Question
Issue: How to optimize Windows 8.1?
I’v been using Windows 8.1 since the day it has been launched but now my computer has been lagging for a while. I cannot load my favourite games or even listen to music sometimes. Is there are way to boost its performance or is it a lost cause?
Solved Answer
Update Graphics Driver
If your graphics driver is out of date, it might slow your computer down significantly. Therefore, the most simple solution for you will be to update it without further ado.
1. Go to Control Panel and click on Device Manager.
2. There is a triangle next to Display Adapters. Click on it.
3. You can see your graphics card model just down below. Double-click to view the properties.
4. Look at the General tab. Here you will see the model and the manufacturer. Driver tab will display the version and the date of the driver.
5. Go to the website of the manufacturer and download the latest driver.
Update the Driver of Network Adapter
Outdated network adapter drivers result in ethernet controllers using more resources than it is necessary. Update them by following these instructions:
1. Find Device Manager on Control Panel.
2. Click Network Adapters.
3. Once again, find the manufacturer and the model of your network model adapter. If there is more than one network adapter, update them all.
Disable BIOS and C-State Transition
These settings are present in all computers. You should disable them because they interfere with your computer’s performance and might result in errors which you should avoid as well. However, you should check what the manufacturer of your computer or motherboard has to say about disabling these parameters and follow their instructions.
Modify Power Options
It is recommended to modify your computer’s power options in a way that it would not enter the sleep mode and suspend the work of your hard disk and USB devices, because this might have some serious negative effects on your computer’s performance. Just follow these instructions:
1. As always, go to Control Panel and click on Power Options. Select High Performance.
2. Press Change Plan Setting.
3. Adjust display’s sleep time and computer’s sleep time by selecting option Never.
4. Now click on Change Advanced Power Settings.
5. Press + next to Hard Disk and then another + next to USB selective suspend settings. Change it from Enabled to Disabled by double-clicking on the option.
6. Now click + next to Process power management and + next to Minimum processor state. Type 100 in the text field (%).
7. Click Apply, then OK and, finally, Save Changes.
Turn off USB Power Management
This will leave you with some free bandwidth on the USB bus and thus contribute to solving the issues related to the recognition of devices and installation of drivers. Turn it off by following these instructions:
1. Go to Control Panel and click on Device Manager.
2. Now double-click on Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
3. Then double-click on first USB Root Hub item.
4. Select Power Management tab.
5. Deselect the checkbox which says “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” and press OK.
6. Repeat with all USB Root Hub items.
Optimize your Hard Disk
Optimization of your hard disk will definitely improve your computer’s performance so you should try this now:
1. Open Computer. Right-click on drive and select Properties.
2. You have to make sure that “Compress this drive to save disk space” checkbox is unticked.
3. Click Apply and OK.
4. Do this for all of your drives.
Modify Process Scheduling
One more tweak for boosting your Windows 8.1. Just follow the instructions:
1. Go to Control Panel and select System.
2. Choose Advanced System Options and open Advanced Tab.
3. Select Settings button which is under Performance section.
4. Click Advanced tab on Performance Options window.
5. Choose Background Services under Processor Scheduling.
6. Click Apply and OK.
7. Press OK to close System Properties.
8. Restart your computer.
Turn of Screen Saver
While it seems such a harmless thing, it takes up a lot of process which could have been used otherwise.
1. Select Desktop tile on the Start Screen.
2. Right-click on the Desktop and the choose Personalize option.
3. Select Screen Saver, choose the option None and press OK.
Turn off User Account Control
User Account Control might also slow down the performance of your computer and if you are not an experienced user, you will not have to use it a lot so simply disable it.
1. Go to Control Panel and select User Accounts.
2. Press “Change User Account Control Settings”.
3. Select the option Never Notify and press OK.
4. Restart your computer.
Other optimizations
Close all programs you are not using.
Turn off various utilities running in the background like Windows Messenger, calendars and everything you do not actually need.
Remove all USB devices that you are not using.
Use some high-quality optimizer which can actually perform most of these functions during one scan. You might, for example, try RegCure Pro or PC Health Advisor.
Optimize your system and make it work more efficiently
Optimize your system now! If you don't want to inspect your computer manually and struggle with trying to find issues that are slowing it down, you can use optimization software listed below. All these solutions have been tested by ugetfix.com team to be sure that they help improve the system. To optimize your computer with only one click, select one of these tools:
Prevent websites, ISP, and other parties from tracking you
To stay completely anonymous and prevent the ISP and the government from spying on you, you should employ Private Internet Access VPN. It will allow you to connect to the internet while being completely anonymous by encrypting all information, prevent trackers, ads, as well as malicious content. Most importantly, you will stop the illegal surveillance activities that NSA and other governmental institutions are performing behind your back.
Recover your lost files quickly
Unforeseen circumstances can happen at any time while using the computer: it can turn off due to a power cut, a Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) can occur, or random Windows updates can the machine when you went away for a few minutes. As a result, your schoolwork, important documents, and other data might be lost. To recover lost files, you can use Data Recovery Pro – it searches through copies of files that are still available on your hard drive and retrieves them quickly.
Lucia Danes is the news editor at UGetFix. She is always on the move because the eager for knowledge makes her travel around the globe and attend InfoSec events and conferences.
