Optimizing Your PC's Performance: A Step-By-Step Guide

Computer with blue screen
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

 

High-quality hardware doesn't always mean high-quality performance. There are a lot of things that can slow down your PC on the software side. A lot of things that can drag system performance well below what it should be.

Resource-hungry applications. Software bugs. Malware.  Overloaded hard drives. Improper drivers. Janky system settings.

As you may have surmised, the list goes on and on. The good news here is that even though there's an endless variety of ways your system performance can end up tanking, it's actually relatively easy to get things back into working order. We're going to walk you through the process. 

Note that we're going to be completely focused mostly on software for this guide. It sort of goes without saying that you can improve performance with more RAM, or a better graphics card, or a new hard drive. As such, it's not really something we need to talk about here.  

Run a malware scan. 

Given that malicious software is one of the most frequent causes of system slowdown, your first step upon discovering performance issues should be to check for viruses and spyware.  

Disable background apps.

Disable statup apps.

Remove apps you don't need.

Clear off your hard drive. 

Check your power settings.  

Disable search indexing. 

Turn off system visuals. 

Increase the size of your page file. 

Update your drivers and apps. 

If you think this process sounds a bit exhaustive, you're right. Although optimizing your PC's performance is simple, it can also be somewhat time-consuming. This is another area where Bitdefender can help. 

In addition to being designed to function without impacting a system's performance, Bitdefender Total Security 2021 includes a feature known as OneClick Optimizer. As the name suggests, this utility will optimize your system's performance with a single click, helping your PC run more smoothly and effectively, addressing everything from disc cleanup and registry cleanup to privacy protection.  

Bitdefender Total Security 2020 OneClick Optimizer Screen

(Image credit: Bitdefender)

It won't do everything for you, but it'll take care of what is arguably one of the most time-consuming steps in the process. Plus, you'll also have access to everything else Bitdefender has to offer, from real-time data protection to ransomware prevention and anti-theft functionality. In short, it not only helps you keep your computer running smoothly, but also keeps you safe. 

We realize, however, that your safety isn't the only thing that matters on the web. Those of you who have children have no doubt been told that you must constantly remain vigilant, so that you may protect them from the dangers of the web. We'll walk you through a few steps you can take to do so in our next piece.