Almost every “my laptop is slow” job that comes across our bench falls into one of four causes. Work through these in order before you spend money on anything.
1. Check what’s actually using your resources
Open Task Manager on Windows (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) or Activity Monitor on a Mac, and sort by CPU and Memory. If one process is pinned near 100% constantly, that’s your answer — it might be a browser with too many tabs, a stuck update, or something worth investigating further rather than a hardware problem at all.
2. Check how full your main drive is
A drive that’s over roughly 90% full slows down noticeably, especially if it’s a traditional hard drive rather than an SSD. Clearing space, or moving to a larger SSD, often solves “slow” complaints on its own.
If your laptop is more than five years old and still running on its original hard drive, an SSD upgrade is usually the single most effective fix available — often more noticeable than buying a new laptop entirely.
3. Check what launches at startup
Too many programs opening automatically is one of the most common causes of a slow-feeling machine, particularly right after login. On Windows, the Startup tab in Task Manager shows what’s enabled and its impact rating — disable anything you don’t recognise or use daily.
4. Run a malware check
Unexplained slowness, especially combined with pop-ups, browser redirects, or a fan that runs constantly even when idle, is a classic sign of malware. Run a full scan with Windows Security (built in and free) or your preferred antivirus tool.
When it’s worth booking a diagnosis instead
If you’ve been through all four checks and nothing’s changed, it’s likely a hardware-level issue — a failing drive, thermal paste that’s dried out and is causing the CPU to throttle, or a battery fault putting the machine into a reduced power state. These need proper diagnostic tools to confirm, which is where we come in.
Book a free diagnosis or see our Laptop Repair page for pricing.