If you find yourself twiddling your thumbs waiting for your Lenovo laptop to finally start up, you’re not alone. A slow startup can be frustrating, but fear not; there are numerous ways to address this issue and get your laptop up and running smoothly.
My laptop was acting like a sloth lately. It took forever to boot up, making that excruciating wait feel like an eternity. I knew something was up. It used to be pretty zippy, but now it felt like it was stuck in molasses.
Thinking back, I realized I hadn’t cleaned things up in a while. My Downloads folder was overflowing, and who knows how many programs were fighting to launch at startup. So, I spent a weekend decluttering, getting rid of unused programs, and giving my hard drive a good digital dusting.
Let me tell you, it was like night and day! Booting up now feels like a smooth coffee run compared to that previous struggle. It’s a good reminder that sometimes a little TLC can make a big difference, even for your trusty laptop.
Honestly, there’s nothing more frustrating than a laptop that takes an eternity to load even one window. To help your lenovo laptop work at peak performance once more, we’ve painstakingly put up a list of tried-and-true hacks. Regardless of whether Windows 8, 10, or 11 is installed on your laptop, you ought to be able to fix it. Let’s now examine the specifics.
Common Reasons for Lenovo Laptop Slow Startup
Perform A Hard Drive Defragmentation
Here’s how to defragment your hard disk drive on Windows 10.
Using the built-in Defragment and Optimize Drives tool:
- Search: Open the Start menu and type “Defragment and Optimize Drives”.
- Select the tool: Click on “Defragment and Optimize Drives” from the search results.
- Choose the drive: In the list, select the hard disk drive you want to defragment. (Note: This process is not necessary for Solid State Drives (SSDs) as they don’t experience fragmentation.)
- Analyze or Optimize:
- Analyze: Click the “Analyze” button to assess the level of fragmentation on the selected drive.
- Optimize (Defragment): If the analysis shows significant fragmentation (usually above 10%), click the “Optimize” button to begin the defragmentation process.
Important Note:
- Process Duration: Defragmentation can take some time depending on the size and level of fragmentation on your drive.
- System Usage: While defragmentation is running, your computer performance might be slightly slower. It’s best to run this process when you’re not actively using your computer.
Alternative (For advanced users):
- Command Prompt: You can also defragment your drive using the command prompt. However, this method is recommended for advanced users as it requires specific commands and might pose a risk of data loss if not executed correctly.
Here are some additional points to remember:
- Automatic Optimization: Windows 10 automatically schedules defragmentation by default. You can check and adjust the schedule in the “Defragment and Optimize Drives” tool settings.
- SSDs don’t require defragmentation: As mentioned earlier, SSDs don’t experience fragmentation in the same way as HDDs, so defragmentation is not necessary for them.
It’s important to note that in modern Windows systems with primarily SSDs, defragmentation is generally not required as frequently as with traditional HDDs. However, the option remains available if needed.
Uninstall The Bloatware Apps On Your Lenovo Laptop
Using the Traditional Method (Windows Settings):
- Search: Click on the Start menu search bar and type “add or remove programs”.
- Open Control Panel: Select “Add or remove programs” from the search results. This opens the Control Panel window.
- Review the list: A list of all installed programs will appear.
- Identify bloatware: Look for unfamiliar applications or programs pre-installed by Lenovo that you don’t use or recognize.
- Uninstall: Right-click on the program you want to remove and select “Uninstall”.
Additional Option (Using Settings App):
- Settings: Click on the Windows Start menu and select “Settings”.
- Apps & features: Navigate to “Apps” or “Apps & features” depending on your Windows version.
- Find bloatware: Similar to the Control Panel method, look for and identify bloatware applications.
- Uninstall: Click on the unwanted program and select “Uninstall”.
Upgrade Hardware Of Your Lenovo Laptop
Upgrading RAM and switching to an SSD are the two methods available to you for improving your hardware.
Changing your hard drive to an SSD (solid state drive) will dramatically speed up your system, making everything from starting up to closing down easy. While many laptops have SSDs installed, some still use more conventional hard drives.
It boosts the performance of your processor so that it can handle demanding software, multitask, improve gaming, and load apps more quickly. SSD-equipped laptops are very helpful for remote workers who need to work quickly and efficiently.
You can also make due with an external drive if your laptop is much older and doesn’t support SSD or if you don’t want to spend the money on one. You can operate on your laptop surgically to install an SSD by going to a computer repair company.
A minimum of 8GB of RAM should be installed on every laptop to ensure buttery smooth operation. However, some manufacturers are mounting the RAM directly into the motherboard, which prevents RAM upgrades. To put it simply, having more RAM gives your system greater gaming power, speed, storage, and resources to help it reach new heights.
Depending on your smartphone specifications, you can increase a 4GB RAM to 8GB, 32GB, or 64GB. For the purpose of installing a RAM, you would need to be somewhat tech-savvy or hire a technician.
Summary
Remember that reinstalling your operating system will erase your system memory, so attempt that if your laptop is still performing slowly. Your laptop can be restored to its initial condition by performing a reset.
The best course of action would be to backup your files to the cloud or an external drive before proceeding.