LIGHT TOUCH
We’re going to assume you’ve already attempted all the usual speed-up techniques such as uninstalling programs you don’t need, disabling start-up items and switching off Windows’ flashy visual effects.
Instead, we’re going to point you in the direction of new, lesserknown or easy-to-overlook methods of improving your PC’s performance. Try these light-touch options before you move on to anything more drastic or expensive. They may well provide just enough of a boost to bring back the speed you crave.
TELL WINDOWS 10 TO CLEAR OUT JUNK AUTOMATICALLY
Disk Clean-up has been quietly loitering in the background for years. Using it to clear out temporary files and other rubbish can free up space and help your PC run smoothly, but unless you’re a Task Scheduler boffin, there has never been an easy way to automate the process – until now. April’s Windows 10 Creators Update quietly added a feature called Storage Sense, which can purge your PC of temporary files and junk automatically. The catch is that Microsoft leaves Storage Sense disabled by default, so click Start | Settings | System | Storage and look for the “Storage sense” heading. Click the switch to turn it on, then click “Change how we free up space” to customise the options. You can set it to delete temporary files your apps aren’t using and files that have been in the Recycle Bin for over 30 days.
DON'T DELETE THUMBNAILS
While purging your hard drive of junk files can have a positive effect on your PC’s performance, it’s worth noting that some temporary files are there to help speed things up – and getting rid of these can actually prove counterproductive. The thumbnail cache is a good example. If you leave this ticked when you run Disk Clean-up or CCleaner, for example, your PC will just have to work harder to rebuild the cache every time it’s wiped out, which can make your system feel slow. The same goes for web browsers – clearing out temporary files will make sites slower to load.
STOP WINDOWS 10 SAPPING RESOURCES
There’s an awful lot of unnecessary business going on behind the scenes in Windows 10. Live Tiles that constantly update, apps that run in the background, updates that download automatically and more besides. The recent Creators Update has even more going on, including new features such as Shared Experiences (designed to share messages, web links, app data and more between PCs, tablets and phones) and the Windows Welcome Experience (designed to pester you with helpful suggestions and advice, probably when you need it least), both of which are enabled by default. If you don’t use these cosmetic features, you can free up valuable system resources and/or bandwidth for things you actually want to do. See the walkthrough opposite for our rundown of Windows 10 settings you should switch off and where to find them.
SCAN FOR ERRORS
It’s easy to overlook the effect that deeprooted Windows and file system errors can have on your PC’s performance. If your computer has recently started to feel sloth-like, then it’s definitely worth ruling these out. Fire up PowerShell in admin mode (or Command Prompt, if you’re old school) and type “sfc /scannow” at the prompt. Note the space after “sfc”. Hit Enter to scan for and fix Windows system file problems that could be slowing down your computer. Once it has finished, type “Repair-Volume C -scan” at the PowerShell prompt and press Enter again to scan for disk errors.
RESTART YOUR PC REGULARLY
Like a toddler learning to walk, Windows doesn’t fall over anywhere near as much as it used to. If you only ever send your computer to sleep or hibernate instead of actually switching it off, your PC will eventually run out of memory and other system resources. Even Microsoft itself recommends properly rebooting your PC at least once a week in order “to clear out its memory and ensure that any errant processes and services that started running