Some of the more general slow laptop fix tips can prove to be quite effective for resolving the majority of PC performance issues. In this article I’ll show you some of the more common techniques you can use to help improve speeds for all applications as well as the operating system.
Make sure your registry is not corrupted
If your laptop keeps freezing on you then this may well be due to corrupt registry keys. A slow laptop could also be down to key settings being incorrectly set. Run a registry cleaner utility (e.g. Registry Easy or XP Repair Pro) to automatically repair and tune key settings.
Free up disk space
Clearing out at least 10% your hard disk and leaving it empty will actually improve performance. This empty space can be used by the operating system for virtual memory when running application commands and OS programs. Use the Disk Cleanup utility to get rid of cached/temporary files and uninstall unused software you don’t require.
Reduce the number of running services and applications
Open up the task manager and check on the processes tab which applications are using up a large amount of your memory. If RAM usage becomes excessive by individual programs then this impacts all running programs. Identify problematic applications and remove them, replace them or update them.
Improve disk access times
The speed with which your hardware can access documents on the drive belonging to your documents is directly related to how fragmented and dispersed documents fragments are on disk memory. Running a disk defragmenter on a regular basis (i.e. monthly) should help speed up access times by placing fragments alongside each other on disk platters.
Keep your OS programs and applications up to date
Software houses are always providing updates to fix bugs for your programs. These applications also include performance improvements so it is strongly advised to stay up-to-date with the latest versions of your applications. Windows update can help provide you with security updates and device driver patches. Check with manufacturers for updates to specific third party programs you use on a frequent basis.
Don’t let viruses get onto your system
Lastly, malicious adware, Trojan viruses and malware applications can all damage registry key settings and operating system programs causing slow laptop performance and (in the worst case scenario) explain why your laptop keeps freezing randomly. Update your anti-virus program with the latest virus definitions regularly and scan the entire hard drive as often as you can tolerate.
