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When a laptop takes forever to start up, it quickly gets annoying. The more you use your laptop over the years, the slower it becomes. That’s because you add more wear and tear to the device’s essential internal components. Slow boot times are also caused by full hard drives and various pre-installed applications that strain your machine. If you’ve had your laptop for multiple years, you’ve also picked up some bugs that interfere with performance.
Slow boot times may indicate problems with your hardware or software. Out-of-date drivers and applications can also contribute to delayed performance when you first turn on your device. Regular maintenance on your laptop is a smart way to catch these problems in progress before they severely impact your computer. Many modern laptops can complete the boot sequence in under 30 seconds. If you’re using an older laptop, you’ll have to employ some tricks to help your machine keep up.
Here are five techniques to help you learn how to make a laptop start faster.
Update your drivers
If you’re experiencing slow boot times, updating your drivers is good to start troubleshooting. New drivers contain essential security updates and other performance enhancements that improve the speed of your laptop. Updating your drivers also eliminates software-level bugs, which is vital for protecting the contents of your computer.
Drivers that contain BIOS updates and firmware updates can help increase start up speeds. It’s important to always download your drivers from official sources such as the Microsoft website.
Remove programs from your dock or start menu
The fewer things your laptop has to load, the faster it can perform. Your device has many background applications to load on start up, which can cause it to perform slowly. When your laptop is finally ready to load your desktop and desktop icons, the process will go faster if there are fewer icons to load. Each icon on your desktop is another image your unit has to render and load on start up.
The same theory applies if you have a MacBook with multiple programs pinned to your dock. Try minimizing the number of programs in your start menu to help increase speed. The best laptops are equipped with advanced CPUs. They contain large memory caches, which improves loading speeds for everyday tasks.
Keep your desktop clear
Another way to make a laptop start faster is by keeping your desktop area free of files. Like the taskbar or start menu, your desktop is one of the first things that load when starting your laptop. If your desktop is full of files, they will also have to be loaded before your computer can complete the start up sequence.
If you store large video files or high-resolution media on your desktop, you’ll have to wait a few extra seconds before you can start using your laptop. Move all your large files to a folder on your SSD. Try to limit your desktop use to program shortcuts and your recycling bin. The fewer program shortcuts you have on your desktop, the faster your laptop will load.
Search your laptop for malware
Slow boot times and sluggish overall performance may indicate that your laptop has become infected with malware. Your device can easily get infected by clicking on a suspicious email link or downloading a program from an untrustworthy source. If you suspect your laptop is infected with malware, it’s important to disconnect from the internet to stop the flow of information to the hacker.
You can remove malware from your laptop using the Windows Defender Offline scan to search your computer for malicious files. It’s also worth entering Safe Mode on start up and manually deleting the program you suspect is causing problems. Advanced laptops like the ASUS ExpertBook B9 are equipped with the Trusted Platform Module 2.0 security chip. This technology enhances your protection against ransomware and firmware attacks.
Limit how many applications open on start up
Another easy way to increase start up speeds is by reducing how many programs are set to open as your laptop is booting. The more things your device has to load, the longer the boot sequence will take. OneDrive, Steam, Skype, and anti-virus programs are designed to boot with your laptop since they are likely among the first programs used.
In Windows, you can choose which programs open with your laptop by pressing CRTL + ALT + DELETE to open the Task Manager. With the Task Manager open, click more details in the bottom left corner, then select the Startup tab under the main menu. In the Startup tab, you can choose which programs you want to open with your computer.
If you don’t know what a program does, it’s best to leave it alone since it may interfere with key functions in your laptop. Programs that you use daily are safe to turn off, which will help your device start faster. Limiting the applications that open on start up will make the laptop start faster.
