My 2014 Dell laptop became slow despite my best efforts to clean up using Autoruns, Wise Disk Cleaner and CCleaner. I decided to clean install Windows and installed only essential software e.g. I just use Edge and haven't installed any other browsers. All is now much snappier. I'm using the drivers installed by Windows and only installed the Dell drivers required to fix unknown devices in Device manager.
I use the free version. (Make sure you download the free version from the get-go) For cleaning junk files, it's all anyone needs. If one doesn't like it, it uninstalls cleanly. It also offers a portable version. @Bree brought up an excellent point. Ccleaner gives you control over what cookies you want to exclude on all scans.
Ccleaner offers 2 methods of cleaning-Health Check and Custom Clean. My preference is Custom Clean. (Options-Settings)
My preference is also to turn off Ccleaner's automatic Cleaning. I prefer to do it myself. (Options-uncheck 'smart cleaning')
As with any maintenance I recommend making a restore point first. I also recommend regular system backups.
Everyone who knows the need for routine maintenance has their own way of doing it. It doesn't matter how one does it , just so they do. Over time a system will accumulate so much junk, performance will suffer. This is especially true for systems that are under-powered and minimumly equipped.
Well Wai I think you are a bit open to all sorts of attack and I would suggest you invest in a good AV suite such ESET which I use on all of my machines. As for a browser I find the Brave browser is very user friendly and has a low profile when it comes to saving resources.
My preference is also to turn off Ccleaner's automatic Cleaning. I prefer to do it myself. (Options-uncheck 'smart cleaning')
As with any maintenance I recommend making a restore point first. I also recommend regular system backups.
Options > Cookies. Just add all the ones you want to the 'Cookies to Keep' list. Both lists are searchable, and you can right-click on a 'keep' entry and edit it to include a wildcard.
1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
Internet Speed
150 Mbps
Browser
Edge, Firefox
Antivirus
Defender
Other Info
fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, and 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2.
My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.
My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.
My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.
My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine.
Operating System
Windows 11 Pro
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell Latitude E4310
CPU
Intel® Core™ i5-520M
Motherboard
0T6M8G
Memory
8GB
Graphics card(s)
(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
Screen Resolution
1366x768
Hard Drives
500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
Browser
Firefox, Edge
Antivirus
Defender
Other Info
unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package. In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media. Also running Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.
My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.
My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.
My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine.
As many people mentioned, modern computers with SSDs and plenty of RAM won’t slowdown almost under any circumstances. Win 10 and Win 11 are not what XP used to be. Some AVs can affect a computer’s performance, even powerful ones, trialing for a while is a must to find out.
As much as tests show MS Defender being slower than other AVs, with my two machines (Win 10 and Win 11) it does not affect their performance) although an AV's footprint can vary considerably with different machines. I still use CCleaner, the portable version, but only as a junk cleaner, a legacy from the XP days. I don’t think speed is affected at all by using it, although I would never ever touch the registry with it. Is it still intrusive? Not in my experience using the portable version.
Imaging program: Macrium Reflect X Home , and Hasleo Backup Suite
Google Chrome
Browser content filter: uBlock Origin and SpywareBlaster
Heavy programs in use: Photoshop 2025 Beta
Yes well I use ESET as my AV now previously Kaspersky but found that ESET was much lighter on resources and is in my mind a very good suite to use. Now the CCleaner has done a good job although it lost some of my auto logins for example this and the 10 forum but the Brave browser does a good job at keeping those details and is only one click away from login again.
The thing is what are your temperature of the CPU as the CPU can be thermal throttling. In my case, I have a i7-8750H Dell XPS 9570 with 32GB of memory so the specs are not the issue. My system will be fast after a reboot but eventually be almost non-responding and lag after a day or so as the CPU utilization will be close to 100% due to the thermal throttling and that's even modifying the resources with higher limits which does help... This include the following in the registry:
Change it to 18000
Range: 200 - 18,000. Default value: 10000
And ofcourse the system will speed up and fast again periodically with the CPU at 30% but the only way to get it fast again is by rebooting because my temps are always in the 90C-100C range most of the time.
Windows 11 has blocked access to the MSR registers so you cannot undervolt directly with either Throtlestop or Intel XTU as undervolting will remedy the problem but with Virtualization enabled, it won't work.
Author's Note: I wrote the first edition of this ThrottleStop guide for UltrabookReview as part of a short undervolting/tweaking guide several years ago. I
The thing is what are your temperature of the CPU as the CPU can be thermal throttling. In my case, I have a i7-8750H Dell XPS 9570 with 32GB of memory so the specs are not the issue. My system will be fast after a reboot but eventually be almost non-responding and lag after a day or so as the CPU utilization will be close to 100% due to the thermal throttling and that's even modifying the resources with higher limits which does help... This include the following in the registry:
Change it to 18000
Range: 200 - 18,000. Default value: 10000
And ofcourse the system will speed up and fast again periodically with the CPU at 30% but the only way to get it fast again is by rebooting because my temps are always in the 90C-100C range most of the time.
Windows 11 has blocked access to the MSR registers so you cannot undervolt directly with either Throtlestop or Intel XTU as undervolting will remedy the problem but with Virtualization enabled, it won't work.
Author's Note: I wrote the first edition of this ThrottleStop guide for UltrabookReview as part of a short undervolting/tweaking guide several years ago. I
You can replace a mechanical hard drive with an SSD and add more RAM. But if you don't wish to upgrade any hardware, then the greatest speed boost you'll get is to do a clean Windows installation.
When you're doing a clean installation, Windows setup will give you the opportunity to delete any existing partitions. On a laptop, you'll probably see partitions you may not have even known you had. Delete them all and start with a clean drive. Windows setup will create all the necessary partitions for you.
Note: Backup any data that you want to keep prior to doing a clean Windows installation.
Corsair 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) CMW64GX4M4C3000C15 Vengeance RGB Pro 3000Mhz DDR4
Graphics Card(s)
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1660 Super Mini ITX 6 GB OC
Sound Card
Realtek ALC1220
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung 27" FHD LED FreeSync Gaming Monitor (LS27F350FHEXXY)
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
Samsung 970 Pro Series 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD
Western Digital Red Pro WD8003FFBX-68B9AN0 8 TB, 7200 RPM, SATA-III
Western Digital Red Pro WD8003FFBX-68B9AN0 8 TB, 7200 RPM, SATA-III
PSU
Corsair HX1200 1200W 80 Plus Platinum
Case
Fractal Design Define 7 Black Solid Case
Cooling
Noctua NH-D15 Chromax Black
Keyboard
Razer Ornata V2
Mouse
Razer DeathAdder Essential
Internet Speed
FTTN 100Mbps / 40Mbps
Browser
Mozilla Firefox
Antivirus
N/A
Other Info
Logitech BRIO 4k Ultra HD USB-C Webcam
Operating System
Windows 10 Pro
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
ASUS ROG Zephyrus M GM501GS
CPU
Core i7-8750H
Motherboard
Zephyrus M GM501GS
Memory
SK Hynix 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) HMA82GS6CJR8N-VK 16 GB DDR4-2666 DDR4 SDRAM
Windows 11 has blocked access to the MSR registers so you cannot undervolt directly with either Throtlestop or Intel XTU as undervolting will remedy the problem but with Virtualization enabled, it won't work.
Should work on all of them. Use PowerMonkey as a workaround... or did you mean how to temporary get access to use throttlestop to get the actual voltages? What I did was first turn off Intel Virtualization in the BIOS and then used this:
and ran .\DG_Readiness_Tool_v3.6.ps1 -Ready
then ran .\DG_Readiness_Tool_v3.6.ps1 -disable HVCI
and rebooted so I can find the voltages with Throttlestop
then after that:
turn Intel Virtualization in the BIOS back on
and then ran .\DG_Readiness_Tool_v3.6.ps1 -enable HVCI
rebooted and then built PowerMonkey as Throttlestop is no longer needed, it's only used to find the voltage numbers needed. In my case, the most I could do without errors was -100mV on both the CPU core and CPU cache.
On my Asus i7-11370H laptop I couldn't do 'undervolting' when using Windows 10 (but two years ago). And there is no voltage access in the bios, you can only disable virtualisation.
Is it just Windows or is there firmware dependency?
Yes, on my previous MSI i5-9400H laptop everything would have worked.
