Windows 10 can be made faster. There are many ways to speed up Windows 10’s performance.
Making Windows 10 perform faster isn’t hard. There are a few tricks and tips that will make Windows 10 run faster. This article will show you how to speed up Windows 10 and increase its performance.
These are the main areas that will make Windows 10 faster
Three categories are available to optimize Windows 10’s performance.
- Operating system tweaks
- Software enhancements
- App replacement or removal
Hardware upgrades are possible, such as buying more RAM or investing into an SSD. However, these costs can be expensive so we won’t bother. Let’s begin with the best ways to speed Windows 10.
Windows 10 Operating System Speed Tweaks
1. Turn on Game Mode
Windows 10 Creators Update has a new feature called Game Mode. Unfortunately, there is no way to run Game Mode continuously. However, you can activate it by pressing Windows Key +G. You must enable Game Mode first.
You can enable Game Mode only in Windows 10 Creators update. To do this, open Settings> Gaming then choose Game Mode. Click the toggle switch located below Game mode.
Although it is not intended to be used in games, you can still activate it whenever you require a quick boost of speed. This is especially useful for background programs that slow down resource-intensive programs.
Game Mode does not improve gaming performance, but it can be used to increase the percentage of games that are played.
Some people will see a greater performance boost than others. You may notice a decrease in background apps which can help improve your performance. Game Mode should work in any application that supports GPU acceleration. You can try it in Adobe Premiere.
2. Turn off visual effects
Windows provides an easy way to turn off all visual enhancements.
- Navigate to System > Advanced settings.
- Select Advanced in the tabs above.
- Choose Settings from the Performance menu.
- To turn off all visual effects, left-click the radio button for .
It seems to have a significant impact on older computers, especially if you disable visual effects. However, it won’t make things look as good. As it aids in reading text, we recommend leaving Smooth edges on screen fonts disabled.
3. Accelerate Your Processor
Windows offers three default settings to control how fast your processor increases its frequency. These default settings are Balanced and High Performance. Power Saver is the third. Manufacturers may also offer custom plans.
A laptop with the Power saver or Balanced plans is almost always more efficient. However, high performance can make Windows run faster by trading battery endurance in favor of power. It is also the most suitable for desktops because it uses the most power.
You can modify your settings by going to Power Options from the Control Panel.
4. Reset Auto-Starting Programs
Sometimes, a program will try to run in the background while you install it. This is fine for a few programs, but it can have a significant impact on your performance. The whole system can get bogged down if there are too many auto-starting programs.
Non-essential startup programs must be removed in order to optimize performance. Windows makes it simple to get rid of most auto-starters.
These steps can be taken to remove auto-starting applications
- To enter the Windows Task Manager, press Ctrl+ Shift + Esc
- From the top, select the Startup tab.
- You can delete most auto-starting apps from the Startup tab.
Most apps don’t require background running unless they are preinstalled on your computer. Even then, these programs can often be bloatware. Some programs may hide in other places, but it is possible to find and remove stealth auto-starters.
5. Verify Your Internet Connection
Your provider is the main reason for slow internet speeds. Your Wi-Fi connection is the main culprit for slow internet speeds. It can be hard to get a steady signal in apartment buildings due to channel congestion or overlapping Wi Fi signals.
Two features are available on most routers that will increase your connection’s stability and speed. You have two options: wired or wireless.
It is easy to set up a wired connection. All you have to do is buy an Ethernet cable, and plug it in. Although it is simple to change the channel of a router, this requires more detailed explanation.
To determine the best channels for your computer, first use Microsoft’s Wi Fi analyzer tool. Then, open your router’s settings and change the channel.
Here’s a video showing you how it is done:
6. For maximum performance, manage Windows Update
Windows Update can eat resources when it runs in background. It can be set up to run at certain times. You can set it to shut down when the device isn’t in use. This means that there will be no restarts during an important task.
Change active hours
You can set Windows Update to run at a specific hour:
- Enter Windows update settings in the Windows Search Bar. Run the configuration utility.
- Choose Active hours from the heading Update Settings
- Click Change active hours to change the hours displayed in this menu. It is best to change it to a period of time when the computer has been turned on but not used.
This setting limits when Windows will automatically install updates. Windows Update will still download the updates during these hours.
Get your Internet connection metered
Windows Update can cause a significant slowdown in your internet speed if you have a low-speed Wi-Fi connection. It downloads updates in the background, which can greatly impact your internet performance.
This can be prevented by setting your connection as metered. However, Windows Update will stop downloading security patches.
- Open Windows Settings using Windows Key + I.
- Go to Network and Internet > Wi-Fi.
- Select the network that you are currently connected to, and then click on Metered Connection > Set as metered switch .
This works only with Wi-Fi networks. However, there is a hack that allows you to apply this setting to Ethernet connections.
7. Disable Windows 10’s Search Indexing feature
If indexing is enabled, Windows won’t scan all directories on your computer when you search for a file. Indexing creates an index of all items on your computer. This greatly improves file search speed.
It’s better to not turn indexing off on semi-recent computers. It offers little benefit. It is very inefficient.
If you have an older computer, disabling Search Indexing can help improve your system’s performance.
To disable Windows 10’s Search Index:
- Enter Index in the Windows Search Tool, and then click Indexing Options.
- Right-click Modify in the bottom menu. Uncheck all boxes.
8. Speed up Windows with Storage Analyzers & Disk Cleaning Tools
Overloaded with data can cause both Solid State Drives and Hard Disk Drives to slow down. For optimal performance, both drive technologies prefer to have around 50% capacity. However, any amount less than 25% is acceptable.
WinDirStat is one of the most useful apps to clean up a full disk. WinDirStat can be downloaded in both portable and installed versions and is completely free and open-source.
Download: WinDirStat for Windows (Free)
Windows 10 Software Improvements
9. RAM Drive
No program claims to increase performance like a RAM driver. The RAM drive program creates an extremely fast virtual drive by using physical RAM. The RAM drive is then used to move essential software parts. This results in significant speed gains.
RAM drives should only be used by those who wish to increase the performance of one application. Photoshop, browsers and video editing software are the most important software that RAM disks can benefit from.
Let’s see how you can combine the RAM disk and Chrome Browser. We recommend at least 1GB RAM. Users should aim for 8GB RAM for 64-bit systems and 4GB RAM on 32-bit systems. You can do with less.
There are many RAM drive software options. SoftPerfect RAM Drive is a popular choice.
If you are just starting out, DataRAM’s RamDisk is a good choice. The free version can only hold 1GB. You can have a maximum of 4GB if you own an -based system.
How to configure a RAM drive
It is easy to set up a RAM drive by downloading and installing software. You can configure the software with these options after you have run it.
The maximum RAM disk size is approximately 1GB. Any size is possible, but smaller capacities limit its utility.
Make sure to check the box that says Set Disk label. This will allow you to identify the disk in step 2. Next, choose Start RAMDisk. Configure your browser so that it can read and write cache files from and to the RAM disk.
Right-click your browser shortcut to open the context menu and select Properties. Windows 10 makes it easy to find a browser shortcut. It’s possible to do this directly from the Taskbar.
Choose Shortcut from Properties. Next, in the Target text input box, add the following code to end of text. “R” stands for your RAM disk drive letter.
–disk-cache-dir=R:\
This should be the complete code line:
“C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe” –disk-cache-dir=R:\
Chrome may have different configurations that could cause your code to differ.
Next, select OK to restart your browser. Chrome will now read and write cache files directly to the RAM disk.
Although RAM drives are not widely accepted, some people believe they are impossible to use. However, critics have good points. One of the main flaws is that RAM drives can slow down your computer’s shutdown. Because they run in the background older computers may not be able to handle the extra overhead.
Download: DataRAM RamDisk | Windows (Free)
10. Malware scanner
Malware scanners are a topic we have covered countless times. Most performance issues stem from malicious programs running in the background. Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware are some of the most popular free malware scanners. ClamWin is another great option.
We’ve written previously about the best anti-malware client. This is a great stopping point for anyone who has a slow computer.
11. Registry Cleaner
All settings for Windows and all other programs are stored in the Windows registry. The registry is affected by software installations. Sometimes, however, a program that has been uninstalled fails to delete those changes.
Registry modifications can slow down the system’s performance over time. Registry cleaners remove those registry modifications and any leftovers from uninstalled applications.
Registry cleaners can sometimes create more problems than they solve. Although you may see some performance improvements, most people will experience slow OS behavior after running registry cleaners.
CCleaner is the best program to clean your registry. Piriform, which is the manufacturer of CCleaner was the victim of a security breach. Hackers were able to insert malicious code into two versions CCleaner. Current CCleaner products do not contain malware.
12. Windows 10 Speeds Up by Removing Bad Apps
Many users believe they have to install terrible software. It’s usually a Potentially Unwanted Programm that slows down your computer.
The worst culprits include PDF readers, music players, browsers and BitTorrent software. There are many great alternatives. It is easy. The first step is to uninstall the program and then install a newer version.
These are some alternatives to consider.
- Sumatra PDF Reader
- VLC Video Player
- Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox
- QBittorrent
PDF Reader Replacement: Sumatra PDF
Many internet users believe Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader can read PDF files. This is a false belief. Adobe Acrobat is a malware-spreading program. You might consider looking for an alternative.
Sumatra PDF reader is an alternative to Adobe. Sumatra is a great alternative to Adobe. It is open-source and can read comic books (CBZ files or CBR files), block potentially malicious scripts, as well as run on older systems.
Modern browsers are able to read PDF files. A dedicated PDF reader may not be necessary.
Download: Sumatra PDF Reader for Windows (Free)
VLC Player for Music and Video
VLC player is among the best media players ever created.
One could argue that there are better music players out there. VLC is the best video player. VLC is free, open-source and supports keyboard shortcuts. It can play almost any video file and it costs nothing.
Mac
Browser Replacement:
Chrome may be the fastest alternative to Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer browsers. It is available in the standard 32-bit as well as 64 bit versions. Google also offers an open-source Chrome version, Chrome.
Chrome is a browser that offers all the features Edge does not: extensibility and security as well as speed. Chrome is a great choice if you are a frequent user of the internet. Firefox, however, offers the same level of extensibility as Chrome and is 100% open-source.
You can also check out Pale Moon, a Windows-optimized browser built on Firefox. Pale Moon is compatible with many Firefox extensions , and has 64-bit versions.
Download: Google Chrome Browser (Free)
Download: Mozilla Firefox Browser (Free)
BitTorrent Replacement: qBittorrent
There is hope for those who are using malware-like BitTorrent clients. The qBittorrent is an open-source . It receives regular updates, which is a big difference from the BitTorrent client Deluge. qBittorrent has more features and is free from malware.
Download: QBittorrent for Windows | Linux | Mac (Free)
13. Windows 10: Remove Bloatware
Windows 10 comes preinstalled with an incredible number of apps. Some of these programs can be very useful. This excellent guide will help you remove them from Windows 10 .
Most of the time, you can remove the software without any consequences. Many of these apps are placeholders, which install automatically upon activation. You might consider an in-place fix if you aren’t concerned about Microsoft’s bloatware.
In-place repairs are most helpful when your computer needs to be returned to its original state without having to reinstall all your applications. In-place repairs are limited to the core operating system files of Windows.
These are the steps to perform an in-place fix:
- Run the Windows 10 Media Creation Tools.
- Select Upgrade your PC Now, then click Next.
After that, the computer downloads Windows 10. This can take several hours. The Media Creation Tool then reinstalls Windows 10 over itself after it is done. An in-place repair is available to fix Windows 10 if your system has been damaged by malware or other damage to its core OS files.
Here’s more information about the process:
14. Removing Windows 10’s default apps
An in-place update replaces or restores all Windows 10’s bloatware, if you have removed them. There are a few apps that make it easier to debloat Windows. The Windows 10 Default App Removal 1.2 is our favorite.
Windows 10 Default Application Remover 1.2 is able to uninstall default Windows 10 apps. The publisher also provided the source code.
Simply tap on the app that you wish to de-crap. If Solitaire is irritating you, you can simply left-click on the icon in the interface to get a prompt asking you if you want to delete the app. After confirmation, the application is removed. 10AppsManager makes it easy to reinstall software that has been removed.
It received clean reports from Norton Safeweb, VirusTotal. This indicates that it is unlikely to be a malware source.
Download: Windows 10 Standard App Remover (1.2 for Windows)
15. Browser Extensions to Speed Up Page Loads
My favourite speed hack is to improve your browser’s performance with extensions.
Browser Extension User-Agent Switcher
A mobile user agent allows a server to know if your computer is a desktop or mobile device. A server can detect whether you are using a laptop or a desktop computer to load more visual effects and advertising code. This means that you will see a slower version of a webpage.
You can instruct the website to load a faster version of its webpage by using a mobile agent. Although this trick isn’t applicable to all websites, it can improve performance. It can sometimes lead to strange behavior on certain websites.
Download : User Agent Switcher Chrome or Edge Browsers (Free).
What is the best Windows 10 speed hack?
In-place repair is the best speed optimization tip. A factory reset is an option if you are willing to lose some of your programs. Badly written programs are the biggest culprit for slowdowns. Most performance problems can be solved by optimizing or removing bad software.
You might consider performance tweaks if you are a gamer. To keep your computer running at its best, make sure it is clean and free of dust.
