Is your laptop unbearably slow and you don't know what to do with it? There is no need to yell, get nervous, throw the mouse or hit the keyboard with your hands. This won't help! I have more effective ways. If your laptop worked quite normally immediately after purchase, but today it started to glitch and slow down, then you will find a solution to your problem in this lesson.

How sometimes the laptop slows down, is very familiar to me. I myself have a laptop that I have to optimize from time to time for normal operation. Let's look at 8 steps that will make our laptops work well.

Laptop overheating

Today, a laptop is the type of equipment that most often heats up well, and if you don’t clean the device from dust for a long time, the laptop simply overheats and starts to slow down. The user begins to notice this in games, and a little later glitches appear at every step ( when watching a video, opening a browser, launching programs, etc.).

First of all, use the program AIDA64 to look at the temperature of the processor and video card. You can download it.

After installing AIDA64, on the left, open the Computer tab and then Sensors. The temperature will open on the right. pay attention to CPU(processor) and GP(video card).

If the temperature is very high, it means that it’s time to disassemble the laptop, clean it of dust and apply new thermal paste. If there is no experience in this topic, then of course I would entrust this work to a specialist.

Viruses in the system

If the speed of the laptop did not deteriorate gradually, but sharply, that is, it worked well yesterday, but today it is terribly slow, then the problem may be due to malware. If you caught it somewhere, then it may be because of it that the laptop may be slowing down.

I advise you to scan your system for malware. An installed antivirus is unlikely to be suitable here; it is better to download the free CureIT utility. It is free, does not require installation and always has the latest databases.

Run the downloaded file and click Full Scan.

At the end of the operation, neutralize the threats found and restart the laptop.

Of course not always laptop slows down due to viruses or overheating, since in order to bring components to overheating, you need to work hard, and malicious software gets into the system mainly from novice users. In your case the reasons " glitches and slowdowns" can be completely different, and let's talk about them further.

Startup programs

The more programs you run on your laptop, the slower it will run. Sometimes we ourselves don’t pay attention to how many different applications are running. The fact is that some of them are added to startup, that is, they are automatically launched when the laptop is turned on. These include Skype, ICQ, torrents, antiviruses, download managers and the like. Some of these programs are extremely rarely used, so why do they always work? Let's deal with them!

Press the WIN+R key combination on your keyboard and in the launched program Execute enter the msconfig command.

The launch will be carried out System Configurations, where you need to open the tab.

If you have Windows 7, then here you will see a list of all the programs that run with the laptop. And if you have Windows 8 or 10, then to open Startup you will also need to click the link " Open task manager". In this window, sometimes there are several dozen programs that, in addition to slowing down the startup of the system, also slow down the laptop during operation. So it turns out that the laptop is slowing down due to the load on the RAM and processor. Uncheck those programs , which are not needed to work immediately after Windows starts.

Please note that there may be names of programs unknown to you. Do not rush to remove this program from startup. First of all, use a search engine and read the description of this program. Then draw your conclusions!

After removing unnecessary programs from startup, all that remains is to apply the changes and restart the laptop.

Low system disk space

If the system disk on which Windows is installed is full, this may also be the reason for the laptop’s unstable operation. I recommend freeing up disk space using the following methods:

Littered registry

Getting rid of all the junk is an important step towards stable operation of your laptop. If you frequently install and uninstall programs, the number of unnecessary entries in the registry grows greatly, and this affects the work. If you don't want to wonder from time to time, why the laptop slows down and what to do, then remember to keep the registry clean.

You can clean the registry by clicking a few buttons in the free program CCleaner. Download, install and run.

Open the Registry tab and click Search for Problems.

The found records need to be corrected and the operation repeated a couple of times.

6. Low RAM

Right-click on the Computer section and select Properties.

In the window that opens, find the line Installed memory. It shows the amount of RAM on our computer.

If you have 2 gigabytes or even less, this can cause programs to run slowly, close unexpectedly, or even freeze. Ideally, you need to increase the amount of RAM to 4 gigabytes by purchasing one or two memory sticks. Of course, it is not always possible to do this, so at least make sure that y is set in the system ( A paging file is an addition of RAM at the expense of hard drive memory).

Checking and defragmenting the disk

The next step to saving your laptop is to check the hard drive for errors and defragment it. You can read more about this in my other lesson, but here I will just show you how to do it correctly and thereby speed up access to files on your hard drive.

Download Defraggler and install (free and easy).

After launching, we need to right-click on the disk and select Advanced - Finding errors on the disk.

Once the analysis is complete, you can begin defragmentation. Right-click on the disk again and select the next item Defragmentation.

This procedure is not a quick one. It can last a few minutes or several hours.

The laptop is very weak

If your laptop is slow, you can speed it up by following all the steps described above. I want to say right away that this is not the solution to all problems, especially if you have the cheapest and weakest laptop. Don’t run too many programs, make sure your laptop doesn’t overheat, don’t clutter it with junk, and remove viruses at the slightest danger. These will be the basic rules for more or less stable operation of a weak laptop.

Bonus chips!

If nothing helps you and laptop still slows down, then I'm extremely surprised. Usually these 8 methods solve most of the problems and the laptop starts working much better. But in case of emergency, I have additional tips.

Installing an SSD drive

My incredibly slow laptop After installing an SSD disk on it and installing Windows 10 on this disk, it began to work much faster.
I already wrote about this in my article: . There I described all the “miracles” of this type of drive. Unlike a classic hard drive (HDD), the latest SSD drives are much faster, which greatly affects the startup of the system, programs and work in them.

Reinstalling Windows

I understand that it is not always possible to fork out for a new thing. In this case, follow all the above points for optimizing your laptop. Let me remind you, there are eight of them! Well, if nothing helps, then you will have to, in order to “kill” all possible systemic problems at once.

Buying a new laptop

Of course, if you have a laptop purchased a couple of years ago, then it’s too early to look for a replacement.
And if your friend“It’s been 10 years now, I think it’s extremely outdated and all I have to do is either put up with constant slowdowns and glitches, or buy a new modern laptop.

I hope my great article helped you" rock"your laptop. I wish you good luck and see you in new articles and video tutorials.

IMPORTANT! P.S. Well, if your computer is lagging, then I advise you to read the lesson: There I told you a few more tricks on optimization.

Quite often, computers with Windows 7 begin to slow down. Such a problem may not consist of any internal components at all; it can be solved by resorting to the use of certain methods for restoring the full functionality of the system and increasing its performance. Let's consider a number of basic actions:

• You should clean and defragment your hard drive.
• Remove unnecessary utilities, as well as other system junk.
• Make some visualization settings.
• Optimize the startup list.
• It is necessary to defragment the registry and sort its components.
• Do memory diagnostics.
• Disable Windows services.

1. The computer works slowly, the laptop slows down, what should I do? Windows 7 noticeably loses in its performance.

Any computer contains many outdated system and user files that can affect the speed of a PC or laptop. Defragmentation may also be required to optimize fragments scattered across the disk, which are necessary when reading a file with one or another software package. To achieve maximum efficiency when defragmenting, it is recommended to first clean your computer of all kinds of system debris, among which the following files are common:

• Remains of previously deleted applications.
• Temporary files.
• A variety of outdated shortcuts.

To avoid any problems when manually cleaning your PC, you can use free utilities:

• CCleaner. It is a software package designed to clean the hard drive and optimize Windows performance.
• Defraggler. It is a fully functional tool for performing high-quality and correct defragmentation.

First of all, you need to open CCleaner and select a tool called cleanup. If the user wants to leave authorization on social networks and other sites intact, it is necessary to go to the cleaning parameters, uncheck the box next to Cookies and click “Analysis”. After the preliminary analysis, you need to press the “Cleaning” button and the application will remove the found garbage automatically.

It is worth noting that by opening the “Service” tab, you can go to the disk analysis item and select not only the system disk, but also all others. It is possible to include any type of file in the analysis, including multimedia.

After completing the above steps, you can launch Defraggler, and the launch should be done with administrator rights. In the complex window, you should select the hard drive required for defragmentation, then by right-clicking, select the “Disk Defragmentation” option in the context menu. To select multiple drives, just hold down the Ctrl button and select them. After automatically analyzing the marked disks, the utility will begin defragmentation. The program allows you to defragment individual files; to do this, you need to open the item with a list of files.

Some users prefer the standard defragmentation tool; to activate it, you need to do the following:

• Enter the Start menu.
• In the search bar parameters, enter the word “Defragmentation”.
• Launch the standard tool from the list of search results.

2. How to properly configure visual effects when Windows 7 is running slowly?

As you know, visual effects can seriously load the video card of a computer or laptop, thereby slowing down the Windows 7 interface. Any parameters related to the visualization and graphical interface of Windows 7 are located in the visual effects manager, you can get to it as follows:

• From the Start menu, select the search bar.
• Search for "Visual Effects".
• In the search results, select “Adjust system presentation and performance” and go to visual effects settings.

There is a more reliable way to open visual effects parameters:

• Go to Start, then Control Panel.
• Open the “System” item and launch the “Advanced Settings” section.
• In the settings window, find “Performance”.
• It is recommended to check the “Ensure maximum performance” option.
• Check the boxes for “Enable desktop composition,” “Use window and button display styles,” “Display thumbnails instead of icons,” and “Smooth out jagged screen fonts.”

3. Features of startup when restoring Windows 7 performance.

Circumstances may develop in such a way that, along with the startup of the Windows system, various software packages will automatically launch, most of which the user simply does not use. Startup settings affect the computer's RAM, so let's look at the basic steps required to remove certain programs from startup:

• Open CCleaner.
• Go to the "Tools" section and select the "Startup" option.
• The window located on the right side of the screen will contain a list of all utilities and applications that start simultaneously with the OS.
• You should select unnecessary programs and disable them, and then remove them from the startup list.

4. Method for defragmenting and cleaning the registry in Windows 7.

Being a large database responsible for storing all kinds of information about computer settings and parameters of software systems, a clogged system registry can lead to a significant decrease in operating speed. Let's look at how to optimize this registry:

• Launch CCleaner with administrator rights.
• Go to the “Registry” tab and press the “Search for Problems” button.
• After finishing the search, click “Fix”. If necessary, the utility offers to save backup copies.
• You should click on fix the noted problems and wait for this process to complete automatically.

Defragmentation of the registry should be done as follows:

• Launch the Defraggler software package.
• Activate the “Defragment system files at startup” feature by checking the box next to the “Always” option.
• After the system restarts, the message “Defragmentation of the Windows 7 registry” will be displayed on the screen.

The duration of the first defragmentation procedure may take some time. All subsequent times, the action will take no more than a few seconds. To disable registry defragmentation, you need to open Defraggler and disable this feature.

5. RAM diagnostics and disabling services in Windows 7.

Checking installed memory modules for the presence of certain failures and problems is performed using a built-in system utility called “Diagnostics of computer RAM problems”, it is launched as follows:

• Open the Start menu.
• In the search for files and programs field, enter “Memory diagnostics”.
• In the search results, select “Diagnostics of computer RAM problems.”
• In the utility window, click on the recommended check option after reboot.
• After the system restarts, the RAM diagnostic screen will appear. You should wait until the diagnostics are completed, which will be followed by Windows rebooting and displaying an interface with the results of the work done.

To speed up the operation of a PC or laptop, you can disable rarely used OS services; to do this, you should follow the steps below:

• Open Start and go to Control Panel.
• You can change the view mode to Small Icons for greater convenience and find an icon called Administration.
• Select the item with services.
• To disable an unnecessary service, select it and double-click the left mouse button on its name.
• After opening the special control panel for the marked service, go to the “Startup Type” menu and select “Manual”, and then click “Stop”.
• The changes are confirmed by pressing the “Ok” key.

Windows 7 is the most popular operating system, but like any program, it may not work properly. The reasons may be different, from a banal lack of system resources to virus infection. If your computer or laptop running Windows 7 is very slow, you need to eliminate possible sources of slow operation.

If you want to see the system resource usage monitor, press the key combination Ctrl+Alt+Del or Ctrl+Shift+Esc and go to the “Performance” tab.

Here you can see the % of processor and RAM load and determine what is missing to complete the assigned tasks. If your computer is running slowly or freezes, then sequentially eliminate all possible causes.

Lack of overall PC power

Windows 7 requires certain power to run:

• Dual-core processor with a clock frequency of 1 GHz or higher.
• RAM from 1 GB.
• Video card supporting DirectX9 or higher.

These are resources that are needed for the operation of the OS itself. Therefore, for normal operation on a computer or laptop, it is recommended to have a reserve of resources 2 times greater than what is required for the OS. Otherwise, everything will slow down greatly and work will be almost impossible.

What to do if there are not enough resources? You can buy additional RAM and a more powerful processor.

Temperature violation

The cooling system may not cope with the assigned tasks, which leads to an increase in the temperature of the devices to a critical level. As a result, the devices automatically limit their performance and the computer slows down to a minimum or freezes to give them a chance to cool down. The reasons may be different. Perhaps the computer has not been cleaned of dust for a long time or the thermal paste has not been replaced, so the radiators are clogged and do not allow air flow. Or maybe the cooler was chosen incorrectly or it is simply physically worn out. Clean the system unit or laptop or install a more powerful cooling system to correct the situation. Such procedures must be done with extreme caution so as not to damage the board elements.

It is necessary to clean the boards from dust 1-2 times a year, depending on the operating conditions.

Lack of free space

For Windows to work effectively, you need free space on the system disk. If the physical amount of RAM is not enough, the system uses the page file as temporary storage. To see the size of the required space for the paging file on the disk of a laptop or PC, you need to go to the control panel. Select “System” - additional system parameters. On the “Advanced” tab, open “Performance Options” and select “Advanced”.

If there is less free space on the system disk than the system requires, then you need to clean it of unnecessary files, transfer important information to another disk or external storage media.

IMPORTANT! The desktop and the My Documents folder also belong to the system drive.

Virus threats

There are many different types of computer viruses, each of which is focused on a specific action. The activity of some viruses requires a large amount of system resources, as a result of which the execution of user operations slows down many times. In addition, the execution of virus processes has high priority and they are executed first, which greatly slows down work on the PC. The solution may be to install an antivirus program on your laptop.

In some cases, viruses block any installation of programs, so you must first get rid of viruses using express scanners that do not require installation. The most effective representatives of such funds are Dr. Web Cureit and Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool, which help clean your PC, laptop or tablet from viruses in just 10-30 minutes.

If the execution of any operations is blocked, the PC freezes, then you can carry out anti-virus measures by booting from a USB flash drive or boot disk.

Registry and startup spam

During long-term operation of Windows, erroneous entries accumulate in the system registry, which slow down the operation of the OS. It is necessary to periodically diagnose the system registry and optimize it to maintain its integrity and improve the performance of the computer. You can carry out this procedure using CCleaner, which helps to effectively clean the system of computer debris.

Many programs that users install are loaded automatically with the system. Such programs use system resources, but are not used by the user in everyday life. Therefore, you can disable their autoloading and enable it only when required. This can be done using CCleaner or standard Windows tools. Press the Win + R combination and enter the msconfig command. Select the Startup tab and disable downloading unnecessary applications.

Damage to system files

Often the computer slows down due to damaged or missing Windows system files. The reasons can be varied - errors resulting from long-term (more than a year) use of the OS, the consequences of damage by viruses, accidental deletion of some files, or violation of the integrity of the system after removing some programs.

A simple solution to the problem may be to restore the operating system. This process does not affect installed programs and drivers, but only restores the standard configuration of system files. Your computer or laptop should start working faster.

If the file violation is critical and recovery is impossible, then you can consider reinstalling Windows 7. This is recommended if other methods of solving the problem did not help.

Hardware damage

If the PC periodically freezes completely, then the reason may lie in physical damage/breakage of components and functional elements of the board - processor, video card, RAM, chipset, bridge, capacitors, cooler. It is quite difficult to identify such a malfunction; it is necessary to carry out special tests and diagnostics. It is better to do such work in service centers.

Nothing is perfect, and this famous saying fully applies to software products. Even the most reliable and proven program can fail due to internal or external errors. This also applies to the Windows operating system, which is installed on the computers of the vast majority of users.

In this chapter, we will analyze the main errors and malfunctions characteristic of Windows 7, as well as possible causes of their occurrence.

Many novice users who have experienced an operating system crash ask their more computer-advanced friends: why is my computer frozen (won’t boot, the screen is blank, it’s running slowly, etc.)? At the same time, they do not even suspect that there can be a huge number of reasons for the failure: viruses, hardware problems, software incompatibility, excessive resource load, etc. Let's analyze some of them.

One of the common causes of software failures is incorrect shutdown. To turn off the computer and log out, you must use the standard mechanism, which is accessed using the appropriate Start menu commands. If you simply turn off the computer by pressing the corresponding button on the system unit, it is quite possible that the next time you turn it on, Windows will refuse to boot.

Separately, mention should be made of such a factor as the destructive activity of malicious software. First of all, we mean viruses, worms, Trojans and other similar applications. While the most harmless of them only slow down the computer, many malicious applications can completely paralyze the operating system, and in some cases even damage the hardware.

Often, users create problems for themselves by trying, in the absence of the proper experience and necessary knowledge, to change the system settings, edit its parameters and perform certain actions for its administration and maintenance.

By default, Windows 7 has pretty good foolproof protection. In particular, when you try to install applications, the system issues an additional request to confirm this action, the so-called, it blocks access to system files and folders, etc.

Before installing the Windows 7 operating system on your computer, make sure that the PC hardware resources are sufficient to operate this system, because it places high hardware demands on the computer.

The following conditions are required for successful operation:
• processor with a clock frequency of at least 1 GHz;
• at least 1 GB of RAM;
• at least 16 GB of free hard disk space.

This is the required minimum. However, to use some system functions, this list can be significantly expanded. For example, depending on your screen resolution, video playback may require additional memory and more advanced graphics hardware. To watch TV shows using Windows Media Center, you will need a TV tuner (however, this requirement does not apply to Internet television). To work with CDs you need an optical drive, to listen to sound files you need speakers or another similar device (this does not apply to laptops - they have built-in speakers), etc.

On the Internet, the question often arises: the laptop slows down, what to do with Windows 7 OS? Of course, this will inevitably lead to problems with the operation of the entire local network, especially if it is connected to other devices.

Therefore, in this article we will look at the main reasons why the Windows 7 operating system begins to slow down, and we will tell you how to speed up your computer with your own hands.

Why the laptop slows down: possible reasons

So, among the most “popular” reasons that the laptop “freezes” and “slows down”, we can note:

1. 1. Lack of free space on the laptop hard drive.
2. 2. A large number of programs in startup.
3. 3. Damage to system files in the operating system.
4. 4. Viral activity.
5. 5. Malfunction of RAM (Ram).
6. 6. Laptop processor overheating.

Thus, there are quite a lot of problematic situations that cause the system to slow down, and below we will consider the solution to each of the possible causes.

What to do if the laptop freezes and slows down: solving problems with the hard drive being full.

The first thing you need to pay attention to when your operating system is running slowly is whether your hard drive or HDD is full. Many users do not pay attention to a full hard drive "C"

In order to free up disk space, you should first use the Disk Cleanup function. To do this, you need to go to the “My Computer” tab, select the “C” drive and go to the disk properties by right-clicking on the corresponding “icon”.

Then you need to find the “Disk Cleanup” tab and click on it.

A window will open in which you need to select the items to be deleted:

The illustration above shows that you can free up to 1.7 gigabytes of disk space. You also need to remove all unused programs and transfer all the necessary files to drive “D”.

The desired free space of your hard drive is twice the size of your random access memory (RAM). Example: if the computer has 8 gigabytes of RAM (RAM), then the required free space is equal to 16 gigabytes.

The laptop slows down a lot: the stumbling block is autoboot

Now it’s time to see what’s going on at startup. The fact is that the more programs there are in startup, the slower the operating system starts. You should go to the “Start” menu and enter the command “msconfig” in the search bar, and then press “Enter”

In the window that opens, select the “Startup” tab, and then click on the “Disable all” button and “Ok”

The system will ask you to reboot - you need to agree and wait patiently for the Windows 7 operating system to start again.

Unauthorized entry is prohibited or we are correcting system errors

At the next stage of solving the problem “what to do if the laptop takes a long time to boot and slows down,” we’ll talk about one of the most serious software problems - restoring system files. First, you should scan your operating system.

To do this, go to the Start menu again and enter the command “CMD” in the search bar. A console icon will appear in the upper left corner - right-click on it and select the “Run as administrator” tab

A console window will open, where you will need to enter the command “sfc /scannow” and press “Enter”. The operating system will begin scanning and if everything is normal, the system will produce a result indicating that the system files are fully compliant.

If errors are found, the system will try to correct them and notify you about it

If this method does not help, then you will have to restore system files manually. You should find the original Windows 7 boot disk, then “boot” from it and select system recovery.

A search for all installed operating systems will begin, after which a window will open to select the operating system:

Your next action is to select the command line to enter the main command:

In the console that opens, you need to enter the command: c /scannow /offbootdir=с:\ /offwindir=с:\windows and wait for the recovery to complete:

What to do if the laptop gets very hot and freezes?

Attention viruses

There are a huge number of viruses that can not only slow down Windows 7/8/10, but also completely crash it. Be careful not to download unknown files onto your computer, especially those with “.exe” resolution.

Buy a good antivirus and periodically scan your computer for threats.

Laptop hardware problems

If, for no apparent external reason, your laptop begins to slow down significantly, then the first thing you should do is check its RAM (abbreviated RAM). Of course, you can use the built-in capabilities of the operating system itself, but it’s better use the memtest program.

You can download it on the Internet: we strongly recommend that when downloading the software, pay attention to the fact that you will need an ISO image.

If the laptop has 2 RAM modules, then you should check them one by one: to do this, you need to first pull out one stick and check the laptop with Windows OS, and then the second.

Next, set the laptop’s Biose to boot from a flash drive (often by pressing the “F9” key, you can select which device will boot from), after which the “Memtest” program will launch and automatically begin checking the laptop’s memory.

When the check is completed - if there are errors in the laptop's memory - the program will describe them in detail

If errors are detected, it is advisable to change the RAM stick to a new one, since the stability of the system is not guaranteed.

Sometimes RAM errors occur from oxidized contacts. Take an ordinary stationery eraser (rubber band) and wipe the contacts with it - one at a time for each strip.

Sunstroke or laptop overheating.

Very often, the reason that a laptop heats up and slows down is dust that settles on the cooler (fan) blades and the laptop’s motherboard itself. Basically, symptoms of overheating, due to which the laptop slows down (or the Windows OS completely turns off), appear in the summer, when it is very hot. The hum of the fan and the hot air that comes out of the laptop radiator almost immediately after turning on the laptop is the first signal that the computer needs to be cleaned.

It is better to entrust such a matter to a specialist, since by disassembling the laptop yourself, you can accidentally short-circuit or break something, which will cost you an expensive repair. You should also avoid vacuuming your laptop, as spinning the fan creates reverse electricity that can burn parts on the motherboard. You can, of course, use laptop cooling pads - but they are short-lived.