Optimizing Your Computer's Performance
Computer running slow. What actually helps
When a computer becomes slow, unresponsive, or sluggish, it is often difficult to know whether something is wrong or whether this is simply the reality of modern software on older or limited hardware.
Many people try quick fixes, cleanup tools, or settings changes found online. Some of these appear to help briefly, while others make no noticeable difference at all.
This guide explains what genuinely helps, what rarely helps, and when further effort stops making sense. It is written to help you make sensible decisions, not to encourage risky or unnecessary changes.
Before trying to speed things up, pause and identify the type of slowdown
Some slowdowns are sudden, such as after an update or a software change. Others are gradual, building up over months or years as applications become more demanding.
It also matters whether the slowdown affects everything you do, or only specific tasks such as web browsing, email, or video calls.
Visualizing performance load
Our illustration highlights how accumulated tasks and processes can weigh down your computer’s performance. This illustration helps explain why performance issues are usually caused by accumulated demand rather than a single fault.
What actually helps in real situations
The following areas are where meaningful improvements are most often found, provided the computer is otherwise healthy.
Memory (RAM)
Insufficient memory is one of the most common causes of slow performance.
When there is not enough RAM available, the computer constantly swaps data between memory and storage, which feels like freezing, stuttering, or long pauses.
Adding more memory can help if the system is regularly running out of it, particularly when multiple applications or browser tabs are open.
Storage type (SSD vs hard drive)
Computers using traditional hard drives are significantly slower at everyday tasks than those using solid state drives.
Replacing a hard drive with an SSD often produces the single largest perceived performance improvement, especially for startup times and application loading.
Too many applications running at the same time
Modern software assumes more resources than older systems were designed for.
Having many applications open at once, particularly browsers, email, chat tools, and background utilities, can overwhelm limited systems.
Reducing the number of simultaneously running applications helps only if resource limits are being reached.
Web browsers and browser tabs
Web browsers are often the heaviest applications on a computer.
Large numbers of open tabs, especially those running web apps, video, or collaboration tools, can consume significant memory and processing power.
Keeping the number of active tabs within reason can noticeably improve responsiveness on constrained systems.
Software that starts automatically
Some software runs automatically when a computer starts, even if it is rarely used.
Reducing unnecessary startup software can improve startup time and free resources, provided those applications are genuinely not needed.
Disabling essential security or system components does not help and can introduce risk.
What rarely helps long term
Many commonly suggested fixes provide little lasting benefit.
Cleanup utilities, registry tweaks, and repeated reinstalls may create the impression of improvement, but rarely change the underlying performance limits.
Disabling security features or background services can introduce instability or security issues without delivering meaningful gains.
If a system is slow because it has reached its realistic limits, these approaches often waste time and effort.
When improvement is realistic and when it is not
Performance improvements are realistic when:
a clear bottleneck exists, such as insufficient memory or slow storage,
the workload is reasonable for the hardware,
and the system is otherwise healthy.
Improvement is not realistic when:
the processor is consistently overloaded by modern software,
the system is thermally constrained, particularly in thin laptops,
or expectations exceed what the hardware can deliver.
When basic checks are not enough
When basic maintenance fails
In some cases, understanding the underlying limitation requires proper assessment rather than further tweaks.
When to get help
If slow performance is affecting work, reliability, or daily use, it is often worth having the situation assessed properly.
Assessment helps determine whether:
optimisation is worthwhile,
a hardware upgrade makes sense,
or replacement is the more sensible option.
This avoids spending time or money on changes that do not address the real limitation.
Related guides and services
Our IT support guides cover common performance, reliability, and connectivity issues across computers and devices.
If slow performance affects business systems or multiple users, our IT support services provide assessment based on real-world workloads rather than generic fixes.
Discuss your situation
If you would like help understanding why your computer is running slowly and what options realistically make sense, you can discuss your situation with us.
Assessment before action helps avoid unnecessary disruption and wasted effort.