Laptop support · Remote & on site
Laptop running slow?
Before anyone reinstalls Windows, find out what is actually slowing it down. Most slow business laptops are fixed in minutes once you know where to look.
Slow laptop troubleshooting
Check these six things, in this order.
Restart properly
Closing the lid is not a restart. Use Restart from the Start menu. It clears memory and finishes updates that are waiting in the background.
Open Task Manager
Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc and sort by CPU, Memory and Disk. One app at the top, often a browser, sync client or antivirus scan, is usually the cause.
Turn off startup apps
In Task Manager, open Startup apps and disable anything you do not need the moment you sign in. Fewer startup apps means a faster start.
Free up disk space
Keep around a fifth of the drive free. Empty Downloads, use Storage Sense, and move old files to OneDrive or a shared drive.
Install pending updates
Run Windows Update and the laptop maker’s update tool. Old drivers, especially for graphics and storage, often cause slowness and freezes.
Check the drive and memory
An old hard disk maxed out in Task Manager, or less than 8 GB of memory, is a hardware limit. An SSD or more memory fixes it better than a reinstall.
Questions
Slow laptop FAQ
- Why is my laptop suddenly so slow?
- Usually one app using all the processor, memory or disk: a sync client, a browser with many tabs, an update or an antivirus scan. Open Task Manager and sort by usage to find it.
- Will more memory fix a slow laptop?
- Only if memory is full in Task Manager. If the disk is maxed out on an old hard drive, an SSD makes the bigger difference.
- Should I reinstall Windows?
- Only as a last step. A reinstall takes hours, and if the cause is a sync client, full disk or old drive, the slowness comes back.
- Can you fix a slow laptop remotely?
- Often, yes. Startup apps, updates, sync problems and disk space can be fixed remotely in minutes. Hardware upgrades need a short on-site visit.
More quick fixes
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