Windows 8 which is Microsoft latest operating system for PCs, tablets, and laptops. 8 is a pretty fast operating system in my experience. However, if you buy your computer from a retail store instead of building it yourself, or buying the Microsoft Surface Windows 8 Pro which uses a clean version of Windows without any extra software you don’t need. Other Windows 8 computer may come with a lot of un-needed programs also called bloatware which slow down your PC, and use up storage space.
In my experience, bloatware is the main cause of most computer slowdown problems on name-brand computers, and on computers where people install a lot of slow software on their PC by accident, or intentionally.
There is a program called PC Decrapefier which identifies and removes bloatware which come bundled with many PCs. You can also use this program to remove bloatware and programs which another program like toolbar installer, you or someone else installed onto your PC by checking the programs you want to manually uninstall from your PC, and let PC Decrapifier remove them from your PC.
You can download at pcdecrapifier.com.
Using a system utility program like Advanced SystemCare PRO can also make your computer faster because ASC scans your computer for Malware, Junk Registry entries, junk files, disk errors, disk fragmentation, un-optimized web browsers and Windows performance settings, and other problems which may be slowing down your PC. It also has Turbo Mode, a Startup manager, program uninstaller, and many other easy to use tools for making your computer run more stabely, use less RAM, and CPU cycles, so it is faster.
Advance System Care Pro also automatically cleans up your computer of junk files, and do other maintenance tasks when your computer is idle, or your PC is not doing much when on, so you do not have to manually maintain Windows as much.
I have been using Advance System Care for a few years, and it works the best out of all the free and paid system utility software which I used. It is much better than the default Windows disk cleanup, task manager, services.msc, disk defrag, and MSconfig which comes with Windows 8.
You can also use the Action center to install Iobit Malware Fighter to protect a PC from malware, viruses, and spyware for free.
If you do not like the new Start Screen Full screen desktop, and looking for a startbutton and menu replacement program, you can use Advance System Care’s Action center to install Iobit’s Start Menu 8 which can hide the full screen start screen desktop, and bring back the classic Windows desktop with the Startbutton and StartNenu on right side of the Taskbar on the desktop. Start menu 8 program make it easier for you to launch programs like Internet Explorer by either searching for it, or clicking on an icon. Also, shutting down Windows would be faster since you just need to click the start buttun, and shutdown to begin the shutdown task instead of moving your mouse to the right top corner, hitting the settings icon, clicking on the power icon, and finally, hitting shutdown.
Iobit’s Advance System Care’s Action Center also makes it easy for you to install Iobit’s Smart Defrag which defrags all your hard drives and not just C Drive for faster hard drive performance. Smart Defrag can also be easily set up to automatically defrag all your hard drives when your computer is not busy, or idle, so you’ll never have to do a manual disk defrag again. There is also a Boot-time defrag to defrag your MFT, page/swap file, hibernation files, and system files which can’t be defrag when Windows is running, and only can be defragged during a boot-time defrag.
Windows 8 also has a feature called Readyboost which speed up your computer by uses Flash Memory found on USB flash drives, SD Memory cards, and other storage devices flash memory as RAM to cache files to open faster. If you have a USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 USB Flash drive like Patriot Supersonic Rage XT 32GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive, there is a good chance that it is already fast enough for Readyboost. After you plug-in a USB flash drive, Windows will ask you if you want to use it for Readyboost, and you follow the step by step instructions to turn on Readyboost for your Flash drive.
Closing all un-used programs running in Windows’ taskbar, system tray, and the desktop will make your computer use less RAM and CPU cycles which you can use to run the current program like web browser. Also, close tabs, windows, and disable or uninstall plug-ins which you are not using in your web browser. If you are not using the latest version of your web browser, and other software upgrade to the latest version since it maybe faster, and work better in Windows 8.
Use SorceForge.net , Download.com , Ninite.com and other software download directories, and software download sites to find software like Kingsoft Office, Pale moon Web browser, Opera web browser,Paint.net image editor, Foobar2000 music player, and VLC player which are free, fast, easy to use, and stable software which is compatible for Windows 8, and run well on older computers compared to many of the bundled, and store bought software which you bought, or came with your PC. I recommend reading a few reviews on download sites like Download.com to see if the software has a good rating before installing them on Windows 8.
Also, make sure your computer has all the latest Windows update by using Windows update to check for updates, and install them when Updates are available. When Windows Blue/8.1 get release there maybe fixes which makes Windows performance faster, and your computer easier to use on a standard non-touchscreen desktop and laptop.
Upgrading your RAM/Memory, and installing Windows 8 to a SSD/Solid state drive will make Windows slow down less, and load files faster. The price of RAM, and a good sized SSD drive is dropping in price quickly, so they are both not very expensive to upgrade.
If you are a gamer, upgrading to a PCI-Express video card like Nvidia GTX 650 will give you a lot better computer gaming performance than using integrated video, or a cheaper video card.
You may need a better power supply with higher wattage if you are planning to upgrade your desktop computer’s video card with a faster video card because faster video card uses a lot of power.
Setting your video quality settings and screen resolution will make games faster or playable on a slower computer.
Sometimes, if your computer or laptop overheats , your PC will run slower to prevent heat damage, so cleaning your computer and laptop of dust on the inside, and using a cooling pad for your laptop may make it faster. Some gaming and higher-end computers also overclocks your PC CPU and RAM when your PC is cooler for faster performance.
You can also disable visual effects by going to Computer/My Computer, and right clicking on a empty spot than picking properties which launch system. In the System’s sidebar, click Advance System settings to launch it. There is a section in the Advanced tab called performance where you can launch settings by clicking on the settings button underneath performance’s heading. Click the white circle radio button which is beside adjust for best performance, and lastly click Apply or OK at the bottom of the Window.
Lastly, do weekly or daily virus and spyware scan with an updated antivirus and antispyware with updated malware definition to scans to make sure no known virus, and spyware is slowing down your PC, and remove them if they are found on your PC.