How to speed up your computer when you turn it on

Your PC is very slow to start up and this forces you to consume a lot of electricity. In certain situations, then, you really have the urge to start your computer instantly because you perhaps need to print or check something on the Web or in your e-mail, but unfortunately its start-up is so slow that it gives up every time.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to worry: in some cases, the slow start-up of a PC is attributable to the software side, i.e. data or processes that slow down its correct start-up. In other cases, however, the boot can be determined by the components of the computer itself that are not adequate or have become obsolete.

In the following lines, therefore, I will explain to you how to speed up your computer when it is switched on, whether it is equipped with a Windows operating system or a Mac. So what are you waiting for? All you need to do is follow the instructions in this tutorial of mine to achieve your goal. Are you ready to start? I wish you a good reading|

Index

How to speed up windows computer when it starts
- Disable programs and services that start automatically
- Change security software
- Defragment hard disk partitions
- Clean the Prefetch folder
- Tools to optimize PC startup
- Update the hardware components of the PC
How to speed up Mac when it starts up

Table of Contents

How to speed up windows computer when it starts

If your Windows PC is slow and you want to know how to speed it up, all you have to do is carefully follow the advice you will find in the next chapters, dedicated to Windows 11 , Windows 10 and partially also to the older editions of the system operating Microsoft.

Disable programs and services that start automatically

Windows startup can be affected first by software and services that run automatically. It doesn’t essentially depend on the number of programs run (which can still be an influencing factor), but on how demanding they are in terms of computer resources.

If the slowdown is due to software you have installed on your PC but no longer use, you can simply proceed with uninstalling it . If this procedure is a bit drastic for you, you can instead think of blocking its automatic execution when the operating system starts.

On Windows 10/11 , press the key combination Ctrl+Shift+Esc (or Ctrl+Shift+Esc ) to open the Task Manager panel . Alternatively, right-click on the Start icon on the taskbar and, in the box that appears, select the Task Manager item .

Now, select the Startup tab to access the section on software enabled for Windows startup. Once this is done, locate the process on which the word Enabled is active in the Status column and, if you deem it appropriate to disable it, right-click on it and choose the Disable item in the box you see.

On the other hand, as regards the services, you must know that you must be careful which one you deactivate as some of these may be essential for the correct functioning of the operating system. That said, in Task Manager , select the Services tab , right click on any item in the list and choose the Open Services option .

At this point, in the screen that appears, locate the service you want to disable at system startup, right- click on it and select the Properties item . Now, in the new screen, first select the General tab and then set the Startup type option to Manual (i.e. the service is enabled when the process to which it is connected is needed – recommended choice) or Disabled to prevent it from starting.

Change security software

Another thing that can make a Windows PC start up slower is the security software you have installed. In fact, you must know that not all antivirus software is the same and, based on the characteristics of your computer, it may be advisable to install one that uses less system and hardware resources.

In this regard, if you suspect that your antivirus software may be causing your PC to slow down, you can try replacing it with a lighter one: you can find all the details in this tutorial of mine dedicated to the topic. Alternatively, you can always think of keeping Microsoft’s default real-time protection in its operating systems ( Windows Defender ), which I told you about how to activate it in this guide of mine .

Defragment hard disk partitions

When you turn on your PC, it performs some internal system functions for preparing the desktop and, in general, for preparing all the resources that guarantee the correct functioning of the entire operating system. Furthermore, as I also told you in the previous paragraph, some software starts when Windows is turned on and, overall, they use resources for their operation.

However, a slow boot problem arises if the data on your hard drive partition is fragmented. In this case, both the operating system and the programs that start automatically have difficulty accessing their specific data in a short time as these are precisely fragmented.

Defragmentation is therefore a process that can make the difference in starting up a PC, as it allows you to eliminate fragmentation and optimize startup times. You can therefore decide to start the defragmentation procedure on your computer’s hard disk to reduce startup times, even if only slightly.

A separate matter, however, if your Windows PC is equipped with an SSD : in this case no defragmentation is required, because these memory units have their own integrated system to allow the operating system quick access to data.

That said, if you want to know how to defragment the hard drives installed on your Windows PC, type defragment and optimize units using the Windows Search function (attached to the taskbar) . In the results that will appear on the screen, click on the corresponding result.

In the window that will appear, click on the partition you want to analyze to see if there is any fragmented data and then click on the Analyze button . When the analysis is complete, click the Optimize button .

You can also arrange to schedule periodic optimization of your hard disk partitions, so as to be sure of never running into data fragmentation problems. To do this, in the Scheduled optimization section , click the Activate button (after selecting the HDD partition) and put a check in the Run on a schedule box .

Then select whether to perform the procedure Every day , Every week or Every month (personally I do not recommend a daily procedure, as this could slow down your PC). When you’re done, click the Ok button to confirm.

Then there are also programs that you can use to defragment your data: I told you about it in my guide entitled how to defragment your PC .

Clean the Prefetch folder

The temporary files that are generated on your PC every time by themselves do not significantly slow down the startup of your operating system. On the other hand, the temporary data generated in the Prefetch folder are a separate matter , a folder that contains all the information for the correct and optimized execution of both the software and the operating system itself.

But be careful: the Prefetch folder and its function are essential for Windows to start up faster. Continuously emptying this folder, therefore, will only create an opposite effect to the intended one. Therefore it is useful to clean this folder only when important changes occur in the system, such as a Windows update or a software uninstallation.

To clean up the Prefetch folder, open File Explorer and enable showing hidden files and folders . Once this is done, go to the folder C:\Windows\Prefetch(possibly change the name of the main partition if Windows is not installed in C:\ ) and press the Continue button.

Now, press the Ctrl+A key combination to select all the data inside the folder. Finally, press the Del key on the keyboard to move all files to the Windows Recycle Bin . Empty the trash to free up space on your storage unit.

Tools to optimize PC startup

Another solution that you can put into practice to keep your PC optimized is to use PC Manager . It is a free tool from Microsoft which, installed on a PC with Windows 10/11, allows you to keep the operating system “healthy”.

Specifically, PC Manager, in addition to deleting temporary operating system and software data, also allows you to terminate processes and disable those that are running automatically. In addition you can quickly start searching for system updates and scanning for threats.

If you are interested in this tool, download it from the official Microsoft website by pressing the Download button . At the end of the download of the .exe file , double-click on it and press the Yes button on the screen that appears. Check the box for accepting the terms of service and then click the Install button .

Windows security tools are available in the Security tab below. Pressing instead on the Cleanup tab , simply press the Boost key to free up part of the RAM and also delete temporary files. In the Startup apps section you can disable the automatically running processes (which I also told you about in this chapter ).

For a quick cleaning of temporary Windows data and software installed on your PC, including the Prefetch folder, first press the Health check tab , tick the items to remove and then press the Proceed button .

Update the hardware components of the PC

If the PC is particularly dated, the tricks I just told you about may not be effective. In this case, you must opt for the replacement of the computer or for an update of the hardware components present in your PC; surely these last operations could solve your problems.

To speed up the computer when it is switched on, you could consider replacing the processor and consequently also the motherboard and also the RAM . However, it must be considered that more powerful hardware components will also require a power supply with more watts: sometimes, in the case of old computers, one replacement leads to another and the simplest (and cheapest) solution could be to completely replace the entire PC :

Alternatively, if you’re on a budget, opt for simply swapping out the hard drive for an SSD – this could significantly reduce boot times.

How to speed up Mac when it starts up

Do you own a Mac ? In this case, know that you can put into practice some tricks to be able to speed up the startup of a Mac. In addition to some native macOS tools, you can also use CleanMyMac X : it is a very reliable utility that allows you to speed up macOS optimizing various settings, freeing up space by deleting unnecessary files and protecting yourself from macOS malware (yes, they exist!). It’s free up to 500MB of data freed from the disk: to remove this limitation you need to upgrade to the full paid version, which is also included in Setapp: a service created by the same company and which allows access to a wide range of paid Mac applications in exchange for a small monthly or annual fee. For more information on CleanMyMac X and Setapp , check out the tutorials I’ve dedicated to the latter.

AUTHOR

Salvatore Aranzulla

Salvatore Aranzulla is the most read blogger and IT popularizer in Italy. He is known for discovering vulnerabilities in Google and Microsoft sites. He collaborates with computer magazines and takes care of the technological section of the newspaper Il Messaggero. He is the founder of Aranzulla.it , one of the thirty most visited sites in Italy, in which he simply answers thousands of computer-related questions. He has published for Mondadori and Mondadori Informatica.