Windows PC running slow? How to get the speed back

A Windows computer that has gone slow almost always comes down to three things: too many programs starting on their own, too little free space on the drive, or an older spinning hard drive. The steps below take about twenty minutes and bring the speed back on most machines.

You do not need to install anything. Everything used here is already part of Windows 11.

Try this first

1. Restart properly. Closing the lid is not the same thing. Click Start, then the power symbol, then Restart. The screen goes dark, the computer starts again and returns to the sign-in screen. On its own this fixes more than you would expect.
2. Stop programs from starting by themselves. Hold Ctrl and Shift and press Esc. That opens Task Manager, the window that shows what the computer is busy with. Click Startup apps in the list on the left. These are the programs that launch when you sign in. Click a name you recognise and do not need straight away, such as Spotify, Teams or Adobe, and choose Disable. The program stays installed and opens as usual, it just waits until you want it.
3. Leave security software and drivers alone. Anything with Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Realtek or Windows Security in the name belongs to the computer itself. Leave those switched on.
4. Check how much room is left. Open File Explorer, the yellow folder in the taskbar, and click This PC. Under the C drive there is a bar. If it is red, the drive is nearly full, and that by itself makes Windows sluggish.
5. Free up space. Go to Start, then Settings, System, Storage. Click Temporary files, tick what is suggested and choose Remove files. Turn on Storage Sense on the same page so Windows keeps on top of it for you from now on.
6. Restart once more and see how it feels. Open the programs you use every day. On many computers this is where it ends.

If that did not help

1. Find out what is using the computer. Open Task Manager again with Ctrl + Shift + Esc and click Processes. Click once on the CPU column heading so the busiest item moves to the top. If something sits near 100 per cent for several minutes in a row, write the name down.
2. Remove programs you do not use. Settings, Apps, Installed apps. Sort by Size. Uninstall things you recognise and know you no longer need. Old browser toolbars and anything promising to speed up the computer are worth removing first, since they usually do the opposite.
3. Update Windows. Settings, Windows Update, Check for updates. Install what comes down and restart. Updates often carry new drivers that make the machine steadier.
4. Scan the computer. Type Windows Security in the search box next to Start, open it, choose Virus and threat protection and click Quick scan. It is built into Windows and costs nothing.
5. Close browser tabs. Thirty open tabs use as much memory as a large program. Also remove any browser extensions you did not add yourself.
6. Check the memory. In Task Manager click Performance, then Memory. The figure at the top right is how much the computer has in total. With 8 GB or less, Windows 11 is cramped as soon as you have several things open.

If the computer has a spinning hard drive

In Task Manager under Performance your drive is listed by name. If it says HDD, it is a mechanical drive with a disc that spins. In that case it is almost the whole explanation, and no amount of clearing out will change it. Swapping in an SSD makes a ten-year-old computer faster than it was new, and costs far less than replacing the machine. It is roughly an hour of work for someone who has done it before, and your files come across with it.

Before any drive is swapped, make sure your photos and documents are on a USB stick, an external drive or in OneDrive.