Is Your Computer Running Slowly? 10 Things to Try Before You Replace It

Before you throw your laptop out of the window, try these…

The temptation is to assume the computer is past it and needs replacing.

But a slow PC doesn’t necessarily mean a dead PC.

Sometimes a few minutes of housekeeping can make a surprisingly big difference. And when you multiply small delays across an entire business, it’s worth doing something about them.

Here are 10 things to try before reaching for the company credit card.

1. Turn it off and on again. Yes, really.

It’s the oldest IT cliché in the book, but there’s a reason we keep saying it.

And we mean Restart, not closing the laptop lid and opening it again tomorrow morning.

A proper restart closes running processes, clears temporary resources and allows Windows to complete updates that may have been waiting in the background.

If your laptop has been sleeping rather than restarting for weeks, start here.

2. Stop everything launching when Windows starts

Over time, applications have a habit of inviting themselves to the party.

Teams, Spotify, Adobe utilities, printer software and countless other applications can all decide they need to launch the moment Windows starts.

Individually they may not make much difference. Collectively, they can make starting your PC feel painfully slow.

Open Task Manager → Startup apps and take a look.

You may be surprised by how much is happening before you’ve even opened your first email.

One word of caution: if you don’t recognise something, don’t disable it just because you don’t know what it is. Check first.

3. Ask Task Manager what’s going on

If your computer suddenly starts crawling, Task Manager is a good place to look.

It shows how much of your computer’s processor (CPU), memory and disk is being used, and which applications are responsible.

If something is permanently consuming 90–100% of a resource, there may be a reason your PC is struggling.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you should start randomly closing processes, but it gives you, or your IT support company – somewhere to start looking.

4. Check how much storage you have left

Remember when you bought your computer and the hard drive seemed enormous?

A few years later it can be a different story.

Downloads, photographs, videos, old installation files and years of accumulated data can gradually fill the drive.

And computers generally don’t appreciate running with almost no free storage.

Check Settings → System → Storage and see what’s actually consuming the space.

You might discover several gigabytes of files you’d completely forgotten about.

5. Keep Windows updated – and check which version you're actually running

That “Restart tonight” notification you’ve been ignoring for the past three weeks isn’t just Microsoft trying to annoy you.

Windows receives regular updates containing important security fixes, as well as reliability, compatibility and performance improvements.

New security vulnerabilities are discovered all the time. Microsoft’s monthly security updates contain protections against newly identified threats, so allowing business computers to fall months behind on updates isn’t just a performance issue – it can become a security issue too.

There’s another important point that often gets overlooked:

Being on Windows 11 doesn’t automatically mean your PC is fully up to date.

Windows 11 itself has different versions, sometimes referred to as feature updates or builds.

For most existing Windows 11 Pro business PCs, you should now be looking to run Windows 11 version 25H2.

That’s particularly important because Windows 11 Pro version 24H2 reaches the end of servicing in October 2026. Once a version reaches the end of support, it no longer receives the normal monthly security and quality updates that protect against newly discovered threats.

So don’t just ask:

“Are we running Windows 11?”

Also ask:

“Which version of Windows 11 are we running?”

You can check by typing winver into the Windows search box and pressing Enter.

If you manage 40 or 50 computers, however, checking them individually isn’t particularly practical. This is where proper device management becomes important, your IT provider should be able to see which devices are up to date and which are falling behind.

6. Don't forget the BIOS and firmware

Windows isn’t the only software running your computer.

Underneath Windows sits firmware, including the BIOS/UEFI – which helps control how the operating system communicates with the computer’s hardware.

Manufacturers such as Dell, HP and Lenovo periodically release BIOS and firmware updates to address issues including:

• hardware compatibility;
• stability;
• power and battery management;
• performance;
• security vulnerabilities;
• and problems discovered after the computer was originally manufactured.

A laptop can therefore be completely up to date with Windows while still running firmware that’s several years old.

This is particularly worth checking if you’re experiencing strange behaviour such as unexpected crashes, docking-station problems, battery issues, sleep/wake problems or inconsistent performance.

There is one important caveat:

Don’t casually update the BIOS because you’ve found a download on the internet.

A failed or inappropriate firmware update can cause much more serious problems than a slow PC.

For business computers, BIOS and firmware updates should ideally be managed through the manufacturer’s approved tools or centrally by whoever looks after your IT.

7. Have a word with your browser

Browsers have become one of the biggest consumers of computer resources.

If you currently have 37 Chrome or Edge tabs open, including six you can’t actually remember opening, your browser could be consuming a significant amount of memory.

Extensions can add to the problem.

Close tabs you don’t need and remove browser extensions you no longer use.

Bookmarking a webpage is considerably cheaper than keeping it open until Christmas.

8. Check OneDrive

For many businesses, OneDrive is constantly working away in the background, synchronising files between your computer and Microsoft 365.

Normally you shouldn’t even notice it.

But if OneDrive is trying to synchronise thousands of files, dealing with a particularly large file or repeatedly encountering a sync problem, it can sometimes affect performance.

Look at the OneDrive (blue cloud) icon near your Windows clock.

If it has been permanently saying “Processing changes” or reporting sync errors, it’s worth investigating.

9. Get rid of software you don’t use

Computers accumulate clutter.

A utility somebody installed three years ago. An old VPN client. Software for a printer you no longer own. A trial application that was used once and forgotten.

It all adds up.

Have a look at Settings → Apps → Installed apps.

If you know what something is and genuinely no longer need it, consider uninstalling it.

Again, don’t remove applications you don’t recognise without checking first, some may be important to Windows or your business.

10. Finally… how old is the PC?

Sometimes we have to accept that a computer has simply had a good innings.

A five- or six-year-old PC may have an older processor, limited memory and storage that made perfect sense when it was purchased but struggles with today’s applications and workloads.

There comes a point where spending hours trying to make an ageing computer behave like a modern one becomes false economy.

And there’s another cost businesses often overlook.

Slow computers cost more than patience

Imagine an employee loses just 10 minutes a day waiting for their computer.

That doesn’t sound disastrous.

But across a 50-person business, that’s more than 40 hours of working time every week.

Suddenly the £700 or £800 cost of replacing a genuinely obsolete computer looks rather different.

There’s also the frustration.

Nobody does their best work when they spend the first 20 minutes of every morning fighting with their computer.

So, should you replace it?

Maybe.

But “my computer is slow” shouldn’t automatically mean “buy a new computer.”

Sometimes it needs a little housekeeping.

Sometimes an application is causing the problem.

Sometimes it needs more memory or storage.

Sometimes the problem isn’t the PC at all, it could be your internet connection, Wi-Fi, network or a particular business application.

And sometimes the computer genuinely has reached the end of its useful life.

The important thing is knowing the difference.

Still slow? Let us take a look.

Before replacing a computer, we’ll establish whether there’s actually anything wrong with it.

If it can be fixed economically, we’ll tell you.

And if it really does need replacing, we’ll explain why.

No jargon. No replacing equipment for the sake of it. Just sensible advice about what’s right for your business.

Got a PC that’s driving somebody in your office mad? Talk to FOS.net and let us take a look.