Your system is running slow with no clear information. How will you troubleshoot and improve its speed?

1 Check Health

Your first port of call should be to check your system's health. This involves looking at the Task Manager on Windows or Activity Monitor on macOS to see if any applications are using excessive resources like CPU, memory, or disk usage. If you spot an anomaly, consider closing the resource-hungry application or restarting your system to see if that resolves the issue. Additionally, check your system's storage space; if your hard drive is nearly full, it could be time to clean up some files or consider upgrading your storage solutions.

3 Manage Startup

Slow system startup times can be a symptom of too many applications launching at boot. To improve boot times, manage your startup programs. On Windows, this can be done through the Task Manager under the 'Startup' tab; on macOS, go to 'System Preferences', then 'Users & Groups', and then 'Login Items'. Uncheck applications that you do not need immediately upon login. This will not uninstall the programs but will prevent them from automatically starting up, freeing up resources.

4 Disk Cleanup

A cluttered hard drive is often the culprit behind a sluggish system. Use built-in tools like 'Disk Cleanup' on Windows or 'Storage Management' on macOS to remove temporary files, system cache, and other unnecessary data that might be bogging down your system. Additionally, consider defragmenting your hard drive if you're using a traditional spinning disk drive; however, do not defragment if you have a solid-state drive (SSD) as it's unnecessary and can reduce the lifespan of the drive.

5 Adjust Settings

Visual effects and animations can look great but may impact system performance. To boost speed, especially on older systems, adjust your visual settings. On Windows, you can find these options by searching for 'Performance' in the Control Panel and choosing 'Adjust for best performance'. On macOS, you can reduce transparency and motion by going to 'System Preferences', then 'Accessibility', and selecting 'Display'. Simplifying these visual settings can free up resources for more critical tasks.

6 Hardware Upgrade

If software tweaks aren't cutting it, consider a hardware upgrade. Upgrading your RAM (Random Access Memory) can provide a significant performance boost if your system is running low on memory. Replacing an old hard drive with an SSD can also dramatically improve speed, as SSDs offer faster read and write speeds compared to traditional hard drives. Before purchasing new hardware, ensure compatibility with your system and remember that sometimes, the cost of upgrades may not be worth it for very old computers.