Tips to improve PC performance in Windows 10

Does a slow PC have you down? If so, try some of the things below to help make your Windows 10 PC run better. The tips are listed in order, so start with the first one, see if that fixes the problem, and then continue to the next one if it doesn’t.

1. Make sure you have the latest updates for Windows and device drivers
One the best ways to get the most of your PC is to make sure you have the latest version of Windows 10 installed. When you check for updates, your PC will also search for the latest device drivers, which can also help improve your PC’s performance.

* To check for updates:

1. Select the Start button, then select Settings > Update & security > Windows Update > Check for updates.
2. Look under Update status, and do one of the following:
3. If the status says your device is up to date, go to the next tip below.
4. If the status says Updates are available, select Install now, and go to the next step in this procedure.
5. First, see how much you have total, and then check the graph and see how much RAM is being used.
6. Windows determines if the device can use Ready Boost. If it can’t, a message appears to let you know.
7. When you look at the contents of the USB flash drive in File Explorer, you’ll see a file named Ready Boost .sfcache on the flash drive. This file shows how much space is reserved for Ready Boost.
8. The Downloads folder is the default file location for most web browsers.
9. If you have questions about a specific app or program, see the program’s support page for more info.
10. Your PC will restart, and Windows Defender Offline will run and scan for viruses and malware. The scan might take 15 minutes or so, and your PC will restart again after that.
11. Scanning will take a few minutes.
12. This will back up all the files in your Users folders—including Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Favorites, Music, Pictures, and more.
13. For more info about resetting your PC, see Windows 10 recovery options.
14. It might take several minutes for Windows to restore your files.
15. Select the updates you want to install, and then select Install.
16. Restart your PC, do what you were doing before, and see if your PC is running better.
17. For more info about updates, including how you can have them installed automatically for you, see the Windows Update FAQ.
18. If your PC still runs slowly, continue to the next tip.

* Restart your PC and open only the apps you need

Having more open apps, programs, web browsers, and so on can slow down your PC. If this is happening to you, restart your PC, then close the apps, programs, and windows you’re not using.