How to Speed up Windows 11 Drastically – 10 Easy Tips for You

A slow computer could definitely have negative impact on your work efficiency. Hence, it is very important to learn how to speed up Windows 11 when the problem arises. There are many potential reasons why your Windows 11 computer is running slow. It could be due to a virus or malware infection, a lack of storage space, or a problem with the hardware or software.

One potential reason for slow performance is that your computer is running low on storage space. When your hard drive is full, Windows 11 may run more slowly. To free up space on your hard drive, you can delete temporary files, uninstall unnecessary programs, and move files to an external drive.

Another potential reason for slow performance is a virus or malware infection. Viruses and malware can hog resources and slow down your computer. To remove viruses and malware, you can use a trusted antivirus program.

If your computer is still slow after taking these steps, there may be a problem with the hardware or software. You can try troubleshooting hardware and software problems by resetting your computer, updating drivers, and running a diagnostic tool to speed up Windows 11 drastically.

1. Free up More Space on Windows 11

Maybe you’re running low on storage, or you’re trying to speed up your system. Whatever the reason, there are a few easy ways to free up space on your Windows 11 PC.

Clean up Windows 11 Hard Disk

Over time, your hard drive can become cluttered with files you don’t need. You can use the built-in Disk Cleanup tool to clean up your hard drive and free up space.

  1. Go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools.
  2. Double-click on "Disk Cleanup".
  3. Select the drive you want to clean up and click "OK".
  4. Disk Cleanup will now scan your drive and display a list of files you can delete.
  5. Select the files you want to delete and click "OK".

Delete Files You Don’t Need Anymore

If you have any files on your computer that you don’t need, you can delete them to free up space. To do this, simply find the file or files you want to delete and delete them.

Empty the Recycle Bin

If you have any files in your Recycle Bin, you can empty it to free up space. To do this, go to your Recycle Bin and click "Empty Recycle Bin".

Turn off Hibernation

Hibernation is a feature that allows you to save your open files and programs to your hard drive and then turn off your computer. When you turn your computer back on, you can pick up where you left off. While this is a handy feature, it does use up space on your hard drive.

If you don’t need hibernation, you can turn it off to free up space. To do this, go to Control Panel > Power Options. From here, click on "Change plan settings" next to your current power plan.

Then, click on "Change advanced power settings". Scroll down to the "Sleep" section and expand it. Then, expand the "Hibernate after" setting and set it to "Never".

Reduce the Size of Paging File

Your paging file is used by Windows to store data that doesn’t fit in your computer’s RAM. By default, Windows sets the size of your paging file to be 1.5 times the size of your RAM. However, you can change this setting to free up space.

  1. Move to Control Panel > System.
  2. Click on "Advanced system settings".
  3. Under the "Performance" section, click on "Settings". Then, click on the "Advanced" tab.
  4. Under the "Virtual memory" section, click on "Change".
  5. Uncheck the "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" checkbox.
  6. Select the drive you want to change the paging file size for and click "Custom size".
  7. Enter the new size for your paging file and click "Set".

Turn off System Restore

System restore is a feature that allows you to create restore points, which are basically snapshots of your system at a given point in time. These restore points can be used to restore your system to a previous state if something goes wrong.

While this is a handy feature, it does use up space on your hard drive. If you don’t need system restore, you can turn it off to free up space.

  1. Navigate to Control Panel > System.
  2. Click on "System protection".
  3. Select the drive you want to turn off system restore for and click "Configure" Under the "Protection Settings" section .
  4. Select "Turn off system protection" and click "OK".

2. Deleted Unused Software or Bloatware from Windows 11

There are a few ways to delete bloatware on Windows 11, but it depends on what kind of bloatware you’re trying to remove. If you’re looking to remove pre-installed bloatware, you’ll need to use a third-party tool like PC Decrapifier or Bloatware Remover. However, if you’re trying to remove bloatware that you’ve installed yourself, you can use the built-in Windows 11 Add/Remove Programs tool.

To remove pre-installed bloatware, you’ll need to use a third-party tool like PC Decrapifier or Bloatware Remover. These tools will scan your computer for pre-installed bloatware and allow you to remove it easily.

To remove bloatware that you’ve installed yourself, you can use the built-in Windows 11 Add/Remove Programs tool. Simply open this tool and find the bloatware you want to remove. Then, follow the prompts to uninstall it.

3. Disable Auto-Run Program at Startup

An auto-run program is a program that automatically starts up when the computer is turned on. When this number increases, the computer will be running slow for sure. So it is crucial to disable programs from automatically starting up when your computer boots. We’ll cover a few of the most popular methods below.

One way to disable programs from automatically starting up is to use the System Configuration tool, also known as "msconfig." To use this tool, type "msconfig" into the Start menu search bar and press Enter. In the System Configuration window, click on the "Startup" tab. This will show you a list of all the programs that are set to automatically start up when your computer boots. To disable a program from automatically starting up, simply uncheck the box next to it in the list.

Another way to disable programs from automatically starting up is to use the Registry. The Registry is a database that stores all of the settings and options for your computer. To access the Registry, type "regedit" into the Start menu search bar and press Enter. In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

This key contains a list of all the programs that are set to automatically start up for the current user. To disable a program from automatically starting up, simply delete the entry for it in this key.

You can also disable programs from automatically starting up by opening the Start menu and going to the "All Programs" folder. In the "All Programs" folder, find the Startup folder. This folder contains shortcuts to all the programs that are set to automatically start up for all users. To disable a program from automatically starting up, simply delete the shortcut for it from this folder.

Finally, you can disable programs from automatically starting up by using the Task Manager. To access the Task Manager, press Ctrl+Shift+Esc. In the Task Manager, click on the "Startup" tab. This will show you a list of all the programs that are set to automatically start up when your computer boots. To disable a program from automatically starting up, simply select it in the list and click on the "Disable" button.

4. Remove Virus or Malware from Windows 11 OS

It is common for viruses to slow down your computer as they replicate and spread themselves throughout your system. This can cause your computer to freeze up, crash, and even become unresponsive. In some cases, viruses can even prevent you from starting up your computer. To speed up Windows 11, it is important to find and remove virus from the computer.

There are a few different ways that you can remove a virus from your Windows 11 computer. You can use a virus removal tool, such as Microsoft’s Windows Defender, to scan your computer for viruses and remove them. You can also use a third-party anti-virus program to scan your computer for viruses and remove them. Finally, you can manually remove the virus by following the instructions in this article.

If you want to remove a virus from your Windows 11 computer, the best way to do it is to use a virus removal tool. Microsoft’s Windows Defender is a good option, as it’s free and it’s already installed on most Windows 11 computers. If you don’t have Windows Defender, you can download it from Microsoft’s website.

Once you’ve downloaded and installed Windows Defender, launch the program and click the "Scan" button. Windows Defender will then scan your computer for viruses and remove any that it finds.

If you prefer to use a third-party anti-virus program, there are many good options available. Some of the more popular ones include AVG, Avast, and Norton. Just download and install the program, launch it, and click the "Scan" button. The program will then scan your computer for viruses and remove any that it finds.

5. Disable OneDrive Syncing Automatically

OneDrive is a cloud storage service from Microsoft that allows you to sync your files across devices and access them from anywhere. OneDrive can help free up space on Windows 11 by offloading files and data that you don’t need to keep on your local drive. However, OneDrive can also slow down your computer if you have a lot of files syncing or the internet connection is slow. You can speed up Windows 11 computer by turning off file syncing that you don’t need to access from OneDrive.

To disable OneDrive sync, open the OneDrive app and click the Settings icon. Then, click the "Account" tab and uncheck the "Sync all files and folders in my OneDrive" option.

That’s all there is to it! Once you’ve disabled OneDrive sync, your files will no longer be automatically synced to the cloud. Of course, you can still manually sync specific files and folders if you need to.

6. Turn off Shadows, Animations and Visual Effects

In general, shadows, animations and visual effects on Windows 11 slows down the computer for sure. They require a lot of processing power. This is because each frame of the animation or effect needs to be rendered, which can be a computationally intensive process. Additionally, if the shadows, animations and visual effects are complex, this can further increase the amount of processing power required.

Another factor that can contribute to slowdown is the quality of the graphics card and processor. If these components are not powerful enough, they may struggle to render the shadows, animations and visual effects, which can lead to a decrease in performance.

How to disable shadows, animations and visual effects on Windows 11:

  1. Go to the Start Menu and type in "Performance"
  2. Click on "Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows"
  3. Under the "Visual Effects" tab, uncheck all the options
  4. Click "Apply" and then "OK"
  5. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect

7. Keep Windows 11 Update to Date

Windows Update is a Microsoft service that provides updates for the Windows operating system and other Microsoft software. Updates usually include new features, security patches, and other improvements. In fact, Windows Update is an important feature and you should be kept Windows 11 OS up-to-date to ensure that the computer is running smoothly and securely.

You can manually check for updates at any time by opening the Windows Update settings and clicking "Check for updates" on Windows 11.  In addition, you can also configure Windows Update to be installed automatically, which will ensure that your computer is always up-to-date.

8. Defrag Windows 11 Local Drive

One of the most common ways to speed up a Windows 11 computer is to defrag the disk. This process can help improve your computer’s performance by rearranging the files on your hard drive so that they can be accessed more quickly.

Here are the steps to defrag hard drive on Windows 11:

1. Open the Start menu and type "defrag" into the search box.

2. Click on the "Defragment and Optimize Drives" shortcut that appears.

3. Select the drive that you want to defragment and click the "Optimize" button.

4. Wait for the defragmentation process to complete. This can take a while, depending on the size of your hard drive.

5. Once the process is complete, you should see an improvement in your computer’s performance.

9. Add More RAM to Computer

Adding more RAM to your computer can speed up Windows 11 in several ways. First, it can help your system to load programs and files much faster. If you have a lot of programs open at once, or if you are running a program that is very resource-intensive, having more RAM can make a big difference in terms of performance. Additionally, having more RAM can help to reduce the amount of time your computer spends swapping data between your hard drive and memory, which can further improve speed and responsiveness.

Of course, there are limits to how much RAM can help your computer. If your system is already using all of the RAM it has available, adding more will not make a difference. Additionally, if your hard drive is slow or if you have a lot of programs that start up automatically when you turn on your computer, adding more RAM may not have a noticeable impact. However, for most users, adding more RAM is a great way to help speed up their computer.

10. Replace HDD with SSD

SSD is much faster than HDDs, which can speed up your computer’s overall performance. Another reason is that SSDs are more durable and reliable than HDDs, meaning they’re less likely to fail or lose your data.

There are a few things to keep in mind when replacing HDD with an SSD. One is that you’ll need to back up your data before making the switch. Another is that you’ll need to reinstall your operating system and any programs you have installed on your hard drive. Finally, keep in mind that SSDs are more expensive than HDDs, so you’ll need to factor that into your decision.

Overall, replacing your HDD with an SSD is a great way to improve your computer’s performance and reliability. Just be sure to back up your data first.

Conclusion:

From our article, you can learn 10 effective ways to speed up Windows 11, including disabling startup programs, using the Task Manager to identify and end resource-intensive processes, and increasing the amount of virtual memory. Additionally, keeping the operating system and installed programs up to date can help speed up the overall performance of the computer.