7 Ways to Overcome Lagging on Your Laptop

1) Clear your browser cache

Clearing your browser cache can help you
overcome lagging in your laptop. This will free up more memory so that your computer
doesn’t have to work as hard and clear out any unused files that may
be bogging down the system. To do this, follow these steps: 

1) Click the
Tools button at the top of your browser window and select Internet Options. 

2)
In the pop-up window, click on the General tab. 

3) Scroll down and look for
Temporary Internet Files. Click on it and then click Delete Files. Suppose there are no files listed under Temporary Internet Files. In that case, you don’t need to delete
anything.

 4) Once you’re done deleting all the old temporary internet files,
close out of the windows and restart your computer.

 5) Update all software:
Outdated software is a significant cause of laggy computers and laptops because they
require more processing power than newer versions. If you’ve never checked for
updates before, now’s the time! Windows users should go through Control Panel
> System & Security > Windows Update, while Mac users should go
through System Preferences > Software Updates

 6) Remove clutter: If your
desktop has a cluttered background or icons scattered everywhere, deleting them can help with performance issues on your laptop! You can
find directions on how to clean your desktop by clicking here. 

7) Try new
programs: Sometimes programs take a toll on your computer, even if you don’t
use them often. Deleting programs you never use (but still leaving some
favorites installed!) can greatly affect your laptop’s speed and stability.

2) Run an antivirus scan

You’ll want to ensure your laptop runs smoothly by
running an antivirus scan. This will help ensure that you don’t have any
viruses or malware that might be causing the lagging, and it should also show
you which programs are using up the most resources. Delete some
programs or update others for your laptop to run more smoothly.

1) Check with your internet provider and ensure they have not started throttling your bandwidth because you’ve reached a specific data
limit.

 2) Check out what’s taking up all of your disk space. If there are a lot
of temporary files, old videos, pictures, and music, then delete them so
there’s more room for the actual programs you’re using.

 3) Run anti-spyware
software, like Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.

 4) Uninstall programs you no longer
use from your computer. 

5) Upgrade your RAM – this can sometimes solve lag
issues when combined with one of the other fixes mentioned above. 

6) Defragment
your hard drive – this can often fix lag issues if fragmentation is the
culprit. 

7) Get a new power cord. The power cord can deteriorate over time and
cause your laptop to run slower than usual. 

8) Clean the vents on your laptop –
dust can build up over time, which causes heat buildup. 

9) Reset the settings
on your laptop (most laptops have this option under settings) 

10) Consider
getting a new battery pack – batteries deteriorate over time and won’t
hold a charge quite like they used to.

3) Reset your router and modem

One of the most common causes for laptop lagging is a router
or modem experiencing some malfunction. A router can get
overloaded if too many devices are connected and trying to connect
simultaneously. Similarly, a modem can experience network overload if too many people are trying to use it simultaneously. Resetting your router and
modem may solve the problem if it has no other underlying
issues, such as faulty hardware.

1) Unplug your modem or power off your router, whichever is more accessible.

2) Wait 30 seconds and then plug in or turn back on the
device you just unplugged or powered off. 

3) Disconnect all wireless devices
from your internet connection.

4) Power cycle all your wireless devices by turning them off and back on. 

5) Connect one device at a time to your
internet connection until you find the culprit. 

6) Change the
channel your router uses (located under settings) if necessary. 

7) Get an Ethernet
cable and plug it into an open port on your modem so that all your wireless
devices are plugged into the line instead of connecting wirelessly.

8) Check
with your ISP to see what might be causing these problems.

 9) Update your
firmware for both router and modem if available. 

10) Consider upgrading or
replacing older routers and modems that don’t support newer networking standards, like 802.11ac. 11) Change which security protocol is enabled – WPA2-AES, WEP,
WPA-AES

4) Update your drivers

After a while, your hardware drivers might become outdated
and malfunction. If your laptop runs slower
than usual or has other issues, it’s time for an update.

Here are some steps for how to overcome lagging in a laptop:

1) Check your computer’s BIOS settings to see if any updates are available. If so, install the latest version. 

2) Restarting
your computer sometimes does the trick and fixes many minor issues.

 3)
Update all software and restart again if necessary. 

4) Run a virus scan.
Viruses can be very slow and make your laptop run like it got off the boat
from China. 

5) Clear out old files. Files may get lost, take up too much space,
or duplicate with different names over time.

 6) Uninstall
unnecessary programs as they may cause conflicts with one another or slow down
your system performance. 

7) Download more RAM – this will only help if you have
plenty of free memory on your hard drive! 

8) Upgrade your operating system to a
newer one. Newer operating systems require fewer resources which means better
efficiency and stability. 

9) Consider upgrading your device (if possible). It could
be time for an upgrade if you notice extreme lag when opening
new applications or booting up Windows. 

10) have someone else look at your
laptop. Sometimes these little changes we’re talking about seem insignificant, but they’re enough to mess things up quickly!

5) Defragment your hard drive

The most common cause of computer lag is a fragmented hard
drive. If you find your computer running slow and refusing to let you open
programs, defragmentation is the first thing you should check. You can find out
if your hard disk drive needs defragmenting by looking at the performance tab
in Task Manager. If it says Disk 0, it’s working correctly, but
if it says Disk 1, then defragmentation will help.

1) Click Start and type ‘defragment’ into the search bar.
Select Defragment and Optimize Drives from the list of results. It will
automatically analyze which drives need work. If there are any errors or
warnings, they’ll be highlighted with a yellow exclamation point (e.g., Drive C).
Hit Defragment selected drives to start the process and wait for it to finish;
remember to close all other applications before starting to avoid interfering with the process.

6) Check for software conflicts

If you’re still experiencing laptop lagging and freezes,
there’s a good chance that your computer is running into software conflicts.
The first step in solving this issue is checking for these conflicts. One of the programs installed on your laptop often interferes with another
program or how Windows works. To do this, follow these steps: 

First,
restart your computer and then press Shift+F8 at the same time while it starts
up. This will allow you to see what programs are running
in your background. You can check out which ones may be causing problems by
going through them individually and clicking on End Process.

Next, you’ll want to right-click any
remaining programs (those without red Xs) and select Properties, followed by
Settings. You’ll now see two tabs here – Compatibility Mode and Privilege
Level. For each account, checkmark the boxes that say Run this program
as an administrator.

Next, choose whether compatibility mode should use the application or Windows 7 settings. Finally, click Apply, close out of
all other windows, restart your computer again, and hope for the best!

7) Upgrade your RAM

Laptops typically come with 4GB of RAM. However, if you’re
experiencing lag or a slow computer, then it’s time to upgrade your laptop’s
RAM. You can purchase an additional 4GB of RAM for your computer or replace the
existing memory with 8GB or 16 GB.

 Either way will significantly improve
performance and make the computer feel new. Replace your hard drive: 

If upgrading RAM doesn’t work, getting a new hard drive might be time. All your data is stored in hard drives, integral to
operating speed and quickness.

 A new hard drive will be better able to handle
data than one in service for many years. Upgrade your processor: 

One component that can cause lagging is the processor, which controls
information processing within the computer hardware system. Upgrading this
component could fix any lags or slowdowns in response times when switching between
programs, loading games, and other tasks – which makes gaming possible!