How to Make Your Computer Run Faster

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How to Make Your Computer Run Faster

20 June 2019 Amanda J. Brook Senior Product Manager

Summary
Many users find that their computers are slowing down as time goes by. At such situation, the system may need to be optimize, such as optionally shutting down some services, if you want a smooth system operation. So, in this essay, we will talk about how to make your computer run faster.

Part 1. Optimize Windows System

1. Shut Down Permanent Processes and Services

How to make your computer faster in Windows? Shutting down processes and services is effective. In system operation, many programs and services are running in the background even thought you don’t open related software. To shut down them is to lighten the system.

① Right-click at the taskbar at the desktop and select [Task Manager].

opening task manager windows 10

② In the [Details] tab, end the unused processes.

check operating detalis in task manager

③ Then switch to the [Services] tab, click [Open Services].

click the open services button in task manager

④ Select the target services in the list and click [Stop the service].

select the targer service and stop

The following services can be shut down:

Alerter	Through this service will send notifications to the designated users and PCs. If the computer is only used by yourself, it can be shut down.
CNG Key Lsolation	This services provides private keys and associated cryptographic operation. It can be shut down if it is useless for you.
Diagnostic Policy Service	If you don’t need web diagnosis, please shut it down.
Diagnostic Service Host	It is used by the Diagnostic Policy Service to host diagnostics. It can be stopped if it is a home-used computer.
Family Safety	It is designed for PC safety management. If the computer is only used by yourself, you can shut it down.
FAX	If you don’t send/ receive fax, you can shut it down.
Peer Name Pesolution Protocol	It enables remote control and peer-to-peer web services. It can be shut down.
Program Compatibility Assistant Service	It is designed to detect known compatibility issues in older programs. It can be shut down.
Remote Desktop Service	It is suggested to shut down.
Remote Registry	It allows users to modify registry on another computer. It is suggested to shut down.
Tablet PC Input Service	It enables users to use an external pen and touch input device in tablet PC. It can be shut down if you don’t use such device.
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper	It enables to share files with Windows9x system. It can be stopped if the service is useless.
WinHTTP Web Proxy Auto-Discovery Service	It is an automatic proxy detection service for developers. It can be stopped.
WMI Provider Host	It can monitor performance from WMI. It can be stopped if it is useless.

Note: You should know what you are going to shut down when you want to shut down programs and services. Or, the system will be unstable, even corrupted.

2. Turn off Transparency Effect

The transparency effects are visible in Start Menu, the Taskbar and Action center by default, but they are burdens for the system operation. If your computer hardware is under performance, in Windows Settings, you can turn off the transparency effects to enhance the running fluency.

① Press the keys [Windows + I] to open Windows Settings.

press the keys win+i

② Click [Personalization].

click personalization in windows settings

③ In the left sidebar, click the tab [Color] and toggle [Transparency effects] off.

turn off transparency effect

3. Disable Animations

Like the transparency effect, Windows designs many animations for the windows. Disabling these visual effects can make the computer run faster.

① Press the key [Windows + I] to open Windows Settings.

press the keys win+i

② Click [Ease of Access].

lcik ease of access in windows settings

③ In the left sidebar, click the tab [Display] and toggle [Show animations in Windows] off.

turn off windows animations

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4. Disable Windows Defender

Windows Defender is an anti-malware component of Microsoft Windows. But with the aspects of anti-virus capability and function diversity, it does not perform better than the traditional anti-virus software, such as AVC and VB100. Importantly, Windows Defender will run a few .exe processes when it starts, consuming lots of CPU resources. If your CPU is not well enough, it can slow down your computer. How to make your computer faster? At this moment, you can replace Windows Defender with lightweight anti-virus software, and the system will obviously speed up.

how to make your computer faster by closing Windows defender

① Press the key [Win + R] to open Windows Settings.

press the keys win+r

② Type [gpdit.msc] to open Local Group Policy Editor.

type gpedit.msc

③ In the Editor, expand [Computer Configuration]; [Administrative Templates]; [Windows Components] > [Windows Defender]. Then double-click [Turn off Windows Defender Antivirus].

click to turn off windows defender

④ Select the [Enabled] option and click [OK] to turn off Windows Defender one by one.

click enable to turn off windows defender

Please install other anti-virus software in time when Windows Defender has been close. Otherwise, the computer will be easily attacked by virus, which can cause the system corruption or computer startup failure.

5. Close IPv6

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol (IPv4). IPv6 expands the web addresses and break the connection barrier between the Internet and various devices. However, IPv6 is not deployed frequently in practice except some huge companies’ internal network. It also takes up the system resources, leading some system errors. Therefore, closing IPv6 can improve the computer performance.

① Press the keys [Win + R] to open the Run box.

press the keys win+r

② Type [ms-settings:network] to open [Network and Internet].

type in ms-settingsnetwork

③ Click the target network connection in the tab [Ethernet].

check windows network connection in Ethernet

④ Check the information of Properties. If it displays IPv4, not IPv6, you can continue the next steps.

check ipv4 address in network and internet

⑤ Type [services.msc] to open Services Manager.

enter services.msc in run

⑥ Find out [IP Helper] and stop it. Then the performance can be improved.

click to stop in ip helper

6. Stop Windows Search

The hard disk may not stop running in standby mode since the Windows system collects index records. This process is called as Windows Search which is to help users to find matched results in seconds when they search files in computer. However, as the age of SSD is coming, SSD is installed in more and more computers, and the system response time has been improved greatly. As a result, Windows Search gradually makes no sense. Meanwhile, collecting index records needs high read/write performance, which may even shorten the lifespan of SSD. It is suggested that users who barely search local files or have installed SSD to stop this service.

① Press the keys [Win +R] to open the Run box.

press the keys win+r

② Type [services.msc] to open Services Manager.

enter services.msc in run

③ Find out [Windows Search] and stop it. The related services can be close and the computer performance will be enhanced because the burden on hard disk has been reduced.

7. Modify Power Plan

Windows sets 3 power plans by default, namely [Balanced], [Power saver] and [High performance]. Different plans have different effects on running, power consumption and response time. Simply speaking, when many programs are running, the high performance plan will not lower the running speed but consume more energy than the power saver plan. Therefore, if you are a desktop computer user who care about the performance, you can modify the power plan as [High performance] for a better experience.

① Press the keys [Win + I] to open Windows Settings.

press the keys win+i

② Click [System].

click System in Windows Settings

③ In the tab [Power&Sleep], click [Additional power settings].

click related settings in the tab power& sleep

④ In the following screen, select [High performance]. It is noted that the high performance plan favors performance but consumes more energy, which will affect the battery life of laptop.

select high performance in power plan

8. Set Scheduler to Optimize Drives

Currently, HDD and SSD are mainly used as computer disks. No matter which one you use, you should regularly maintain, such as optimizing and defragmenting drive. In Windows, the functions [Optimize and defragment drive] has been pre-set by default. This function can greatly speed up the computer in daily operation. What’s more, you can set scheduler to optimize the drives regularly.

① Open [This PC] and right-click the target disk to select [Properties]. In the following menu, select [Optimize] in the [Tools] tab.

optimize and defragment drive

② In [Optimize Drives] screen, select the target drive and click the [Optimize] button to run.

optimize drives on Windows 10

③ If you want the optimization to run automatically, please click [Change settings] in the menu. In the optimization schedule, you can set the optimization frequency for the target drive.

set the optimization schedule to optimize drive

Part 2. Optimize Linux System

1. Use Lightweight Desktop Environment

If you prefer to install the default desktop environment, you can select the lightweight desktop environments, such as Xfce or LXDE. These desktop environments take up less RAM and CPU. At the same time, these environments are equipped with some lightweight programs, beneficial for use enjoyement. By the way, Enlightenment and Fluxbox are also good lightweight desktop environments.

linux lightweight desktop environment

2. Use Preload to Accelerate Process

Preload is a program which can record and analyse the statistics about frequently-used programs in the background. This information is then used to preload these files in memory, so the faster application startup can be realized. If you want to install Preload, open the Console and run the following command: [sudo apt-get install preload]

3. Allow more RAM for LibreOffice

How to make your computer faster if you frequently use LibreOffice to work? Maybe allow more RAM for it. First, open LibreOffice and turn to [Tools] > [Options]. In the menu, select [Memory] at the left sidebar, then check [Enable systray Quickstarter] and modify the values in [Use for LibreOffice] and [Memory per objects].

linux libreoffice

4. Lightweight Alternatives to Different Applications

It is not suitable for low-end computers to use the default or popular programs that consume much hardware resources. At such situation ,you can use the alternative programs. For example, use AppGrid instead of Ubuntu Software Center; Gdebi and AbiWord but not LibreOffice Writer.

appgrid

Part 3. Optimize MacOS

1. Upgrade MacOS

The upgraded software and the upgraded system are safer, quicker and more efficient. It can also prevent the system from malicious files.

How to make computer run faster via MacOS upgrade:

Open [Mac App Store] and turn to [Update].It can check whether the latest editions of the system and applications have been released. In the previous Mac computers, click the Menu and select [Update]. It will update the system and applications for you.

check macos update in mac

2. Uninstall Unused Applications & Delete Desktop Files

The idle software wastes lost of disk space. Especially when the available disk space is not enough, it can slow down the computer. What’s more, too many launchpad icons can also slow down the computer because MacOS will generate thumbnails for the programs and save them to the disk.

How to make your computer run faster via file cleanup:

If you want to uninstall the application and its icon, right-click to select [Move to Trash]. This step is very simple. Please clear useless applications to keep your computer run well.

move application to trash in macos

3. Delete Useless Programs in Login Items

In daily use of MacOS, more and more programs will start along with the computer startup. That will make the startup slower and slower. If you want a faster startup, it is better to only keep the necessary applications during the process.

How to make your computer run faster via login item cleanup:

Open [Preferences] in [Menu] at the top-left. Then select your account in [System] > [User and group] and turn to [Login items]. Click your target applications and click the button [-] to remove them from the list. If the list is grey, click the lock icon at the bottom-left, then type your user account and password.

delete login items in macos

4. Clear Trash in Hard Disk

Regularly clearing junk files can help Mac run fluently. You can delete the files one by one but it sounds quite trouble. Some applications may simplify this process.

How to make your computer faster via hard disk cleanup:

Disk Inventory X is suitable for MacOS system trash cleanup. It can give you a summary of your disk usage via graphic images, so you can easily manage your files.

use disk inverntory to manage macos

5. Delete Unnecessary Language Files

If you only user one or two languages on Mac, you can use Monolingual to delete other language files. This is a free and open-source software, and its early editions support the early systems.

use monolingual to manage language files in macos

Note: the absence of English language package will corrupt the system. Please keep it at least.

6. Verify Hard Disk Completeness

Checking the hard disk completeness can avoid severe disk error. Such function is called [Disk utility] under [Tools] in MacOS.

open disk utility in macos

Steps:

At the left sidebar, select your target disk. In the main window, click [Disk utility] > [Verify disk]. Then you can see the check result. If the result says error exists in the hard disk, try to click [Run] to fix the error. If it fails, you many need to change the hard disk.

verify whether the mac disk exist errors

Part 4. General Speedup Skills

1. Enlarge Host Memory Capacity

Memory capacity is a major factor for fluent system operation. Although the latest edition always takes up less hardware resources than the previous ones, the lager memory capacity can make the computer run faster. As for memory capacity expansion, you can view your motherboard manuals to buy the right memory module. Generally, DDR4 memory module with over 8GB is for recommendation if the motherboard allows. This approach is right for the desktop computers and the laptops with changeable memory module.

Establish dual-channel memory architecture for the host

Dual-channel memory architecture can maximize the memory performance. If you have two identical memory modules, you can establish this architecture.

What is dual-channel memory architecture

Like RAID (Redundant Arrays of Independent Drives), dual-channel memory architecture uses two data channels to read and write. Theoretically, it can shorten CPU response time and improve performance. This architecture, currently, has been well developed, even triple-channel and quad-channel memory architectures can be established in some high-end motherboards. Therefore, it is beneficial for memory expansion to establish multi-channel memory architecture.

How to establish dual-channel memory architecture?

Generally, the motherboard of the desktop computer are configured with 4 memory slots, which is possible to establish dual-channel memory architecture. From left to right, the slots are named as A1, A2, B1 and B2; A and B mean different channel banks; 1 and 2 are just numbers, without any links with the effect. It is noted that the identical memory modules should be installed in these two channel banks which are usually color-coded on the motherboard. Once you place the modules into the sockets, the dual-channel memory architecture can be built.

insert memory module to build dual channel memory

establish dual channel memory in PC

2. Configure SSD on Computer Host

SSD, compared with the traditional HDD, is fast and stable. The read speed of the basic SSD can reach to 500m/s, and the write speed to 400m/s. This read/write speed is twice to four times than that of HDD. If you use SSD as the system disk, you can obviously get the high-speed response. Take the computer startup as an example. It takes almost 1 minute for the computer with HDD to start up while it takes 10 seconds at utmost for the computer with SSD. All in all, SSD has been the standard configuration for the current computer. A computer without SSD is an outdated one.

About 4K alignment

4K alignment is always mentioned when we talk about SSD. What is 4K alignment? In SSD which uses NAND flash memory, each storage sector is usually 4KB, and 4K alignment is to align physical sectors with data cluster. If SSD is not 4K aligned, the data will be save in 2 cluster. When we want to get/save data from the disk, the file system will read and write two physical cluster, which will reduce read/write speed and waste the space. Simply speaking, the SSD without 4K alignment has to get access with the sectors twice if it needs to read and write a 4KB file, while the 4K-aligned SSD only needs one visit for the same file because the data cluster has been aligned with the smallest storage unit of SSD.

what is 4K alignment

Figure: The SSD without 4K alignment get access with two sectors for the same data.

How to transfer the system from HDD to SSD?

For most of people, setting SSD as system disk almost means system reinstallation and system formatting. All files in the partitions should be backed up. If you want to perfectly copy the system to SSD, Renee Becca, the professional software of system migration is your better choice!

What is Renee Becca?

Renee Becca is a professional clone software. It supports data clone in hard disk and partitions but also transfer the system to other disk partitions. Meanwhile, Renee Becca is a reliable data software for data backup and recovery in hard disk, partitions, individual files and other kinds of files.

Why transfer the system with Renee Becca:

Perfect system/partition/disk clone to new disk
Automatic 4K alignment for SSD in system transfer
Support MBR/GPT system transfer in any partition format
Support FAT/NTFS system transfer

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Steps:

① In the homepage, select [Clone]; [System Redeploy].

select system redeploy function in clone

② In the pop-up screen, select the system disk storing Windows 10 and the target SSD. Then click [Transfer].

move the system to ssd in Renee Becca

③ As the transfer is finished, select SSD as the boot drive in BIOS in the next startup. Then you can enjoy the better performance of SSD.

ssd display when is getting started

3. Use Quicker Browser

Overview

Using browser is the first step for every netizen. Different browsers with different performance can bring different experience. At present, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox stand out in the global browser market. Google Chrome, with its excellent core engine, trounced the last Firefox edition and Internet Explorer and now takes up most of the market. But, Firefox currently releases the new edition called Quantum, with fashionable design and quick running. It is said that it takes up less space than Google Chrome. That is to say, users can open more tabs smoothly. In fact, which one is better? Here are comparisons.

surfing browsers taking up shares in the market

Loading speed

Loading speed determines whether a browser is qualified and whether users can view smoothly. How about the differences between Google Chrome and Firefox in loading speed? First, we clear Cookies in these two browsers. Then, as shown in the figure below, we orderly visit the same websites three times and output the comparison chart by averaging the data. Considering each web page, the difference is not obvious while Firefox wins by a hair, totally less than 2 seconds.

loading comparison between firefox and chrome

Hardware resource consumption

A browser which performs well but consumes less hardware space, of course, will be welcomed. Google Chrome has been considered as a high-consumed browser, with lost of memes generated, like the figure below. But how about the differences between Chrome and Firefox?

chrom is eating your disk memory

We use them to open a new tab and wait for five minutes, then difference can be shown. In simply use, Firefox saves more than 40% RAM, greatly saving the hardware resources.

memory comparison when you are using firefox and chrome commonly

However, we should notice that Firefox takes up much CPU than Chrome in this process. We use them to open 300 tabs in the simulated extreme use. Firefox is hardly dominant in RAM consumption but it takes up much more CPU than Chrome. If your computer processor is under performance, it will worsen the operation.

comparison between chrome and firefox when you are using frequently

Conclusion

As for loading speed, both Firefox and Google chrome run smoothly. In resource consumption, Firefox takes less consumption while this feature is not obvious in daily and extreme use and Firefox take much more CPU than Google Chrome. If you memory capacity is not enough, Firefox is better. However, if your CPU is underperforming, Google Chrome may be suitable. Of course, if your computer runs well in any aspect, you are free to use whatever you need.

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