To turn on system protection

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type restore point, then select Create a restore point from the list of results.
2. In the System Properties box, on the System Protection tab, select Configure.
3. In the Restore Settings area, select Turn on system protection > OK.
4. If your PC still runs slowly, try the next tip.

To restore your PC from a restore point:

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type restore point, then select Create a restore point from the list of results.
2. In the System Properties box, on the System Protection tab, select System Restore.
3. Select Next > choose the restore point related to the app, driver, or update that might be causing the problem > Next > Finish.
4. Restart your PC and do what you were doing before and see if that makes things better.
5. If you don’t see any restore points, it might be because system protection isn’t turned on.

Restore

Restore your PC from a system restore point

Restoring your PC is a way to undo recent changes to your PC that might be causing problems. If you think an app, driver, or an update for Windows you recently installed might be causing problems, you might be able to get things running normally again by restoring your PC to an earlier point in time. This is a called a restore point.

Notes

Restoring from a restore point won’t affect your personal files, but it will remove apps, drivers, and updates that were installed after the restore point was created.

System restore works for recent changes that were made to your PC more recently—changes in the last 7 to 14 days.

low disk space and make some room if necessary

Check for low disk space and make some room if necessary

Your PC might slow down if your hard disk is almost full and you don’t have a lot of free space. In this case, freeing up disk space can help make your PC run better.
To check for low disk space

1. Select the Start button > Settings > System > Storage .
2. Under Storage, select your hard disk, and then see what’s taking up space.
3. Do one of the following:
4. If your PC isn’t low on space, go to the next tip.

If you’re running low on disk space, go through each section and remove stuff you don’t need.

To remove temporary files and downloads, and empty the recycle bin Another way to free up disk space is to delete temporary files and downloads, and empty the recycle bin.

1. Select the Start button > Settings > System > Storage .
2. Under Storage, select This PC, which has a drive letter for your hard disk next to it.
3. Under Storage usage, select Temporary files.
4. On the Temporary files screen, select the Temporary files check box > Remove files.
5. On the taskbar, select File Explorer, then select the Downloads folder under This PC.

• See which files are in the Downloads folder, and move the downloads you want to keep to another drive.
• Go back to the Temporary files screen in Settings, select the Downloads folder check box > Remove files.
• Go to your desktop, and then open Recycle Bin.
• Move any files you want to keep, and then select Empty Recycle Bin.
• Restart your PC, and then see if it’s running better.

To move files to another drive

1. If you have photos, music, downloads, or other files that you want to keep but don't use very often, consider saving them to removable media, like a USB flash drive. You'll still be able to use them when the flash drive is connected, but they won't take up space on your PC.
2. Plug a USB flash drive into a USB port on your PC
3. Select File Explorer on the taskbar, and find the files you want to move.
4. Select the files, go to the Home tab, and then select Move to > Choose location.
5. Select your flash drive from the location list, and then select Move.

To uninstall apps you don't use anymore

1. Another way to free up space is to remove apps and programs that you don’t use.
2. Select the Start button > Settings > System > Apps & features .
3. Search for a specific app or sort them to see which ones are taking up the most space.
4. When you find an app you want to remove, select it from the list, then select Uninstall.
5. Restart your PC, and then do what you were doing before to see if your PC’s performance has improved.

improve performance

Change the paging file size to improve performance

1. The paging file is an area on your hard disk that Windows uses like memory. Increasing the paging file size can help improve your PC’s performance.
2. Right-click the Start button, then select System.
3. Select Advanced system settings on the left side.
4. In System Properties, select the Advanced tab > Settings in the Performance area.
5. In Performance Options, select the Advanced tab > Change in the Virtual memory area.
6. Clear the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives check box.
7. Select Custom size, then enter an initial size (in MB) and maximum size in the corresponding boxes.
8. Select Set > OK.
9. Restart your PC by selecting the Start button > Power > Restart.
10. Use your PC then see if it’s running better. If it’s not, try the next tip.

Use Ready Boost

Use ReadyBoost to help improve performance

Like previous versions of Windows, Windows 10 has ReadyBoost. ReadyBoost lets you use a removable drive, like a USB flash drive, to improve your PC’s performance without opening your PC and adding more memory (RAM). To use ReadyBoost, you’ll need a USB flash drive or a memory card that has at least 500 MB free and a high data transfer rate. For more info about ReadyBoost, see ReadyBoost in Windows 10.

To use Ready Boost

1. Insert the USB flash drive into a USB port on your PC.
2. On the task bar, select File Explorer.
3. Press and hold (or right-click) the USB flash drive (or SD card if you used one instead), then select Properties.
4. Select the Ready Boost tab, then select Use this device.
5. After Windows determines how much free space to use to optimize memory, select OK to reserve this space, so Ready Boost can use it.

Note

If Windows is installed on a solid state drive (SSD), ReadyBoost can’t be used because the SSD drive is already fast and you won’t get better performance by using ReadyBoost.

memory usage

Check your memory and memory usage

When it comes to memory, one of the first things to do is find out how much memory (RAM) you have and how much of it is currently being used. You can find out these things and much more in Task Manager.


To check memory and memory usage

1. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete, and then select Task Manager.
2. In Task Manager, select More details > the Performance tab > Memory.
3. Total amount of memory (RAM)
4. Memory in use

If you find that a lot of your RAM is regularly in use, you might want to consider adding more RAM if you can—especially if your PC only has 1 or 2 gigabytes (GB) of RAM. To learn more about what kind of RAM your PC model uses, first look at the memory information in Task Manager, and then Visit the PC manufacturer’s website for more specific info.

1. Type of memory (RAM) PC uses
2. RAM speed
3. Memory slots used

Here’s some info about the minimum memory requirements for Windows 10:

1. Windows 10 (32-bit) can run on a PC with 1 GB of RAM, but it runs better with 2 GB. For better performance, add memory so you have 3 GB or more.
2. Windows 10 (64-bit) can run on a PC with 2 GB of RAM, but it runs better with 4 GB. For better performance, add memory so you have 6 GB or more.
3. For more info about the system requirements for Windows 10, see the Windows 10 Specifications page.