Modern mid-range options: NVIDIA RTX 4060, AMD RX 7600. Budget options: RTX 3060 (used market).
• Ensure your power supply has enough wattage before upgrading — check your PSU specs and the GPU's requirements.

If your internal drive is too small to keep 15% free (Fix 11) and you do not want to replace it, adding an external SSD for storage offloads large files and gives your system room to breathe.

• Move your Documents, Downloads, Photos, and Videos folders to the external drive.
• A USB 3.0 external SSD (1 TB, $70–$100) gives you fast access to stored files without needing to open your computer.
• Not a substitute for an internal SSD upgrade — your OS and apps still run from the internal drive. This only helps if storage space is the bottleneck.