Why is My Dell Laptop so Slow? Common Reasons & Fixes

There are a couple of reasons why your dell laptop is so slow. This reason could be from hardware or software and in some cases, both hardware and software.

A slow dell laptop can be very frustrating 😤especially when you are using windows 10.

There are some people that their dell laptop was completely normal when they bought it and overtime, it became very slow.

Some people has been experiencing a slow performance from their dell laptop ever since they got it.

Some dell users only experience slow performance when they run some certain applications and some experience slow performance during startup.

It doesn’t matter what category you fall under because this article will show you all the reasons why your dell laptop is so slow and how to perfectly optimize your computer to get the best performance

It also doesn’t matter what version of windows your dell laptop is using, either it is windows 7, 8 or 10, the methods in this article can be applied to any of them.

I guarantee if you stay to the end of this article, you will be able to fix your slow dell laptop and make it run faster.

Before I show you how you can make your dell laptop faster, I must share with you the reasons for it being so slow because you must know where exactly the problem is coming from.

Reasons Why Your Dell Laptop Is Running So Slow

snail on laptop keyboard

Here are the reasons why your dell laptop is slow or laggy

1. Startup Program

Startup program are programs that automatically launch immediately your dell laptop boots up. Some programs launch is visibly shown to you that they are running, while some application launch and run in the background.

Anytime you install an application on your computer, it is added to the startup programs. So, if you have installed a lot of applications on your system, there a possibility that all the application is launching altogether immediately when your dell laptop boots up.

I am sure you can already imagine what it feels like for your computer to run multiple application at the same time.

The good thing about startup program is that you can easily disable the application you want from launching anytime your computer boots up.

The methods to achieve this is shown below

2. Third Party Antivirus

Third-party antivirus has been known for causing bloatwares making computers slow.

In recent years like this, you don’t necessarily need any third-party antivirus, windows defender is enough to get the job done. But if your using a version of windows that is outdated for example, windows 7 or 8, then you shouldn’t rely on only windows defender.

You just must make sure whatever antivirus you choose to use, should be a premium version.

Personally, I use just only windows defender on my computer and it has worked just perfectly for me.

Another thing to look out for is multiple antivirus or antimalware application. Multiple antivirus installed on your dell laptop can cause several complications which can result you to have a slow dell laptop.

You already have windows defender, if you are not satisfied with windows defender, then you should install just one antivirus application alongside windows defender.

3. Poor Hardware Spec

A poor hardware spec is one of the main reasons why your dell laptop’s so slow.

Gamers, graphics artist, cinematographer and music producers require computer with great hardware spec for better performance.

The major hardware that determine the performance for a computer are:

  • Processor
  • Ram

For an average dell laptop speed, you need a minimum of Core i5 processor and 4gb of Ram combine. Anything lower than this can be very frustrating for you.

If you would like to step up to a decent speed, then you need a minimum of 8gb Ram and Core i7 processor. This spec is guaranteed to make your life easier and less frustrating.

By now you should know if you are using anything lower than the minimum requirement I mentioned above, then you need an upgrade. But if your dell laptop already has a great spec and is still slow and laggy, then there are other factors that are affecting the speed of your dell laptop.

Continue reading this article

Tip – How to reset dell laptop to start afresh.

4. Lack of Maintenance

If you have never cleaned up, optimized, or cleared your junks before on your dell laptop, then you should consider doing so because this could be the reason why you have a slow computer.

For example,

Think of your computer 💻 as a car, if you haven’t cleaned or carried out any maintenance on it, the car will surely develop a fault over time.

Anytime you use your computer, it creates new junks and without maintenance, it keeps piling up.

If you leave in a dusty area, surely there will be a lot of dust inside your dell laptop. In this kind of situation, you want to see a computer engineer to help you clean and service your computer.

There are several ways to clean up and optimize your computer.

The methods to achieve this is shown below

5. Outdated

Ok, be honest with yourself.

How long have you been using your computer?

If your answer is more than 5 years, then you should consider getting a new dell laptop or upgrading the hardware.

Old dell laptop isn’t powerful to handle applications that are released today.

If your dell laptop is old, like I said earlier, you should consider getting a more recent laptop or upgrading your current dell laptop

6. Virus

Every day, attackers are looking for and creating ways to access your computer. Computer security is important and necessary when it is setup properly.

If your Dell laptop is not secure, different viruses can find their way into your computer and make your dell laptop slow overtime.

Sometimes, when your dell laptop has a virus, it doesn’t just slow down, it also freezes most of the time.

It’s important you scan your dell laptop with windows defender or any third-party antivirus to remove unwanted threat and programs from your dell computer

7. Out of storage

Most people are not aware of this but I am sharing this with you today. If your dell laptop storage is full, it is likely going to make your computer run slow.

There different ways you can free up space on your dell laptop and I will show you below.

Now that you have an idea of why your dell laptop is slow, now let me show you all the things you need to do to speed up your dell laptop for the best performance

Tip – Learn how fix dell laptop showing a black screen on startup.

Steps to Make Your Dell Laptop Run Faster

To get the best performance from your dell laptop, I want you to apply all these steps below altogether.

Here are the steps to speed up your dell laptop

1. Disable Startup Program

Here’s how to disable startup program on dell laptop

  1. Press and hold Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open task manager
  2. While in task manager, navigate to the startup tab
  3. You will see a list of applications. Focus your eyes to the status tab to know which applications are enabled
  4. Now select any application and click on the disable button.
  5. Disable every application except application related to an audio, touchpad, and security.
  6. Move on to the next step

2. Update Your Dell laptop

In this section, there two important things that needs to be updated, these are

  • Drivers
  • Windows

Luckily, you can easily update both using windows update.

Here’s how to update your dell laptop with windows update

  1. Navigate to the windows logo at the bottom left-hand corner of your screen and search for windows update settings
  2. While in the settings, click on check update
  3. If you have updates available, then click on download
  4. Once your computer is done updating, restart your computer
  5. Move on to the next step

Tip – how to fix dell laptop that doesn’t want to come on.

3. Change Power Plan

Here’s how to change power plan on your dell laptop

  1. Locate your toolbar by navigating to the bottom right-hand corner on your computer screen and right-click on the battery 🔋 icon and select power options
  2. Inside power options, choose high performance
  3. Click on save or apply
  4. move to the next step

4. Install All in One Utility Software

An AIO utility is very important to have on your computer because it can help you with everything all at once and make your life easier.

Here are the things a utility software can help you with on your dell laptop

  • Startup optimization
  • Privacy sweep
  • Clean junk files
  • Fix shortcut
  • Clean registry
  • remove spyware
  • Boot internet
  • Optimize your computer
  • Registry defrag
  • security reinforces
  • fix vulnerability
  • Optimize your drive

Now let me show you how you can achieve this

  1. Download Advanced system care utility software free tool
  2. Install it on your dell laptop after the download is complete
  3. Launch Advanced System Care after installation
  4. Inside ASC, make sure the selected tab is clean & optimize
  5. Click on select all
  6. Hit scan
  7. Once the scan is complete, click on fix
  8. Exit ASC
  9. Move on to the next step

5. Defragment Your Hard Drive

According to LaptopMag,

Over time, files on your hard drive get fragmented, and your desktop or laptop slows down because it must check multiple places on your drive for those pieces.

  1. Navigate to the windows logo at the bottom left-hand corner of your screen and search for defragment and optimize drives
  2. Select your hard drive and click on Analyze. If you using a solid-state drive (SSD), the analyze option won’t be available
  3. Now, check the percentage of fragmented files in the results. Make sure you always keep the percentage under 5%.
  4. After optimizing, to defragment your drive, click on Optimize. It’s better to do this when you won’t need to use your computer for any other thing
  5. Your drive should say 0% fragmented when it’s done defragmenting
  6. Click on change settings
  7. Set your schedule to weekly and make sure both options are selected
  8. click on ok
  9. Move on to the next step

6. Uninstall Unwanted Application

Here’s how to uninstall applications on dell laptop

  1. Navigate to your windows logo located at yourbottom right-hand corner of your screen and search for control panel.
  2. Click on control panel among the results
  3. While in control panel, change the view by option to small icon
  4. Now click on programs and features
  5. Selectthe program you want to uninstall and click uninstall located at the top
  6. Continue with the instructions to uninstall the application.
  7. Repeat the same method to uninstall another application
  8. When the installation is donerestart your Dell laptop
  9. Move on to the next step

Tip – Easily connect airpods to your dell laptop.

7. Use Only Windows Defender

Do not use multiple Antivirus on your computer.

Only stick to one.

If you must use any other antivirus, make sure window defender is turned off and only that antivirus will be the security for your computer.

Personally, I recommend you to use only windows defender

Move on to the next step

8. Free Up Space

Here’s how to free up space on dell computer

  1. Navigate to your windows logo located at your bottom right-hand corner of your screen and search for storage settings
  2. Click on storage settings among the search results
  3. While in storage settings, turn on storage sense
  4. Click on configure storage sense or run it now
  5. In the free up storage section, click on clean now
  6. When cleaning is done, restart your dell laptop

At this stage, your dell laptop speed should show improvements.

Tip – How to fix audio issues on your laptop.

If your dell laptop is still slow, move on to the next step

9. Upgrade Hardware

There are two hardware that can help increase your dell laptop speed.

These are:

  • Ram
  • Solid State Drive (SSD)

Depending on what you currently using, if you choose to get a RAM upgrade, get yourself a minimum of 8gb of Ram. Anything higher will improve your dell laptop speed even better.

The next thing you should upgrade to is a Solid-State Drive.

When compared side by side, Solid state drive are a lot more faster than your regular hard drive.

If you upgrade to a solid-state drive, you will surely see an increase in your dell laptop speed.

10. Reset Your Dell Laptop

This is a last resort.

When nothing seems to work and your dell laptop is still running very slow and laggy, you might want to consider resetting your laptop back to factory settings.

This will wipe every file and make your dell laptop fresh again.

This method is guaranteed to improve the speed of your dell laptop

if you are interested, Here’s how

Here’s an image you can save on your computer to always keep you on track on how to increase your dell laptop speed

infographic on increasing dell laptop speed


Now, you have understood why your dell laptop’s so slow and the method you should follow to increase the speed of your dell laptop for the best performance.

If you followed all the steps above correctly, your dell laptop speed should be showing improvements.

Remember to always use the Advance system care utility tool at least every week and don’t install the application you don’t need

Don’t open too many applications at the same time.

Stick to these methods and you will see the speed improvements on your dell laptop.

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