5 Simple Secrets to Speeding up your Laptop
So you have to retrieve a document or file from you laptop; easy…well maybe not so easy if
you are in a rush and your laptop is switched off.
Pressing the on button fires up the laptop but you know that you could have enough time to
make a cuppa, read a paper (cover to cover) and still have enough time to do that job that
you have been putting off for months, before the laptop is finally in a ready state for you to
work on!
Frustrating and bad for the stress levels, but does it really have to be so bad?
Here are 5 simple secrets to speeding up your Windows laptop…
Tip 1
The speed at which Windows boots depends primarily on the specification of your laptop and
without a hardware upgrade there is not much that can be done to speed the boot time; however
the time it takes to get to a state of readiness (i.e. the Desktop fully loaded) from the initial
Windows boot is within your control.
The ‘Desktop load’ time depends on the number and types of programs set to run on start-up.
When you install a new piece of software, more often than not it will set a little bit of the program
to start automatically when your PC does. Why does it do this? These ‘background programs’ are
designed to check for updates, give you the impression that the software runs faster or remind you
to use the software. You will see them appear in the system tray on the bottom right of your screen.
These bits of software slow the start-up speed of your machine and also contribute to sapping your
CPU and memory when working on your laptop, so can’t we just remove them? The answer is yes! If
you feel that you do not need them.
The easiest way is to go to the Windows Start menu’s Startup folder.
Easy to navigate to, from the Start button. You can just right click and
delete any programs that are in there that you feel you do not need.
This will not remove the software from your computer; it will just
prevent it from starting up automatically. If you want to run the full
program then just navigate to it through the start menu and double click
the program icon.
Ok so far so good; but software installs often put start up items directly into your computer’s
registry. So here is how to get at those: from your Start menu type msconfig in the search box and
press Enter.
The System Configuration window will open and if you click onto the Startup tab you will be
faced with a list of items with checkboxes ticked. From here all you need to do is uncheck
those boxes for items that you do not need.
PLEASE READ: DO NOT UNCHECK ANY ITEMS THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY DO . ONLY UNCHECK
ITEMS THAT YOU KNOW AND ARE FAMILIAR WITH AND THEREFORE KNOW YOU DO NOT WANT .
You are likely to have anti-virus software, Adobe, Windows, Java and Google in there as well
as a number of others. If you are unsure of any items and what they do then search for them
on Google. If you are still unsure then leave them ticked.
Once complete Windows will prompt you to restart your laptop, click restart and you will be
able to check to see if the start-up time has reduced.
If you have unchecked anything that you later discover you need on start-up then go back
into msconfig and tick the checkbox.
Tip 2
Installing and uninstalling software together with general deleting and saving of files will
result in fragments of the files being saved in various locations on the disk. Your hard-drive
has a single read head that needs to physically move across the disk to read data, therefore
to maximise the speed, it is essential that data is not fragmented.
Your laptop contains an inbuilt defragmentation tool which
should be used on a regular basis to ensure that your harddrive read head is not doing more work than is necessary.
Here’s how to do it: Go to Windows explorer and right click
the hard-drive that you wish to defragment. Click Properties
and you will see the tools tab, which when clicked shows a
Defragment now... button.
Click Defragment now… and you will see options to configure a schedule to defrag the disk
on a regular basis or you can Analyze disk and Defragment disk .
Another tool is to check the disk for errors. This should be done if you have noticed a sharp
decline in the performance of your laptop.
Tip 3
Power Options – Battery Life vs. Performance
When choosing a Laptop, most consumers will consider two of the following factors; firstly
the speed / performance and secondly the battery life. The problem is that in general,
battery life is inversely proportional to the performance. So, inbuilt into Windows laptops is
a setting that allows the user to prioritise, battery life over performance or vice versa.
Your laptop power settings will be set at default level, firstly how Windows behaves when it
is plugged into a mains power supply through the adapter and secondly how it behaves when
unplugged from the mains and running on battery. If your laptop is running slowly then
changing the power settings can increase performance, this is how:
Select Start followed by Control Panel, then select Power Options , from this section your
laptop power plan can be changed to best performance from a balanced or power saving
mode.
It is important to be aware that by increasing the performance when running on battery
power the battery life will decrease.
Many laptops also have an eco setting which will reduce power consumption at the expense
of performance. Although we are keen to promote the use of less power hungry devices and
settings, on old and poor performing devices we would advise trying to prioritise
performance.
Tip 4
Windows 7 is optimised for graphic rich content, making for a rich and immersive user
experience. The problem is that if you laptop if running slowly then the display of these slick
graphics are actually grabbing valuable resources when those resources are desperately
needed to carry out basic tasks such as running your programs.
If you don’t care too much for the fancy graphics and prefer a little speed over style then
there is an easy way to strip away this eye-candy and leave you with a machine that runs and
responds faster.
1. Click the Start button, and right click the Computer icon. Select Properties.
2. Click Advanced System Settings , in the left window pane. Depending on your system
settings you may be asked for your administrator password. Enter your administrator
password and click ok.
3. In the Performance area, click the Settings button and click the Adjust for Best
Performance button and click OK .
It may take a little getting used to the ‘old style’ windows appearance but it should help
speed up your Laptop. If you don’t like it then just set it back by following steps 1 to 3 but in
Step 3, select the button called Let Windows Choose What’s Best for My Computer .
Tip 5
Keep the laptop cool by allowing good airflow to the fans when using the laptop.
Despite the name a laptop will not
perform at its best on your lap!
Ideally it should be used on a desk or table and certainly do not put your laptop on a
cushion on your lap.
Your laptop will work most efficiently at a cool temperature and for that reason the
bottom of a laptop has small feet that allow it to be slightly raised when on a flat surface,
allowing a flow of air underneath the device. By putting it on your lap no air is able to flow
and the laptop processor will heat up; causing it to slow down.
If you do this regularly you may notice that the laptop fan begins to get noisy as it is trying
harder and harder to cool the processor down. The air intake to the fan (usually on the back
or side of the laptop) can also become obstructed, especially if on a cushion, therefore you
are not only reducing the airflow underneath the device but also restricting the airflow into
the device via the fan.
I hope this document has been helpful and educational in sharing some simple but effective
tips on getting the maximum performance from your laptop. There will get a point that no
matter how much tinkering with settings and tweaks to performance you do, the processor
speed and RAM installed will be the limiting factor and you may need to consider an upgrade
or replacement. Feel free to call us if you want some honest advice as to your best course of
action.
Richard Brash
Managing Director – Brash Solutions Limited
PS Check out our regular blog on the website for more useful ideas and latest technology
news; or give us a call in the office on: 01442 877555 if you want to talk about your own IT
needs.