Slow laptop? 5 things you can try yourself

Your laptop takes minutes to start up, programs hang, and the fan runs constantly. Sound familiar? It’s often easier to fix than you think. Here are 5 things you can try yourself.

1. Actually restart your laptop

Sounds simple, but many people just close the lid. Windows goes into sleep mode — not a real restart. Click Start > Power > Restart. This closes background processes and frees up memory.

2. Check which programs start automatically

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. Go to the Startup tab. Anything you don’t need immediately at startup can be disabled: Spotify, Teams, OneDrive, Adobe updaters. The fewer programs that auto-start, the faster your laptop is ready.

3. Free up disk space

A full hard drive makes Windows noticeably slower. Open Settings > System > Storage and click Cleanup recommendations. Delete temporary files, old downloads and the Recycle Bin. Aim for at least 15-20% free space.

4. Run Windows updates

Pending updates can run in the background and slow your laptop down. Go to Settings > Windows Update and install everything that’s ready. Restart again afterwards.

5. Check for unwanted software

Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps and sort by install date. See programs you don’t recognise or no longer use? Remove them. Watch out for toolbars, “PC cleaners” and software you didn’t intentionally install.

Still slow?

If your laptop is still slow after these steps, something else might be going on: an aging hard drive, insufficient memory, or a deeper software issue. In a 60-minute session I can find the cause and fix it right away — remotely or on-site in Evergem and surroundings.