Computer Running Slow? 5 Quick Fixes to Try First

Updated 2w ago 11 views 6 min read
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A slow computer is frustrating, but it rarely means something is broken. Try these five quick fixes in order. Most people are back up to speed after the first two, and the whole list takes about 10 minutes.

The 5 quick fixes

  1. Restart your computer (not Shut down) about 3 minutes
  2. Close apps and browser tabs you're not using 1 minute
  3. Check your free disk space 2 minutes
  4. Stop extra apps from starting with Windows 2 minutes
  5. Give background work a few minutes to finish

Still slow after all five? Submit a support ticket and we'll take it from there.

The red numbers in each picture show what to click, in order.

1. Restart Your Computer

This fixes more slow computers than anything else, especially if it's been a few days.

  1. Save your work.
  2. Click Start (1), then Power (2), then Restart (3). The Windows 11 Start menu. The Start button on the taskbar is marked 1, the Power button at the bottom right of the Start menu is marked 2, and Restart in the menu that opens (below Sleep and Shut down) is marked 3.
  3. Sign back in and give it two or three minutes to settle before you judge the result.
Choose Restart, not Shut down. Shutting down at night doesn't fully reset Windows the way a restart does. Why?

2. Close What You're Not Using

Every open app and browser tab uses some of your computer's memory. Close the ones you don't need right now, especially video calls, big spreadsheets, and web pages that keep refreshing (like dashboards or live feeds).

Keep tabs open as a to-do list? Bookmark them instead, so your browser isn't carrying them all at once.

Want to see what's using the most?

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. On the Processes page, click the CPU heading (1) to put the busiest apps at the top. Click Memory to sort by memory instead.
  3. If an app you're not using is near the top (2), close it the normal way. Windows Task Manager on the Processes page. The CPU column heading is marked 1. Microsoft Edge with 38 tabs and windows is at the top of the list, using 31.4 percent of the CPU and 2,140 MB of memory, and is marked 2. Teams, Excel, Outlook and Windows Explorer are below it.
Only close things you recognize. Don't use End task on anything you don't know. If Task Manager won't open on your computer, that's a setting we manage; just skip this part.

3. Check Your Free Disk Space

A nearly full drive slows everything down. Open File Explorer (the yellow folder on your taskbar) and click This PC. If the bar under Local Disk (C:) is red, your drive is almost full.

File Explorer showing This PC. Under Devices and drives, Local Disk (C:) has a nearly full red bar and the text 14.1 GB free of 237 GB.

Red bar? Follow Computer Says Your Disk Is Full? Free Up Space Safely.

4. Stop Extra Apps From Starting With Windows

Some apps open themselves every time you sign in and keep running in the background. Turning off the ones you don't need right away makes signing in faster and frees up memory.

  1. Right-click Start and click Settings, then click Apps > Startup.
  2. Switch Off the apps you don't need the moment you sign in (1, 2), such as music players, chat apps you rarely use, or updaters. Windows Settings, Apps, Startup page. Microsoft OneDrive and Microsoft Teams are On. Spotify (marked 1) and Zoom Workplace (marked 2) have been switched Off. Each app shows its startup impact, such as High impact or Medium impact.

Turning an app off here doesn't uninstall it. It still opens normally when you click it; it just stops starting on its own.

Leave these on: OneDrive, Teams (if you use it every day), anything you don't recognize, and our support and security tools (see Managed IT Software). If a switch is grayed out, it's managed by us; leave it as it is.

5. Give Background Work a Few Minutes

Sometimes your computer isn't slow, it's just busy for a little while. That's normal:

  • Right after signing in or restarting, while apps finish starting.
  • Around the 25th of the month, when monthly updates install. See Computer Updates and Restarts.
  • When OneDrive is catching up after lots of new files. See OneDrive Not Syncing? (it also shows how to pause syncing for a couple of hours).

Leave it plugged in and give it 15 to 30 minutes. If it's still slow after that, move on to the next section.

Still Slow? Submit a Ticket

Submit a support request (choose Computer/Device Issues) or email [email protected]. These details help us fix it faster:

  • When it started: today, since an update, or for months?
  • One app or everything? If it's one app, tell us which.
  • Does a restart help, and for how long?
  • Which of the 5 fixes you tried.
  • Your computer's name or service tag, if you know it. See Locating your Computer Service Tag.

Please Don't

  • Don't install "PC cleaner," "registry cleaner" or "speed booster" apps. Microsoft doesn't support registry cleaners, and they can damage Windows badly enough to need a reinstall.
  • Don't delete files from the Windows or Program Files folders to make room.
  • Don't turn off or uninstall our support and security tools. They don't slow you down, and without them we can't help you.

More Questions

Click a question to expand it.

Why Restart and not Shut down?

Windows has a feature called Fast Startup that's on by default. When you shut down, Windows saves part of the running system to disk so it can start faster next time, which means some of yesterday's clutter comes back with it. A Restart skips Fast Startup and gives Windows a completely fresh start. It also finishes any updates that are waiting.

Only one app is slow.

Close it completely and open it again. If it's still slow, submit a support request and name the app. One slow app is usually a different problem from a slow computer.

Only websites and online apps are slow.

That may be your internet connection rather than your computer. Check whether other devices on the same network are slow too. If you're working from home, see Working From Home; if nothing loads at all, see No Internet Access.

The fan is loud and the computer feels hot.

Computers slow themselves down when they get too hot. Use a laptop on a hard, flat surface (not a bed, couch or your lap) and keep the vents clear. If it stays hot and loud, submit a support request: cleaning dust out of a computer is a job for us. If it's also restarting on its own, see Why did my computer restart?

It's slow all day, every day, no matter what I do.

Software gets heavier every year, and a computer that was fine a few years ago can simply be too small for today's work. That's not something you did. Submit a support request and we'll check whether it needs more memory or replacing; for new equipment, see Submitting a Hardware or Software Request.

How much free space is enough?

Aim to keep at least 10% to 15% of the drive free. Windows updates also need several gigabytes of room to install, so a drive that's nearly full can stop updates too.

Source: Microsoft - Tips to improve PC performance in Windows

Still slow after the 5 fixes? Submit a support request and we'll take a look.
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