With Iolo System Mechanic for computer clean-up and optimization, the guesswork on cleaning and optimizing PC is over. With just a click, you can achieve the PC performance you want.
“Why is my computer so slow?” If this sounds familiar, you’ve come to the right place. It’s normal for your computer to be running slower as it ages — but here, we’ll show you how to speed up your sluggish PC with our expert tips and advice. Or, speed up your PC automatically with Iolo System Mechanic for computer clean-up.
Typically, the PC slows down because it is not making the best use of its limited resources. There is only so much computing power, memory, and storage capacity available, and the trick to speeding up your device is to optimize all three.
This is where Iolo System Mechanic for computer clean-up and optimization comes in handy.
IOLO System Mechanic
If you’ve already tried shutting down and restarting your computer, and it hasn’t helped, you’ll need to take a more aggressive approach. Installing software such as Iolo System Mechanic for computer clean-up and optimization is one of the first steps you need to do.
Moreover, if you’re wondering why your PC gets slower over time, it’s likely because of one of the following reasons:
- It’s too hot. To compensate for excessive heat, your machine can self-regulate its performance. A cool computer is a fast computer.
- Your software is old. If you get behind on Windows and driver upgrades, you can experience performance issues.
- It’s doing too much. If your computer runs too many programs at once, it won’t optimize performance for the things that really matter. Excessive initialization and background programs are the most common culprits in this case.
- You’re running low on memory. The computer uses RAM (random access memory) to execute all of its active programs. Overcrowding your RAM will result in a sluggish PC.
- You’re running low on disk space. When your hard disk fills up, your computer has less room for temporary files. And if you don’t have enough free space, your PC won’t be able to resist hard drive fragmentation as easily.
- You’ve got malware. Malware, such as viruses and worms, uses the computer’s power and slows it down.
But whatever’s causing your machine to perform sluggishly, Iolo System Mechanic for computer clean-up is your PC performance booster that will whip your machine right back into shape so you can enjoy a smoother, speedier PC experience.
Cleaning Your PC System with Iolo System Mechanic
1. Upgrade Your Machine Ram and Have a Fast SSD
Any office PC or laptop has two main limiting factors: RAM and hard drive space.
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Upgrading RAM
Your first limitation is your PC’s available physical memory (the RAM), where your computer holds the programs you’re using. Think of RAM as your PC’s short-term memory.
These days, 4 GB of RAM should be the minimum to run a PC. That’s mostly because of two types of applications:
- Resource-intensive applications like video editing, gaming, Photoshop, or programming.
- Browsers. Fire up Google Chrome and load up 10 of your most popular sites: You’ll likely see RAM usage skyrocket to more than 2 or 3 GB. That leaves barely enough room for Windows itself, let alone any other program.
The Result: Without sufficient RAM, your PC needs to shuffle things in and out of its short-term memory, and performance suffers. This is where all the annoying load times and freezes come from.
Our Advice: Upgrade your memory if you’ve got anything less than 4 GB of RAM.
Unless you’re playing games or working with insanely large files, 8 GB should be fine. RAM comes cheap these days, with prices starting as low as $30 for a 4 GB module. If you’ve got a laptop, make sure it’s upgradeable (in many cases, it’s difficult or even impossible to upgrade laptop RAM).
Desktop owners are a little luckier here: Open up the case and locate your memory slots. Check your PC’s specifications to ensure your new RAM module fits (or ask a knowledgeable friend to help you).
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Upgrading to an SSD
Your second-biggest limiting factor is your PC’s long-term memory: the hard disk! This is where Windows, your programs, and all your personal files are stored.
Whenever you load or open something — say, Spotify or your favorite photos — the hard disk needs to look for those bits and bytes. Then it transfers them to your RAM (see, it all plays together!).
More than 80% of PCs still have a mechanical hard disk drive (HDD). It’s essentially a rotating platter accessed by a moving read/write head — like a turntable playing a vinyl record or a laser head reading a DVD.
In contrast to all other PC components that process data, this mechanical approach is painfully slow. Your RAM or CPU (central processing unit) might be idling while the disk is still busy spinning.
Our advice: If you can, invest in an SSD (solid-state drive). It’s a digital successor to your hard disk — no moving parts and instant access to all the bits.
An SSD should increase your read and write speeds by a factor of at least 10. Windows will load faster, your files will open instantly, and your programs will run significantly smoother.
While SSD prices are still slightly higher than mechanical hard disks, you won’t regret the investment. A 250 GB SSD can be had for as little as $100.
Even the more economically priced disks will breathe new life into an aging PC. Trust us on that — but, again, make sure your laptop or PC is upgradeable before you buy one.
Neat side effect: Going from a mechanical disk to an SSD also results in less power consumption and more battery life for laptops.
2. Play & Edit Faster: Get a Great GPU
Are you a gamer, designer, or video editor? In that case, RAM, hard disks, and even your computer’s processor (the CPU) aren’t your top concern. Your graphics card is responsible for how well your PC handles video editing and gaming.
So, if Grand Theft Auto 5, Ark: Survival Evolved or Dark Souls 3 isn’t running as fast or looking as gorgeous as they do in their trailers, your graphics card is to blame.
Laptops are out of luck because the GPU is soldered to the mainboard and cannot be upgraded. However, desktop PCs can add more GPUs.
If you’re looking to upgrade your GPU, market leaders NVIDIA and AMD have a wide range of options.
- Full HD gaming and rendering: Starting at $100–$150, the GeForce 1050/1060 series or Radeon 460/470 series offer great gaming experiences at Full HD resolutions (1920 x 1080).
- 1440p higher-end gaming and rendering: If you want to play at Full HD with the graphical settings in your games completely maxed out, or if you’re playing on a screen with WHQD resolution (2560 x 1440), you’d better get a Radeon 480 or a GeForce 1070/1080 (in the $300–$500 price range).
- 4K ultra-high-end gaming and rendering: These days, 4K is where it’s at. Only NVIDIA offers hardcore gamers who want to run games at a stunning 4096 x 2160 resolution. The only cards capable of hitting 4K gaming at a smooth framerate are the 1080 Ti (starting at $700) or the Titan X(p) if you’re willing to pay $1,300 to get the absolute best (even if it offers only an extra 5%–10% performance bump).
To be safe, deep-pocketed hardcore gamers should probably get two 1080 Ti or Titan X units to play every game at a buttery smooth 60 FPS.
3. Defragmentation
We’ve explained the differences between the slower HDD and lightning-fast SSD above. In addition to being painfully slow, mechanical disks will also suffer from a phenomenon called “fragmentation.”
The more programs and files you use, copy, and move, the more cluttered your disk becomes — and the harder the read/write head has to work to open or store your data.
The Solution: Defrag your disk by opening up your Start menu, typing in Defrag, and hitting the Enter key.
Click Optimize to start the process — and be patient. This might take a while.
4. Disable Startup Items in Windows Task Manager
Is your PC taking a bit too long to boot up? It might be loading up too many programs that you don’t need. Use Windows Task Manager to review the list of programs that run automatically at startup.
Go through the list, right-click on your Windows taskbar (the bar along the bottom of your screen with all your app icons), and select Task Manager. Go to Startup and look at the items listed.
5. Reduce Daily Slowdowns with a Proprietary Process
Like iTunes or Photoshop, many programs install software that runs even while you aren’t using them. These:
Services: Many applications, such as iTunes or Photoshop, install software that runs whenever your machine is turned on, even if you aren’t using them.
Scheduled Tasks: Background applications that come with Windows or other software you install. These tasks are typically used to carry out tasks at particular times or in specific circumstances.
Dropbox, for example, runs a scheduled task on your PC every day at 5:50 p.m. to search for updates.
Startup items: Startup products, as previously stated, are additional programs that run every time you turn on your computer. However, while utilities and scheduled activities run in the background, startup items are more noticeable, with most of them appearing on your taskbar.
There are many reasons why your PC gets slower over time, but these programs are among the most significant. They can put a lot of strain on your machine, which can lead to bad results.
- Less memory is available for active processes, making your PC sluggish.
- More heat and energy consumption are generated when people are under more stress. To avoid overheating, your computer runs slower, and your laptop’s battery drains faster.
- Instead of your latest programs and hobbies, such as a video game you’re playing or a job you’re currently doing, Windows prioritizes these background tasks.
What can you do now that we know what causes a normal PC slowdown?
Disable all starting apps, for example (which is quite safe). However, you’ll need to remove programs to restore your PC to fresh condition (even those you might like or need). You’d still have to manually turn off applications, planned activities, and other things if something went wrong. That’s not ideal.
Read More: 5 Reasons Why You Need to Backup Your Data
6. Overclock Your CPU or GPU
Your processor and graphics card work at specific “clock” frequencies, determining how many operations per second your hardware performs. A Core i7 6700HQ, for example, has a base frequency of 2.6 GHz and can raise to 3.5 GHz.
The GeForce Titan X(p) operates at a frequency of just over 1500 MHz. To get more computing speed, overclocking raises these frequencies.
Overclocking puts more strain and heat on your computer’s hardware, but it’s not as risky as it once was. In most cases, your CPU or GPU turns off when overstressed or overheated, and Windows freezes before any real damage occurs.
Due to these effects, overclocking is considered an advanced process requiring you to monitor CPU temperature carefully. To put it another way, unless you know what you’re doing, don’t overclock your hardware.
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Overclocking the CPU
Unless you’re doing many CPU-intensive tasks like multimedia editing or running many applications simultaneously, you won’t feel the difference of an overclock. However, if you want the absolute best results, use Intel’s own Extreme Tuning Utility.
You can easily change the CPU clock speed with this tool.
Still, we advise you to increase it only in increments of 50 MHz — and then test your system’s stability under various high-stress scenarios (editing, gaming, or rendering) — before increasing it further.
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Overclocking the GPU (only for gamers)
Gaming output is primarily determined by the graphics chip’s capacity, which is more important than memory or processor speed. Almost always, the bottleneck that triggers jittery or sluggish gameplay is your graphics chip.
You can overclock your GPU to run it faster than the factory set to boost performance.
7. Update your Drivers
Your computer has over 100 built-in modules. The Wi-Fi chip, processor, graphics card, power button, and a slew of other components all work together to make things happen. It’s a complicated device that works miraculously.
Device drivers control all those components. Drivers are small, complex pieces of software that regulate the behavior of various components. Drivers, like any other piece of software, can malfunction (especially early versions). They can also struggle to deliver the hardware’s maximum potential.
That’s why it’s important to keep your drivers up to date to keep your PC running smoothly. You can also use dedicated driver updater software such as Iolo GetMyDrivers to scan and update your drivers automatically. If you partner your Iolo System Mechanic for computer clean-up with its other powerhouse software, you can be sure to get a highly efficient PC.
Read More: How Windows 10 and Microsoft 365 Can Boost Distance Learning
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8. Update Your OS
Microsoft constantly makes adjustments to Windows OS. While many of these updates patch up security holes like 2019’s BlueKeep vulnerability, others are performance-based.
If you haven’t yet upgraded to Windows 10, do so as soon as possible. It won’t be cheap, but since Microsoft no longer provides security updates for Windows 7, upgrading to Windows 10 will provide you with much more support.
But regardless of which edition of Windows you’re running, be sure to use the most current version. You will find out what version of Windows you have by going to Settings > System > About in the Windows menu.
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9. Use a Registry Cleaner
Your Windows operating system’s registry is a critical component. It contains hundreds of thousands of entries in certain instances, thousands of which are likely to be invalid or void.
There are many so-called “registry cleaners” and tips about cleaning up a registry to help PCs run faster on the internet. Registry cleaners locate these troublesome entries and remove or repair them as required.
However, using a registry cleaner does not affect PC efficiency 99.999 % of the time. Sure, Windows accesses the registry regularly, but the registry database is only around 100 to 200 MB in size, and even a 10-year-old PC can process it in a fraction of a second.
The pace of a computer is unaffected by removing a few registry entries.
Nevertheless, cleaning the registry is a bit like hygiene, as some Microsoft employees have said in the past. In rare cases, some missing keys can result in startup error messages. There’s no need to run a registry cleaner unless you’re getting these errors.
Our advice: Leave the database alone. Windows does a good job of taking care of it. If you do have a mistake, use a competent registry cleaning tool to fix it.
10. Beware of Viruses, Trojans, Adware, and Other Types of Malware
Viruses, adware, malware, spyware, and Trojans aren’t just major security risks. Some of them can seriously affect your PC’s performance.
If your PC is still slow despite your best efforts, you should consider using a dedicated antivirus and anti-malware tool to remove malware. Download our award-winning antivirus protection right now.
Read More: A Quick Review of Acronis Backup Standard Office 365
11. Physically Clean Your Computer
For years, your PC or laptop fans have been blowing air in and out of the system, allowing whole families of dust bunnies to thrive inside. This causes your fans to slow down or even stop, trapping heat and resulting in poor performance and frequent crashes.
It is why, with a gas duster, I regularly open up my PC case and laptops to catapult dust bunnies out of the system (keep a vacuum handy). While you’re at it, polish your computer screen and keyboard as well. There are a variety of cleaners made specifically for this purpose.
When you’re done, make sure your machine is positioned so that cool air can enter the vents. Laptops and desktops should be used on smooth, flat surfaces — no carpets, and don’t use your laptop in bed unless necessary. Also, don’t put your desktop in a cabinet that doesn’t allow air to circulate freely.
12. Prevent Programs from Running in the Background
RAM is a finite resource, and even computers with many still can handle only so many tasks at once. If you have many programs that operate in the background — when you’re not actually using them — they’ll drain memory from more important tasks.
You can prevent programs from running in the background so that they’ll only consume memory when you’re actively using them. Here’s how to do that in Windows 10:
- Open your Settings and select Privacy.
- From the left-hand menu, choose Background Applications.
To stop all apps from running in the background, turn the toggle next to Let apps run in the background to Off. To stop specific apps from running in the background, turn their respective toggles to Off.
13. Try Windows Troubleshooters
In the type of troubleshooters, Windows provides built-in optimization methods. These utilities examine the setup and make suggestions about how to improve efficiency with a few quick changes.
- Navigate to Settings and then to Update & Security.
- Select Troubleshoot from the menu on the left. The troubleshooting utilities can determine the machine’s efficiency depending on the problems they are configured to solve.
14. Adjust Your Visual Effects
Windows has various visually appealing effects, so you can maximize results by shutting them off if you don’t mind going without them. To begin, navigate to the Performance Options section of your Control Panel.
- To find this setting, type adjusts appearance into your Cortana search bar or directly into the Start menu. Then, click the Enter key to bring up the Performance Options window.
- Select Adjust for better results to enable Windows to customize the visual effects automatically. You can also enable or disable individual effects.
15. Increase Virtual Memory (Advanced)
Virtual memory is a kind of middle ground between RAM and long-term storage on the hard disk. With virtual memory, your computer allocates part of your hard drive to handle less-active processes, freeing up your RAM for whatever you’re doing right now.
You should try this if you get an error message that says, “Your system is low on virtual memory,” or if you need to boost it for other purposes. However, we propose virtual memory expansion as a workaround only for experienced users familiar with computers.
Furthermore, your hard drive isn’t designed to swap between tasks quickly — that’s why you have RAM. If you rely too heavily on virtual memory, the output of your computer will suffer even more than before.
Here are the steps to increasing virtual memory in Windows 10:
- Open your Settings and select System.
- Select About from the menu on the left. Then, on the right, pick System data from the Related settings. If you don’t see the Related settings, horizontally enlarge your window before you do.
- This opens the System settings in your Control Panel. To open the System Properties window, pick Advanced system settings from the options on the left.
- To open the Performance Options window, click the Settings button in the Performance section.
- Select the Advanced tab. Then, click Change.
- Remove the checkmark next to manage paging file size for all drives automatically. Instead, select Custom size.
- Take note of the Recommended and Currently assigned memory numbers at the bottom of the window. Set the Recommended number as the new Initial size if the latter is less than the former. Set a maximum size that is larger than this value. You can also calculate your initial and maximum virtual memory using the formula below: Set the Initial Size to 1.5 times your current RAM and the Maximum size to triple it. 4 GB of RAM, for example, equals 4,096 MB. You’d set the Initial size to 6,144 MB and the Maximum size to 18,432 MB with that much RAM.
- When you’re done, click Set, and then confirm by clicking OK. Finally, restart your computer.
Final Takeaways
It’s a safe idea to repeat the most relevant tuning and cleaning steps monthly now that we’ve covered them. Iolo System Mechanic for computer clean-up handles many of the above processes automatically. It will automatically clean your junk files, upgrade your applications, uninstall unnecessary programs, and perform various other routine maintenance tasks after installing it — all without you having to do anything.
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