Dhe booting up takes forever, loading the programs makes you old and gray. Time to grab your bag of tricks to get the computer going again.
In fact, most of the time the computer itself does not slow down. According to Jörg Geiger from the computer magazine “Chip”, it is programs and services that demand more performance over time. And at some point bring the computer to its knees.
Increased demands on hardware and software
This is because software and services are always developed for the latest hardware: “If you have an older system, you think the PC is slower, but only the requirements have grown,” explains the computer scientist. With the effect, however, that computing processes actually take longer.
Often forgotten programs that were never uninstalled are to blame for this. These take up storage space and thus computing power, explains Jörg Hähnle.
The Windows non-fiction author and operator of “Paules-PC-Forum.de” points out another problem: “Many applications nestle in the autostart of the operating system and thus lead to long system startup times”.
As a first step, the experts recommend uninstalling unnecessary programs. The corresponding option can be found under “Windows Settings – Apps – Apps & Features”. According to editor Geiger, around 20 percent of the storage space on the mass storage device should always remain free.
Non-fiction author Hähnle also advises using the Task Manager to check which programs are started when the system is started. There you can see in the “Start Effects” column how much individual applications slow down the PC start.
Defragmenting doesn’t always make sense
Defragmentation is often recommended as a panacea. The data stored in pieces are sorted and arranged in such a way that they can be read again more quickly. Sebastian Klöß from the IT industry association Bitkom warns whether defragmentation makes sense, but it depends on the type of mass storage.
With older hard disks, the HDDs, the merging of file fragments is helpful due to the way they work. Klöß explains why: “If a file is stored in very fragmented form, the hard drive has to rotate more frequently, and of course that takes time.”
With today’s common SSDs, on the other hand, the process is rather harmful, because they do not work mechanically and their storage cells only have a certain lifespan. Constant reorganization would shorten this, says Klöß.
Windows 10 also has an optimization for SSDs activated by default. In the system control under the item “Storage” there is the command “Optimize drives”: “There you can see which type of storage is installed, when it was last analyzed and what the current status is,” says Klöß. Consumers with SSD can and should save themselves manual defragmentation.
Stay away from the registry
You should only work on the so-called registry if you are really familiar with it. It happens quickly to damage the system by deleting entries that are still required, says Jörg Hähnle.
The Windows expert compares the registry with a pharmacy cabinet full of information drawers. “If Windows needs some of this information, it will open the appropriate one. Drawers with outdated or unnecessary content are simply ignored by the system ”. But it takes know-how to assess this as a user.
The work could be left to registry cleaners, which Jörg Geiger from “Chip” considers to be less useful than third-party programs with additional cleaning functions.
When it comes to virus protection, expert Klöß relies on Windows standard tools: “The Defender is well integrated into the system and offers reliable protection even when the system load is low.” On the other hand, third-party antivirus programs can take up a lot of memory.
Swap hard drive for SSD
In order for a Windows PC to run smoothly over the long term, one thing above all else is needed: regular maintenance. This includes uninstalling unnecessary programs, cleaning up the startup and doing system checks.
Dusting off the PC can also be helpful. If the system overheats because the ventilation slots clog, the output is throttled, explains Klöß.
If you still use a hard drive, you should swap it for an SSD. According to Geiger, this brings a significant increase in performance. The average user can then rely on the Windows on-board resources for his system maintenance, also because Windows 10 and 11 are already very well optimized.
“And there is no such thing as this one insider tip that turns the ten-year-old PC into a racing roll.”
.