Did you experience windows 11 very slow performance on your PC or laptop or does windows 11 take a long time to start or shut down after an update? If your answer is yes, then you don’t need to panic Here in this article we try to find out the reason why windows 11 laptop running slow and solutions to fix it and optimize windows 11 performance. The sources of windows 11 computers running very slow can be numerous, either it could be your hardware or in the software part. And most of the time, low system storage, outdated drivers, Corrupted system files or too many running programs or 100% disk usage slow down windows 11 performance.
If your copy of Windows 11 has crawled to a slow after an update, these tips should help you troubleshoot the problem and get it back to its original state.
How to speed up windows 11
Here are a few methods to enhance your Windows 11 experience, But the first thing we recommend reboot your device. This will refresh the windows 11 OS, clear any temporary glitches that may present there, and slow down the system.
And also perform a full system scan with the latest updated antivirus or anti-malware software to remove viruses or malware infections that may cause slow down your windows 11 laptop.
Update Windows 11
Microsoft regularly releases windows updates, that patch bugs that may cause different problems on your PC and improve system performance. And Keeping Windows 11 up-to-date can let you avoid some bugs and glitches existing in the older version that might cause your computer lag.
To check and install the latest windows updates on windows 11:-
- Press Windows key + I to open settings
- Go to windows update and hit the check for updates button,
- And if new updates are pending there allow them to download and install on your device,
- Once done reboot your system to apply them and check if the system performance improved.
Free up storage space
If your windows 11 PC or laptop is running low on storage space (Especially the C drive) that may slow down the system performance. And you need free up storage space such as remove large files to an external disk, Run disk clean up or remove temporary files to speed up windows 11.
First, move some unused or large files to an external disk or D drive,
Remove temporary files following the steps below.
Temporary files are created by programs for temporary purposes.
- Press the Windows key and select settings,
- Select System from the sidebar, then click on storage,
- And now Click on Temporary files, and you’ll be shown a list of temporary files in different folders on your PC.
- Go through the list, select the items that seem unnecessary, and click on Remove files.
Uninstall apps that you won’t use for a long time:-
- Right-click on Start menu and select Apps & features
- Scroll the list of installed programs, and when you want to remove a specific program, select the three dots icon and click on Uninstall.
Adjust Windows 11 for the best performance
The latest Windows 11 offers a brand new graphical interface that is clearer and more modern. But did you know Changing some visual effects and animations or Adjust Windows 11 for the best performance can Make Windows 11 Faster,
- Press Windows key + R, type systempropertiesperformance and click ok to open performance options,
- Here you will find many options for customizing the interface and more particularly options for visual effects.
- Click the ” Adjust for best performance ” option or use custom settings to enable some effects but not others.
Disable Startup Programs
You may not figure it out but some programs silently run in the background, these programs start automatically whenever you boot your PC and call startup programs. And you can disable these problems to speed up windows 11 start and shutdown time.
Disable some of the unnecessary startup Apps is a way to help with the lagging problem in Windows 11.
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc key simultaneously to open taskmanager,
- Move to the startup tab, this will display a list of startup programs with their startup impact,
- To disable or prevent these programs start with windows, right-click on it select disable.
- Do the same with all the programs you want to disable at startup.
Update Drivers
Device drivers play an important role or are responsible for the proper function of your windows 11 PC or laptop. And Over time, the manufacturers of these devices and components update their drivers to fix possible bugs and other security vulnerabilities. If you have older or outdated drivers (especially graphics drivers) installed you may experience performance issues with windows 11. And You need update or install latest driver update to Make Windows 11 Faster.
Updating drivers should always be your go-to option when your computer or system doesn’t work as smoothly as you expected.
Installing the latest windows update brings the driver update as well, also you can manually update the device driver from the device manager following below.
- Press Windows key + X and select device manager,
- This will display all installed device driver list on your computer,
- An outdated device has a yellow triangle on it. Therefore, right-click on it and select the Update driver option.
- Next, select the Search automatically for drivers option to search and download the device driver online.
Alternatively, you can download driver software from manufacturer website and install it on your PC.
Change the power plan
To speed up Windows 11, you can also change the default power plan. Generally, Windows 11 offers you three power modes: Balanced, Best power efficiency and Best performance. The first mode is a balance between performance and autonomy, while the second allows you to have all the possible resources and the third on offers the most performance.
To enable “High Performance” mode in Windows 11,
- Press Windows key + I to open the settings app,
- Go to the system then Power & Battery,
- In the “Power mode” setting, select the mode to use on Windows 11, including:
Best power efficiency – saves energy by reducing the device performance when possible.
Balanced – automatically balances performance with energy consumption on capable hardware.
Best performance – offers the most performance, but it uses more energy.
Select the best performance option to Make Windows 11 Faster.
Repair Windows 11 system files
Your Windows 11 PC might be running slow because it has corrupted or damaged files. This can affect the stability and performance of your computer. To verify that there is no problem, you can use the System File Checker tool and DISM restore health command.
- First open command prompt as administrator,
- Type command DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and hit enter key
- Once the scanning process is complete, type the command sfc /scannow and press enter key.
The above command analyzes your system in search of potential alterations of important files for Windows 11. And if the result is positive, the tool is able to restore the damaged, corrupted or missing data.
In addition, Microsoft’s new operating system comes with an array of not-always-useful apps. These pre-installed apps are called bloatware and uselessly occupy disk space that you could allocate to something else. The best way to remove bloatware from Windows 11 is to use free software like O&O AppBuster.
Upgrade hardware add more RAM and switch to SSD
Still the problem not solved, windows 11 running very slow after apply the above solutions. Its time to look at the hardware part, and you need to Upgrade hardware add more RAM and switch to SSD that makes your system as fast as a brand new PC.
If you’re currently running 4GB RAM on your PC, then you should consider upgrading to at least 8GB RAM to Make Windows 11 Faster.
Similarly, SSDs are much faster than traditional HDDs. An SSD will ensure fast bootup and overall smoother system performance.