Windows accounts for the highest market share in the desktop OS segment. Just recently, Windows 10 outpaced Windows 7 and became the most popular desktop OS in the world. However, despite its popularity, the old Windows issues remain there and users are always wary if the next update will botch up the performance. Currently, Windows 10 is quite fast and frankly, it’s way better than its earlier versions of Windows. However, on older PCs, the performance is lackluster. Also, if you use lots of apps on your Windows 10 computer, chances are your computer will become prone to lagging. So in this article, we are bringing some neat hacks which can speed up Windows 10 considerably. So, if you are interested in making your Windows 10 PC faster, here is how you can speed up Windows 10 in 2020.

Speed up Windows 10 in 2020

In this article, I will take you through some beginner tips for Windows 100 that you should be acquainted with as a Windows user if you want to keep your PC running at optimum performance. After that, I will share some advanced steps to further speed up your Windows 10 PC. Now without wasting any time, let’s start with some basic stuff first.

1. Disable Startup Programs

Startup programs are basically applications which start running the moment you turn on your PC. Even if you have not opened it manually, these programs run in the background and sit in your system tray. These apps eat computer resources in the background and slow down Windows significantly. The biggest problem with these startup program is that they make your Windows 10 PC slow to boot as there are two many apps gobbling up your PC resources. To stop these programs from automatically running when your computer starts, follow these steps.

1. Right-click on the Taskbar and open Task Manager.

2. Switch to the “Startup” tab and check for unnecessary apps with higher impact on the system. You can do so by clicking on “Startup Impact” label. Next, right-click on applications and click on “Disable”. Do this for every unnecessary app. This will speed up Windows 10 every time you turn on your PC.

Note: Over time, with the installation of new programs, fresh apps are added to this list. So keep checking the startup program tab periodically and disable unnecessary apps right away.

2. Disable Background Apps

Background apps are Windows apps which run in the background to receive notifications and updates. While messaging and email apps may require background sync, apps like Candy Crush and Calculator don’t need it at all. These apps constantly run in the background and make the computer slow, besides draining the battery. So to speed up Windows 10, first disable the background apps. Here is how to do it.

1. Open Windows Settings and click on “Privacy”.

2. Here, scroll down and open the “Background apps” tab on the left pane. On the top, disable “Let apps run in the background” altogether. If you wish to customize the settings per app, you can do so as well.

3. Disable Cortana

If you use Cortana regularly, then you may skip this section. However, if you don’t use Cortana and want to limit your search to just PC, then it’s better to disable it at once. This will save you a lot of computer resources as Cortana keeps hogging memory and important resources in the background. Follow these steps to disable Cortana and speed up Windows 10 significantly.

1. We have created two Registry files which can enable or disable Cortana in a click. So download both the files from here.

2. After that, double click on “Disable Cortana” and click on “Run”. That’s it. Now restart your computer and Cortana will be gone.

4. In case you want Cortana back then simply double click on “Enable Cortana” and allow it to run. Further, restart your PC and Cortana will be enabled.

Note: Microsoft keeps adding back Cortana after every Windows update. So you will have to run the same Registry files to disable it again.

4. Uninstall Multiple Antivirus Programs

It is a bad idea to install multiple Antivirus programs to secure your PC. Antivirus checks file integrity in the background which in turn eats disk usage. Having multiple antiviruses will further make your computer slow. In fact, installing an antivirus on Windows 10 is completely avoidable as it comes with Windows Defender pre-installed. And frankly, it’s pretty good and reliable. In case, your PC is attacked by some rogue virus and Windows Defender is unable to remove it then we recommend you to install Malwarebytes to clean up your PC. Malwarebytes will speed up Windows 10 and also remove the viruses.

Install Malwarebytes (Free, Premium version starts at $39.99/year)

5. Speed Up Windows 10 by Managing Windows Settings

There are a few Windows Settings that you should change to maximize the performance on your Windows PC. Of all the options, we start with the Power Options.

Change Power Plan

1. Open Settings and click on “System”.

2. Now click on “Power & Sleep” menu on the left pane. After that, click on “Additional Power Settings” on the right pane.

3. In the Control Panel window, choose “High Performance” as your power plan. That’s it. You should see a performance jump from now on.

Disable Delivery Optimization

To provide a faster update, Windows has something called Delivery Optimization. It uses computers on the local network to transfer chunks of update files to the nearby PC. If you keep it turned on then your PC may be used as a node to connect with other PC for sending update files. While it’s a good effort by Microsoft, it comes at a cost of performance deterioration. Also, it eats your bandwidth bringing down the overall performance of your PC. So to turn it off and effectively speed up Windows 10.

1. Open Settings and then click on “Update and Security”.

2. Here, click on “Advanced Options”.

3. Now, scroll down and click on “Delivery Optimization”.

4. Finally, turn off the toggle below “Allow download from other PCs”. You are done.

Change Privacy Settings

1. Open Settings and click on “Privacy”.

2. Now, go to the “Diagnostics and feedback” tab and change the Diagnostic Data to “Basic”. It will prevent Microsoft from sending a huge amount of data in the background.

Note: There are many options under the Privacy Settings. We recommend you to go through each menu and decide if you want to hand over your data to Microsoft. If not, disable it then and there. It will stop constant telemetry in the background and may offload some resources from your PC, hence improving the performance.

6. Disable Windows Update

Asking users to disable Windows Update is not sound advice as there can be security implications. However, Windows is really terrible at handling updates and makes the PC slow altogether. For example, if you are running an old PC with low-powered specs, you don’t want to install feature updates. Yet, Microsoft shoves down every Windows update user’s throat. Also, Windows keeps downloading and transferring huge files in the background which significantly slows down your PC.

So it’s better to disable the update and turn it on, only when you want to update your Windows 10 machine. It will offload your PC from unnecessary background processes and will notably speed up Windows 10. So to disable Windows update, follow these steps.

1. Press Windows and R key at once on your keyboard. A small window will appear on the bottom-left corner. Type services.msc and hit enter.

2. The Services window will open. Here, scroll down and look for “Windows Update”. Right-click on it and open “Properties”.

3. Here, click on the “Stop” button and then change the Startup Type to “Disabled”. Finally, click on the “Ok” button.

Note: While the above steps are good to stop the current cycle of Windows update, it gets reactivated after a while. To fully disable Windows update, you have to block it using the firewall. I have written an extensive guide to completely block Windows update. Give it a read.

7. Block Telemetry Service

Windows is increasingly tracking users with its various tools and techniques. It constantly sends and retrieves data to its server in the background. All these background telemetry services hog down crucial computer resources which further makes your PC slow down. So to block these telemetry services from running in the background, you can use a personalized host file. It blocks the server and the PC from establishing a communication. A user named Scorthyn on Reddit has created the host file and you can use it on your Windows 10 PC. Here are the steps to do it.

1. Download the host file from here.

2. Extract the ZIP file and right-click on the mvps batch file. Here, select “Run administrator”.

3. After that, click on “Yes” to allow the host file to run.

4. On the next screen, press any key to close the window. That’s it. Now, telemetry services will be blocked on your PC. This action will speed up Windows 10 considerably as there will be no background communications.

8. Disable Indexing on Older Windows 10 PCs

In simple terms, Indexing means keeping a list of all the files located in your PC. It helps Windows in finding the file quickly when you hit the search button. However, on older PCs, the indexing process eats up too many resources and makes the PC remarkably slow. Note that if you are using a Windows PC with powerful configs then disabling indexing will not make a considerable difference.

The reason I am recommending to disable indexing is that having good performance all the time outweighs searching quickly once in a day. So the bottom line is, if you are using an old PC with low configs then go ahead and disable indexing to speed up Windows 10 PC.

Note: The popular myth is that disabling indexing turns off Windows search. But that is simply not true. You can still search in your Windows PC, however, it will be a tad slower.

1. Open “My Computer” and right-click on the “C:” drive. Here, select “Properties”.

2. Now, uncheck “Allow files in this drive to have contents indexed” at the bottom. After that, click on the “Apply” button.

3. On the next screen, choose “Apply Changes to drive C:\, subfolders, and files” and click on “Ok”.

4. The C drive will start deindexing and will take some time to complete the task. The time will depend on how long you have been using your PC. It may vary from 5 to 30 minutes.

5. Now to completely disable indexing, open the Services window by pressing Windows and R key. Here, type services.msc and hit enter.

6. On the Services window, look for “Windows search” and right-click on it. Choose “Properties”.

7. Here, click on the “Stop” button and then change the startup type to “Disabled”. Don’t worry, this will not disable Windows search, but only stop further indexing of files. Finally, click on the “Ok” button and you are done.

9. Debloat Windows 10

Of late, Windows has become incredibly bloated with useless apps and services. These apps take up crucial RAM, processing power and disk space. It significantly slows down the system and you are left with a laggy mess. The sad part is that you can’t even uninstall these apps through the Control Panel. So to find a way around it, we are using Administrator privilege and Execution Policy to remove such apps and services. Here are the steps to do it which will finally speed up Windows 10 significantly.

Note: We are using an automated PowerShell script to debloat Windows 10. It’s developed by a developer named Sycnex on GitHub. Also, make sure you are using Windows on your Administrator account.

1. First up, download the Windows 10 Debloater ZIP file from the GitHub page. Click on “Clone or download” and then click on “Download ZIP”.

2. Extract the ZIP file and open it. You will find three major files, but right-click on “Windows10DebloaterGUI” and select “Run with Powershell”.

3. On the first run, it will ask if you want to grant Execution Policy permission to the script. Type “Y” and hit enter to allow the PowerShell script to run.

4. Now Windows 10 Debloater window will open. Here, click on “Remove all bloatware”. It will start removing such apps and services.

5. The process will take some time to complete so keep patience. Also, you will be prompted with many dialogues during the process to re-confirm your action. So keep a check on your PC during the process.

6. After the debloating process is complete, simply restart your PC. Now Windows 10 will become completely bloat-free without unnecessary apps. You will notice a remarkable boost in your computer’s performance and it will speed up Windows 10 fairly well.

10. Keep a Check on Background Processes

More often, some unknown processes keep running in the background causing the Windows 10 PC to slow down. So make a habit to check the background process through the Task Manager whenever you feel the PC is not performing well. You can click on each label to sort the processes in descending order.

If you find some rogue process eating up Disk or CPU to an unusual degree then end the process right away. Just right-click on the process and click on “End task”. And If some unnecessary app is causing the spike then consider uninstalling it altogether from the Control Panel. This way you will always be in control of your PC and it will eventually speed up your Windows 10 PC.

11. Use an Efficient Browser

Most of us use a web browser on our Windows 10 PC to browse the internet. In my case, I use Chrome all the time because I am deep into the Google’s ecosystem. However, it is quite popularly know that Chrome is a resource hogger. It really eats up most of my computer resources, making it slow and overall laggy for a few seconds. If you are facing a similar situation then you can use a better browser, well suited to Microsoft’s ecosystem.

Recently, Microsoft unveiled Chromium-based Microsoft Edge and it looks really awesome. The performance is on par with Chrome and unsurprisingly, it consumes less power and resources than Google Chrome. The best part is that you can install Chrome extensions on the new Edge so you are not missing out much. I have written a short guide on how to install the Chromium-based Edge on Windows 10 so check it out. I am pretty sure that you might like it.

12. Switch to an SSD

I believe Windows 10 is a great Operating Systemv — almost as good as the macOS — but it has been marred by sloppy hardware over the years. Most of us use Windows 10 on a mechanical hard drive(HDD) which is quite slow and further results in slow performance. However, swapping it with the modern-age solid state drive(SSD) speeds up Windows 10 to a far greater degree. SSD is much faster than HDD because of its flash memory chip. The difference between SSD and HDD is simply day and night.

If you have done everything that is mentioned in this article and still your Windows PC is slow, it’s simply because of the old hardware. As they say, you can’t replace the hardware with software. You should consider replacing HDD with an SSD. I am confident you will notice a sea-level change in daily operations and overall tasks. And in the future, always prefer an SSD laptop over HDD one.

Speed Up Windows 10 With These Neat Hacks

So that ends our exhaustive list of various ways to speed up Windows 10. We have started with some basics and gone through the advanced steps. If you want to completely speed up Windows 10 without any bloatware then go through all the 12 points mentioned in this article. I am pretty sure it will offload your PC from massive resources.

In case, you are not a pro user, you can skip debloating Windows 10 as it requires some degree of knowledge on Windows OS. However, if you can, you must debloat it as it will significantly free up your computer from unnecessary apps and services. All in all, if you liked the article and want to see a similar guide on other operation systems, then do let us know in the comment section below.