Written by: The Speed Demon (Your Laptop’s Personal Trainer)
Your laptop is slow. Takes forever to start up. Programs freeze. The spinning wheel of death appears constantly. You’re ready to throw it out the window and buy a new one.
Wait. Before you spend a thousand dollars on a new laptop, try this: most slow laptops just need a tune-up. We can usually make an old laptop run like new again in about 30 minutes.
We’ve worked with hundreds of people in Orange County whose laptops were so slow they were unusable. After cleaning them up, those same laptops ran perfectly fine for years.
Don’t want to read all this? We get it. This stuff sounds technical and you just want your laptop to work faster. That’s exactly what we do at Teach Me Tech OC. We come to your home anywhere in Orange County (or meet online through Google Meet), clean up your laptop, make it run faster, and show you how to keep it that way. Your laptop will feel brand new again. Just reach out.
Quick Overview: Making Your Laptop Run Faster
Quick Fixes:
- Restart your laptop (fixes 50% of slowness)
- Close programs you’re not using
- Delete old files and programs
- Empty trash/recycle bin
Deeper Fixes:
- Remove start-up programs
- Run disk clean-up
- Update your operating system
- Check for viruses
- Add more memory (if needed)
What Usually Causes Slowness:
- Too many programs running at once
- Not enough storage space
- Too many startup programs
- Need to restart more often
- Viruses or malware (rare but possible)
The Magic Fix: Just Restart Your Laptop
This sounds too simple, but restart your laptop right now. Seriously, close everything and restart.
When was the last time you actually shut down your laptop? Last week? Last month? Never?
Laptops that run for weeks without restarting get slow. Programs don’t close properly, memory gets cluttered, things pile up. A restart clears all that out.
Restart once a week minimum. Fixes so many problems before they even become problems.
We helped someone in Irvine whose laptop took 15 minutes to do anything. Asked when she last restarted it. “I just close the lid when I’m done.” That’s sleep mode, not restart. Restarted her laptop, suddenly everything was fast again.
How to Restart Properly
Windows:
- Click Start menu
- Click Power
- Click Restart (not Sleep, not Shut Down, Restart)
Mac:
- Click Apple menu
- Click Restart
Let it fully shut down and start back up. Takes a few minutes. Worth it.
Close Programs Running in the Background
Your laptop might have 20 programs running right now that you’re not even using. Each one slows things down.
Windows Users
Steps:
- Right-click taskbar at bottom
- Click “Task Manager”
- Look at list of programs running
- See anything you’re not using?
- Click it, then click “End Task”
Don’t end things you don’t recognize (might be important system stuff). Just end obvious programs you opened and forgot about. Browser windows, documents, apps.
Mac Users
Steps:
- Press Command + Option + Escape
- Opens “Force Quit Applications”
- See programs running?
- Select ones you’re not using
- Click “Force Quit”
We worked with someone in Mission Viejo whose laptop was crawling. Opened Task Manager. She had 8 browser windows open, 15 Word documents, and programs she hadn’t used in months. Closed everything unnecessary. Laptop instantly faster.
Delete Old Files and Programs to Make Your Laptop Run Faster
Full hard drives make laptops slow. If your storage is 90% full or more, that’s a problem.
Check Your Storage
Windows:
- Settings > System > Storage
- Shows how full your drive is
Mac:
- Apple menu > About This Mac > Storage
- Same thing
If you’re over 80% full, time to delete stuff.
What to Delete
Old downloads:
- Downloads folder fills up with random files you saved once and forgot
- Delete things you don’t need
Old photos and videos:
- Move them to external hard drive or cloud storage
- Don’t need thousands of photos clogging laptop
Programs you never use:
- Windows: Settings > Apps
- Mac: Open Applications folder
- See programs you haven’t opened in a year? Delete them
Empty the trash/recycle bin:
- When you delete files, they sit in trash taking up space
- Right-click Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash (Mac)
- Choose “Empty”
We helped a couple in Costa Mesa whose laptop was 95% full. Went through files together. Deleted old downloads, moved photos to external drive, removed programs they never used. Freed up 200GB of space. Laptop ran way faster.
Remove Startup Programs
When your laptop starts up, certain programs automatically open. Most of these you don’t need, and they slow down start-up and make everything run slower.
Windows Startup Programs
Steps:
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Escape (opens Task Manager)
- Click “Startup” tab at top
- See list of programs that start automatically
- See anything you don’t need opening every time?
- Right-click it, choose “Disable”
Don’t disable things from Microsoft or your computer manufacturer. Disable things like Spotify, Skype, random programs you installed that don’t need to run all the time.
Mac Startup Items
Steps:
- Apple menu > System Settings > General > Login Items
- See programs listed?
- Remove ones you don’t need automatically starting
Common culprits: iTunes Helper, Adobe updaters, printer software, old programs you barely use.
After removing start-up programs, restart your laptop. It’ll start up faster and run faster throughout the day.
Run Disk Cleanup on Windows
Windows has a built-in tool that cleans up junk files taking up space and slowing things down.
Steps:
- Click Start menu
- Type “Disk Clean-up”
- Open it
- Select your main drive (usually C:)
- Click OK
- Scans and shows what can be deleted
- Check boxes for Temporary files, Recycle Bin, Thumbnails
- Click “Clean up system files” for even more options
- Click OK
- Let it delete everything (might take a few minutes)
Do this every few months. Frees up space and makes your laptop run faster.
Mac doesn’t have this exact tool, but you can download free programs like “Clean My Mac” or “C Cleaner for Mac” that do similar clean-up.
Update Your Operating System
Old software makes laptops slow. Updates often include speed improvements and bug fixes.
Windows Updates
Steps:
- Settings > Windows Update
- Click “Check for updates”
- If updates available, install them
This can take a while (sometimes an hour or more), so do it when you’re not in a hurry. Let it update and restart as needed.
Mac Updates
Steps:
- Apple menu > System Settings > Software Update
- If update available, click “Update Now”
Same deal, can take time. Do it overnight if you want.
We know updates are annoying. But they really do help. A laptop running old software is slower than one that’s updated.
Someone in Laguna Hills complained about his slow laptop. Checked his Windows version. He was 3 years behind on updates. Updated everything (took about 2 hours total), laptop ran significantly faster.
Check for Viruses and Malware
Rare, but viruses and malware can slow down laptops.
Windows
Steps:
- Click Start
- Type “Windows Security”
- Open it
- Click “Virus & threat protection”
- Click “Quick scan”
- If it finds anything, follow instructions to remove
Mac
Steps:
- Download “Malwarebytes for Mac” (free version)
- Run a scan
- If finds anything suspicious, remove it
Most slowness isn’t viruses. Usually it’s just too many programs and not enough maintenance. But worth checking.
Adding More Memory (RAM) If You Need It
If you’ve tried everything else and your laptop is still slow, it might need more RAM (memory).
This is more technical and might require help. RAM is the memory your laptop uses to run programs. If you don’t have enough, everything is slow.
Check your RAM:
- Windows: Settings > System > About
- Mac: Apple menu > About This Mac
Most laptops these days need at least 8GB of RAM. If you have 4GB or less, that could be the problem.
If you have less than 8GB, adding more RAM can make a huge difference. But this requires opening your laptop and installing new memory chips, or for some laptops it’s not possible at all.
This is where we often help. We can check if your laptop can be upgraded, order the right RAM, install it, and suddenly your laptop is way faster.
We upgraded RAM for someone in Newport Beach who had a 6-year-old laptop with 4GB. Added 8GB more (total 12GB). Laptop went from barely usable to running great. Cost about $50 for the RAM.
What About Buying a New Laptop?
Sometimes laptops are just too old. If your laptop is 10+ years old, has hardware problems, or is broken physically, buying new might make sense.
But if your laptop is 3-7 years old and just slow? We can probably fix it without you buying a new one.
Try the steps in this article first. Restart, close programs, delete old files, remove startup programs, update software. That fixes most slowness for free.
If it’s still slow after all that, might be time to add RAM or consider replacing the hard drive with a solid state drive (SSD), which is much faster. We can help with that.
New laptops cost $500-$1500. RAM upgrade costs $50-$100. Hard drive upgrade costs $100-$200. Math makes sense to try upgrading first.
When to Get Professional Help
If you tried these steps and your laptop is still slow, or if this all sounds too complicated, that’s what we do at Teach Me Tech OC.
What we’ll do:
- Come to your home (or meet online via Google Meet)
- Clean up your laptop
- Remove junk files and programs
- Fix startup programs
- Update software
- Check for viruses
- Make it run faster (usually takes 30-60 minutes)
- If laptop needs RAM or hard drive upgrade, check if possible
- Order parts and install them if needed
- Show you how to maintain laptop so it stays fast
Cities we serve:
- Irvine, Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills, Dana Point
- Aliso Viejo, San Juan Capistrano, Rancho Santa Margarita
- Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa
- San Clemente, Tustin, Foothill Ranch
- And everywhere else in Orange County
Don’t buy a new laptop until you’ve tried fixing your current one. Most of the time, we can make your old laptop run like new again for way less money than buying a replacement.
Reach out to Teach Me Tech OC, and let’s make your laptop faster without spending a fortune on a new one.