Since the launch of Windows 10 three years ago, many users have quickly adopted the latest version of Windows 10 currently available on the market, a version that improves greatly compared to Windows 8.x, not only in performance, but also in benefits and functions. Further, performance on less powerful computers has also improved considerably.
Windows 10 requires similar specifications, even somewhat lower than what we could find in Windows 8.x. In fact, it works perfectly on computers running Windows 7 as well. If our equipment is not state-of-the-art but we want to get the most out of it, through a few little tricks, we can make Windows 10 faster.
Turn off animations and transparencies
The more aesthetically appealing an operating system is, the more opportunities it has to attract the attention of users. Windows 10 offers us a large number of visual effects in this sense, effects such as transparencies and animations, effects that they put the graphics card to work at all times.
If our team is short on resources, one of the best ways to prevent it from stumbling is removing all visual effects that it offers us, that is, deactivating both the animations of the menus and all the transparencies of the windows.
How to disable animations and transparencies in Windows 10
- First of all we go to the Settings Windows configuration, through the keyboard shortcut Windows key + i.
- Next, we go to Accessibility> Screen.
- In the right column, under the heading Simplify and customize Windows, we uncheck the M switchesShow animations on Windows y Show transparencies in Windows.
Review the programs that run at startup
Many are the applications that the mania of settle in at the start of our team. The only reason to do so is to offer a better user experience, since the loading times of the application are considerably reduced, which affects the startup time of our team.
If we want to reduce the startup time of our equipment, we must check which applications are in the beginning and disable all those that are not essential for the operation of the equipment.
How to remove apps from Windows 10 startup
- To check which applications are started together with Windows 10, we must access the task manager through the key combination Control + Shift + ESC.
- Next, we go to the tab Home.
- Then all the applications that start every time we turn on our equipment will be shown. To deactivate those that do not interest us, we must click on them with the right button and select Disable.
Deactivate Cortana
Cortana is the assistant Microsoft wants to help us with on a day-to-day basis, an assistant that unless we use a laptop with an integrated microphone, we are unlikely to use it. If this is our case, we can deactivate it so that all resources that the team dedicates to it, focus them on what is really important.
How to disable Cortana
- First of all we must click on the Cortana search box and then on gear located on the left side.
- Then the Cortana options will open. We headed up to Hello Cortana and we deactivate the switch Allow Cortana to respond when you say "Hello Cortana"
Delete unnecessary apps
Although it seems a lie, the more free space you have on your hard drive, the more your copy of Windows 10 it will go much faster, so it is always more than recommended, almost mandatory, to eliminate all the applications that we do not use on our computer. In this way, we will not only free up space, but we will also clean the Windows registry, so the performance of the computer will be much more efficient.
How to delete apps in Windows 10
- Again, we head to the Settings Windows 10 configuration via the keyboard shortcut Windows key + i.
- Next, click on Applications and we select Applications and features in the left column.
- Next, we look for the applications that we want to delete and click on it.
- Just below, the option will appear uninstall. By clicking on this option, Windows 10 will proceed to eliminate all traces of the application.
Increase virtual memory
When a computer does not have enough memory to run processes, Windows makes use of the storage space of our computer and uses it as memory to be able to carry out the necessary processes, hence other tips to make our computer faster and always have enough free space on our hard drive.
Windows 10 takes care of managing virtual memory automatically, being the most recommended option, but it also allows us to adjust it manually. To modify it, we proceed as follows:
- We go to Cortana's search box and type Advanced System Settings.
- Next, click on the tab Advanced options> Performance> Settings.
- Next, we go to Virtual memory and click on Change.
- Next we mark the Custom size box and set the Initial Size and Maximum Size, always in MB. Ideally, the initial size should be 1,5 times the amount of RAM in our computer and the maximum size should be 3 times the total amount of RAM in our computer.
Close the apps you don't use
As we open applications, system resources start to run low. While it is true that Windows 10 manages memory in a very efficient way, on computers with more accurate specifications, the management is not the same and the system can continually crash, showing the time clock every time we want to perform an action .
To prevent our PC from crashing and we are forced to restart the computer, we must erase all the applications that we know that we are not going to use at that time, so the memory of the computer will be completely allocated to the application we need.
Delete unnecessary files
The accumulation of files that our team can make can sometimes become obscene. Regularly, we must perform a cleaning temporary files, installation files and others that are stored on our hard drive and that in the end, end up damaging the performance of the system. We must also remember to regularly empty the recycle bin.
Windows 10 offers us excellent tools, Disk Cleanup, which in a few seconds is responsible for analyzing our hard drive looking for all those files that are expendable, and therefore can be completely eliminated from our computer to obtain more storage space, fewer files to index and therefore, a better performance in our team.
Install an SSD drive
Solid hard drives offer us a performance and speed far superior to traditional ones, the mechanics of all life. With an SSD, both the startup time of our equipment and the time needed to open any application is considerably reduced. If we have a computer that takes approximately more than a minute to turn on and load everything necessary, with an SSD, we can reduce that startup time to about 15-20 seconds, in the worst case.
The prices of this type of hard disk have dropped considerably in recent years, but we must bear in mind that if we are looking for storage capacity, this type of hard disk also offers it to us but at a much higher price to which a traditional mechanical hard drive offers us.
If we need storage space but want to improve the speed of our equipment with an SSD, we can combine both hard drives on a desktop computer, since it allows us to install different hard drives and storage units. If it is a laptop, you will have to use a mechanical external hard drive to store all the content you need to always have on hand and replace the internal one with an SSD.