[Windows 11/10] Troubleshooting - System is running slowly

[Windows 11/10] Troubleshooting - System is running slowly

Applicable Products: Notebook, Desktop, All-in-One PC, Gaming Handheld, Motherboard, Graphics card, LCD Monitor, MiniPC

After using Windows for a certain time, you might start noticing the system is slowing down. 

In this article, you can find tips that may help you solve the issue and make your device run smoothly and fast again. 

Watch the video below for instructions and read the article for more details.

Note: The device hardware specifications such as CPU frequency, insufficient memory, or using HDD instead of SSD may be some of the reasons for the system slowing down.

Below, you can find a few ways you can try to solve the slow system issue yourself.

Remove accessories and update BIOS & Windows Update

Start by following the steps below:

• Disconnect all accessories and peripherals, such as external hard drives, printers, dongles, and remove memory cards, CD/DVDs, etc.
• Ensure your system is up to date. Visit the articles below to learn how to update your laptop’s system: 
  How to update the BIOS version in Windows system 
  How to use EZ Flash to update the BIOS version 
  (For desktop products, please refer to ASUS Motherboard EZ Flash 3 Introduction.) 
  For executing Windows update and drivers update, read these articles: 
  How to execute Windows Update 
  How to update drivers via System Update in MyASUS

If the problem persists after you updating BIOS/Windows packages/drivers, please continue to the next step.

Run System diagnosis to check Hardware

• Execute system diagnosis via MyASUS. Read the following article to learn how to do it: MyASUS System Diagnosis.  
  If there is no System Diagnosis tab in MyASUS, your device does not support this function. You can learn more about this here: Why can I only see the partial features in the MyASUS app.
• When temperatures of the device is high, the system performance will be reduced. Read this article to solve overhearing issues: Troubleshooting - Overheating and Fan issues.

If problems persist, please continue to the next step.

Check for the programs running in the background

Check if Windows or other programs are updating in the background. Also, make sure to check if antivirus software is running a scan. Finally, check if your download/shared applications are running in the background.

We recommend closing or force-quitting any programs that you are not using at the moment. Learn how to check system performance via Task Manager in this article: How to use Task Manager to check device performance.

If more than one antivirus software, you might be able to uninstall some of them. Please refer to this article: How to check if your device has antivirus software installed. Learn how to uninstall antivirus software in this article: How to remove McAfee which is pre-installed in ASUS device.

In addition, you follow the steps below to check whether Windows Update is running and slowing down your device .

1. In the Windows search bar, type in and search [Windows Update settings]①, then click [Open]②. 
   
2. If a feature update is available or the status says Downloading or Installing, your device may be running slowly due to Windows Update. We recommend you to wait for the update to be completed before taking any action. 
   
3. Some updates may require restarting your device. If you see icon like on the image below in the taskbar, there is a restart pending after completed updates. 
    
   In this case, you will see "Restart required" prompt in the Windows Update menu. You can select "Restart now" or "Schedule the restart". 
   
4. If problems persist, please continue to the next step.

Remove corrupted applications

Free software, which can sometimes be bundled with malware, can cause the system to slow down. Removing such software help your device return to the normal performance level.

If not, we recommend resetting the system. If the problem does not occur immediately or within a specific timeframe, that can mean a number of problems combined together are slowing down the system. If this occurs, we recommend resetting the system.

Remove system temporary files

When the system disk is running out of space, it can affect the performance and functionality of your system. Please refer to the following instructions to remove the temporary files.

1. Click the [Start] icon on the taskbar①, and then select [Settings]②. 
   
2. Select [Storage]③. 
   
3. Select [Temporary files]④. 
   
4. The system provides a list of files you can remove now. Choose the items you wish to remove⑤, then click [Remove files]⑥. 
   
5. Click [Continue]⑦ to remove the system temporary files. 
   
6. If problems persist, please continue to the next step.

Improve Windows performance

Please refer to the Microsoft’s recommendation for Windows check and setup via link: Tips to improve PC performance in Windows system.

If problems persist, please continue to the next step.

Restore the system from restore point

If the slow system issue has happened recently, and if you have created a restore point or an automatic system restore is enabled, try to restore the device to a time before the problem began to resolve the problem. You can learn more about restoring the system from restore point via the link: How to use restore point to restore the system.

If problems persist, please continue to the next step.

Reset the PC

If the problem persists after completing all troubleshooting steps listed above, please back up your personal files, then reset the device to back to its factory setting. Visit the links below to learn more about: How to reset the system.

If you still cannot resolve your problem, download MyASUS and try the System Diagnosis for troubleshooting. Click below!