It’s not uncommon to find your Chromebook running slowly. The greatest Chromebooks are no longer simply notebooks that run a few Google apps. Chromebooks may now meet a wide range of computing needs, and a competent Chrome OS laptop or two-in-one can outperform a poor Windows or macOS laptop.
Slow Chromebook Causes
Now, let’s look at the causes of a slow Chromebook and possible solutions:
• The user profile that you are utilizing
• The usage of out-of-date programs or programs installed from another operating system
• Outdated operating systems
• Leaving Several Ads Running
• Unnecessary browser add-ons
• Excessive RAM usage
• Background applications such as Drive
• Online services attempting to correct navigational mistakes
• Opening too many tabs
• Downloads and files saved locally
Let us now consider alternative solutions to these issues:
How to Increase Chromebook Performance
1. Make use of the Task Manager to identify potential performance issues.
This is the first and most basic method for increasing the speed of your Chromebook. Similarly to almost every other Windows PC. The Chrome OS includes an in-built task manager that you may use to monitor what your system is doing, particularly at any given time.
As a result, if you experience any unexpected system troubles, the task manager is the best location to start looking for solutions. Here’s how to use your Chromebook’s Task Manager to track down the culprit:
• Select the Chrome menu option.
• Navigate to the ‘More Tools’ menu.
• Hover your cursor over it, then select the ‘Task Manager’ option.
• Alternatively, you can use your keyboard to press Search+Escape.
When the Task Manager appears, do the following:
It’s quite basic and straightforward to use:
Begin by going through all of the active processes. You can sort tasks by their names, memory footprints, CPU consumption, Process IDs, or network utilization.
2. Organize your extensions
The following step is to tidy up your extensions. This includes deactivating and/or deleting any useless, outdated, or suspicious extensions.
This is something that many people overlook or ignore. However, one of the most prevalent causes of your Chromebook’s slowness is having too many active extensions. They have the potential to deplete your system’s resources and degrade its performance.
To manage your extensions, follow the instructions below:
• Open a new tab and type “chrome: extensions” to see the extensions that are currently installed on your device. Alternatively, click the Menu button, then go to ‘More Tools,’ and then select the ‘Extensions’ option.
• Either option will take you to the ‘Extensions’ page, where you may look through each extension and decide whether or not you truly need it.
• Remove anything you know you don’t use, is old, or questionable by clicking the Remove button on the extension’s card. If you’re unsure about the state of an extension, you can temporarily disable it using the blue toggle switch and then re-enable or remove it when you’re ready.
3. Remove any unnecessary apps
After dealing with the extension issue, the next step is to look through your installed apps and uninstall those that you no longer need. If you’re the type of person who likes to try out new apps. However, if you fail to uninstall them after the test drive, you need to pay attention to this area.
The more apps you have installed on Chrome OS, the more resources they will consume, just like any other system. When these programs aren’t running, they don’t consume any local resources. They are still there on your device and are causing it to slow down.
Examining those programs and deleting those that are no longer needed will help optimize your Chromebook and increase its speed.
The app manager is an easy way to accomplish this. You can now go there to check all of the apps that are installed on your Chromebook and effortlessly uninstall them from the same spot.
4. Transfer locally stored files to the Cloud
Chromebooks typically have very minimal local storage. The closer a Chromebook gets to hitting its maximum storage capacity, the slower it becomes and the more lag you’ll notice, just like any other computer.
This is why it’s critical to keep track of what’s being downloaded into your Chromebook. Consider removing everything you no longer require. If you discover that you are storing a large number of files locally. Set a reminder to go through them once in a while, transferring the ones you consider crucial to an online storage site like Google Drive. After that, remove them from your device.
5. Reduce the number of tabs you have open at any given time
As previously stated, having too many tabs open and too many apps running at the same time is a common cause of slow performance. Limit the number of open tabs to only the necessary ones.
Regarding the other open tabs that you’d wish to return to later. However, if you are concerned that they will be forgotten once you shut them, consider adding them as a bookmark. Or, as we do, construct a separate list of them in a program that doesn’t consume a lot of resources, such as Notepad.
6. Install any available updates
Updates, like other software and operating systems, include new features, security patches, and performance enhancements. When it’s time to update, your Chromebook should notify you. However, if you want to manually check for updates, you can do so as follows: Navigate to Settings > About ChromeOS and select “Check for Updates.”
7. Delete any unneeded files and/or insert an SD card for extra storage
Chromebooks frequently feature little storage space, sometimes as low as 16GB. As a result, they can quickly fill up. When the storage partition reaches its capacity limit, it begins to slow down the system. Deleting files that you aren’t using can be a quick and straightforward approach to increase the speed of your Chromebook.
8. Turn off automatic synchronization
Automatic synchronization is a highly useful option for people who frequently need access to their papers but do not always have a dependable Internet connection.
9. Powerwash your Chromebook
Power-washing your Chromebook is a wonderful way to give your gadget a new lease on life. Isn’t that a little extreme? Perhaps. However, it is preferable to purchase a new Chromebook.
This can assist in bringing your Chromebook back up to speed. However, before you powerwash the device, make a backup of all your data by copying it to an external disk drive. Alternatively, you may save them to your Google Drive online storage.
10. Get a New Chromebook
If everything else fails, it may be time to start looking for a new Chromebook. Especially if you’ve been using an older model for a long time. Because the hardware on this device is restricted, performance can become slow quickly.
If this is the case, it’s recommended to stop using your old Chromebook and replace it with a new one. And, as you shop, weigh what you appreciate about your present Chromebook against what you want to enhance about the experience.