Boost your Windows 11 PC’s speed with these 5 easy-to-follow tricks

Windows 11 running slow? Here are a few easy fixes.

More and more users are finally shifting to Windows 11, ditching Windows 10 for their primary PCs. However, some of you might have older PCs or might not be following the best practices to keep your personal computer running fast and smoothly. In this case, there are several tips, which Microsoft officially lists as well, that can help speed up your PC's performance.

5 tips which you can follow to speed up your PC (HT)

By Shaurya Sharma

Shaurya Sharma is the Technology Editor at Hindustan Times Digital Streams, where he oversees technology coverage across digital and social platforms. With over eight years of experience across editorial, video production, and digital media, his work focuses on smartphones, AI, consumer gadgets, and shaping audience-first content strategies for modern tech consumers.

He began his career in 2018 as a fashion cinematographer before turning his lifelong passion for technology into a profession. From spending his childhood immersed in tech magazines, video games, and the latest gadgets to covering the global consumer tech industry today, technology has remained a constant throughout his journey.

Over the years, Shaurya has worked with some of India’s leading media organisations, including CNN-News18, Sportskeeda, and Guiding Tech, where he led video initiatives that combined strong editorial storytelling with engaging visual and social-first execution.

A graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication from Manipal University, Shaurya has reviewed hundreds of products across categories including smartphones, laptops, gaming consoles, cameras, and wearables. Beyond work, he is passionate about animal welfare, environmental causes, and automobiles, particularly turbo-petrol cars

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Here are the 5 tips which you can follow to speed up your PC. Read on.

Free Up Disk Space, Remove Temporary Files

Microsoft says that your PC's performance may improve if you have some disk space. In order to check for low disk space, go to the Start button, then head to Settings > System, and then Storage. Drives will be accessible in the storage area; then check the free space accessible in each drive.

Microsoft also says you can use the inbuilt Storage Sense feature to delete unnecessary or temporary files from your PC, which can free up space.

Disable programmes on startup

You must have noticed that whenever you restart or start your PC, there are several programmes or applications that might pop up in the background. In this case, you can disable these, because this takes up a lot of resources.

To stop a programme or application from starting automatically, firstly, tap the Start button, then go to Settings, then Apps, and then Startup. In the Startup app section, you will need to find the specific application or programme that you want to stop from opening when your PC starts, and then you need to set it to off.

Check for malware, viruses, and other security threats

It goes without saying, but some viruses, malware, and spyware can drastically slow down your PC because of the resources they consume in the background. This could involve sending data back to a hacker and more. In this case, you should take this quite seriously. So, you should scan your PC for viruses and other malicious programmes by using the inbuilt Windows Security, which was formerly called Windows Defender Security Centre.

Here, open Windows Security, select Virus & threat protection. Then go to Protection updates, and under Virus & threat protection updates, check for updates to ensure you have the latest definitions. You can also run a quick scan to check for viruses and malware.

Turn off any unnecessary visual effects and animations

If you have an ageing PC, this affects you more than ever because some visual effects, including animations and shadows, consume a lot of RAM and system resources, and this can slow down your PC, despite looking great.

So, to change the visual effect settings in Windows, go to Search, then type 'performance'. Here, you will need to select ‘Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.’ In the Visual Effects tab, you can select 'Adjust for best performance' and then click Apply. Now, restart your PC.

Get those Windows updates

This has to be the most important tip of all, and something that many tend to ignore. It involves having the latest updates for your Windows PC. Microsoft keeps releasing updates to fix bugs and other problematic issues. And it goes without saying that you should update your device's software whenever a new version is available.

To check for updates, firstly, head to Start, then go to Settings, then Windows Update, and then Check for updates. Your computer will check for updates, and if there are any available, you should install them right away. See if your PC performs better.

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