Many people say that Windows gets slower and slower over time. Well, that's true, but it can be avoided with proper maintenance and care. Let's see how it can be done without third parties. The version of Windows I am using is Windows 10 Home build 10586
Installing the correct drivers
The most common slowdown and crashing problem is improper driver installation. To begin with, a driver is software is a computer program that operates or controls a particular type of device connected to a computer (Source: Wikipedia). You should always make sure that the correct drivers are installed on your computer. To resolve the crisis, Microsoft has facilitated the process from Windows 8. ie the operating system itself downloads the relevant drivers that are needed. For an older version of Windows says 7 or earlier, you need to install them manually. To do this, follow the steps
- Know the details of your computer, such as the manufacturer and model. e.g. Dell (manufacturer) Inspiron 15r 5521 (model name)
- Now go to the manufacturer's website and go to support and choose your model and operating system, download the relevant software / driver and install them
Per Windows 8 / 8.1
- Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, then tap Change PC Settings.
- Tap or click Update & Reset, then tap or click Windows Update.
- Tap or click Check Now
Per Windows 10
- To go Settings> Updates and security> Windows Update> Click "Check for updates".
To make sure all drivers are up to date go to Start and search for "Device Manager" and make sure no driver has an exclamation point before it, it should look like this
Even if there are exclamation marks, right-click on that particular driver and select the first option which is Update Driver Software> Automatically search for updated driver software. It will check online for updated drivers
2. Removing unwanted startup entries
System startup time can slow down significantly due to unwanted startup entries. These entries are logged each time new software is installed. This can be avoided by removing the entries. To do it
- Windows 7 or earlier users, go to Start> Run> type "msconfig", in the startup tab, you will see the startup entries, you can disable the ones you deem unnecessary, but do not disable the operating system services, nor your antivirus
- Windows 8 or later users go to the task manager, in the Start tab you can keep the entries.
3. Disabling unwanted services
Like startup entries, unwanted services are created every time software is installed. Sometimes these services are vital for the software to function properly, but sometimes it's just a headache. To disable services, go to (Works for all versions of Windows)
Start> Run> type "msconfig"> click the services tab and make sure the "Hide all Microsoft services" checkbox is checked. Trust me, you don't want to ruin those services. Now uncheck unwanted services and click Apply, then OK. It will ask you to restart. Click restart.
4. Defragment the drives
Over time, the drives become fragmented, which means that the data on the physical hard drive is not stored in the correct order, but is stored in an outdated order. Hence it becomes difficult for the operating system to access particular data. This can be avoided by properly defragmenting the drives.
Go to Start and search for “Defragment and optimize drives”. Open it and click analyze, then click optimize. You can also configure the operating system to run the task automatically by configuring the automatic schedule.
5. Clean temperature
To clean the temporary folder, go to Start> Run> type "temp" and hit enter and delete all files. Then again go for a run this time, type “% temp% and hit enter and delete all files. The former refers to the temperature of Windows, while the latter refers to the temperature of the application data.
By following the above-given steps, you can easily keep your operating system at optimum performance. Thanks guys for reading, stay tuned for more information.
Read also: How to clear all cache types in Windows 10
