Windows 11 is the latest operating system from Microsoft and offers users many new features. However, updating can become a slow affair for some users. If you've recently upgraded to Windows 11 and experienced frustrating and slow PC performance, you've come to the right place.
You shouldn't regret upgrading to Windows 11 just because your PC seems to be running slower. Slow performance is often the result of unnecessary temporary files and unused programs, so there are plenty of things you can do to make Windows 11 run faster.
Free up some storage space
If your PC is running out of storage space, it could be a cause of slow PC performance. Here's how to free up storage space and speed up Windows 11:
- Launch the menu Home , search for Settings and click on the best match.
- Select System from the sidebar, then click the tab named Archiving.
- Click on Temporary files and you will be shown a list of temporary files in different folders on your PC.
- Scroll through the list and select the items that seem unnecessary. You can remove the Windows Update cleaning files and any unnecessary files in the Downloads folder.
- Once you have made your selection, click Remove files .
- Back to Archiving and also remove unnecessary files in the remaining categories. Be careful not to delete critical system files.
- Restart the system to allow the changes.
Fortunately, Windows 11 has a built-in tool for efficient storage management on your system called Storage Sense. You can automatically monitor and free up storage space on your system with Storage Sense.
Remove any unwanted programs
It is very common to have many unused programs installed on your system. Software that may have been installed without your knowledge as part of a bundled installation or programs that are no longer needed must be uninstalled. Removing these unnecessary programs can significantly affect the speed of your PC.
To remove unnecessary programs on your Windows 11 system:
- Launch the menu Home , search for Settings and click on the best match.
- Select App from the sidebar, then click the tab named App and features.
- Scroll through the list of installed programs, and when you want to remove a specific program, select the three dots icon and click Uninstall . You can also remove pre-installed apps like Movies & TV, Weather, Xbox, etc.
- After removing unnecessary programs, restart your PC.
Defragment your storage drives
Defragmentation essentially consists of reorganizing files within the hard drive (or SSD) so that the operating system can place related data closer together. This effectively improves memory access times and makes Windows 11 faster.
To defragment the drives on your Windows 11 PC:
- Launch the menu Home , search for Defragment and optimize drives and click the best match.
- From the list of drives, select the main drive and click the button Optimize .
- Wait for the process to complete, then repeat the previous steps with the remaining drives.
- After defragmenting the drives, restart your PC for the changes to take effect.
Use a Windows Debloater
Pre-installed programs are usually unnecessary junk programs that we barely use. These programs tend to slow down the system if it has limited system resources.
You cannot remove some pre-installed apps via the app Settings or Panel control, so you have to remove them by an unorthodox method. Windows10Debloater is a script developed by that aims to remove bloatware on Windows 10, but you can also use it on Windows 11.
Microsoft does not recommend using Windows 10Debloater to uninstall programs and services.
To use the debloater script:
- starts Windows PowerShell via the menu Home as an administrator.
- Type the following command; to press Submit to download the necessary package and automatically create a system restore point.
iwr -useb https://git.io/debloat|iex
- Remove unnecessary apps and services, then restart your PC.
Turn off visual effects
Windows 11 has many UI elements that make the interface more attractive and appealing. Changing some visual effects and animations on Windows 11 can make your system much faster.
Here's how to adjust visual and animation effects in Windows 11:
- Launch the menu Home , search for Visual effects and select the best match.
- disable transparency effects and effects di animation using the on / off buttons.
- starts Advanced system settings from the menu Home .
- In the dialog box, click on the tab Advanced , then select Settings in Performances .
- In the card Visual effects, select Adjust for better performance .
- If you want to enable some effects, you can click instead custom and individually choose the options you want.
- Once you have made your selection, click Apply and then Ok .
Disabling visual effects will impact your viewing experience, but they consume valuable system resources that you can use better on older systems.
Update your hardware
Hardware upgrades are a certain way to make your PC run faster. RAM and SSD upgrades can make your system as fast as a brand new PC, and these upgrades are relatively inexpensive.
If you are currently using 4GB of RAM on your PC, you should consider upgrading to at least 8GB of RAM. Likewise, SSDs are much faster than traditional HDDs. An SSD will ensure quick boot and smoother overall system performance.
Investing in a quality SSD and RAM can increase the life of your existing system by at least a few years.
