How to fix
Optimize Windows 8.1
on Windows

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?Do not think of the worst case scenario. There is so much you can do to optimize your Windows 8.1 performance and we will present you with various useful tips for you to do it. First of all, you should know that most of these tips require access of Windows Control Panel and in case you do not know where it is, simply open Start Screen, type Control Panel in search field and click ENTER. Here you go. Now we can get some work done.

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If your graphics driver is out of date, it might slow your computer down significantly.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Outdated network adapter drivers result in ethernet controllers using more resources than it is necessary.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 [rev id=”RegCure Pro”] or [rev id="PC Health Advisor"].