Summary

Intro:
To properly enhance the speed and function of your laptop, I
must first identify the root cause of why it isn’t running well as it is
supposed to. Here’s a list of possible issues that we may found during
the inspection.
I. Surface Level Issue (Programs and Operating System)
a. Bloated windows operating system – full of bloatware,
programs that are included by the manufacturer of which
is not really an important component of a laptop and
programs that are preinstalled which comes with the
windows operating itself (starting windows 10).
b. Outdated drivers of hardware installed on the Device –
drivers that missing updates and fixes for performance
might be missing so updating drivers will certainly fix
issues for this kind of problem.
c. Misconfigured Settings within windows – some settings
within windows are automated, meaning has been set as
a recommendation for a general use, however if your
laptop is running low on performance this might be an
issue so to resolve it, we need to reconfigure those
settings and see if they make some changes.
d. Viruses and Malware – like our body, if a foreign object
enters and tries to invade, we would be feeling sick,
same with computers. If viruses were to make some
sketchy processes, it would consume a ton of resources
and our device would be running very slowly (Linux
aren’t affected).
e. Corrupt Windows Operating System – corrupted
windows operating system files are usually a root cause
of this problem, this could be check through command
prompt using a sfc command. However, it is not 100%
sure that this way, windows will run smoothly again
compared to its previous state. So, for this issue, a
reformat and reinstall of a genuine and untampered
windows installer is needed.
II. Hardware level issue
a. RAM – usually the main reason why laptops and
computers are slow because the RAM is not enough for
it to handle such tasks that you’re doing with your
device. An additional 100% of your current RAM (if it’s
supported) is recommended.
 b. HDD vs SSD – due to the difference of these two
components, we know SSD are faster and more reliable
towards of what we called write and read speed. In
terms of storage, HDD are what we seek but in terms of
long-term use, reliability and speed, we go for SSD.
Sometimes our boot speed is very slow, let’s say 1
minute and 30 seconds for an average specs of a
device. But it would be reduced by a 1 minute and 10
seconds if we switch to an SSD or if we use the SSD as
a boot disk, unless our device supports double raid
SATA storage. Do note that HDD are more susceptible
to data problems due to its nature, this could be a
reason of why some surface level issue appears.
c. CPU – CPU is our main processing component in our
device, but usually it doesn’t get full of usage if we do
simple tasks unless we do some editing of images and
videos or compiling some programs that are heavy
enough for the system. CPU is usually the issue if we’re
running slowly because if a CPU is defective it would
most likely not last for month or two.
III. Firmware
a. Old firmware is sometimes the root cause why hardware
couldn’t interact properly with the program and operating
system, it is recommended to do an upgrade of firmware
before anything else.
Inspection:
So, to start things off, it is recommended to make sure to check
the list above and make sure that the user of the device backs up all
important files that aren’t needed and is okay to be removed. In this
process third party tools might be use depending on the need of the
device for optimization.
Tools to be used:
a. DirectX Diagnostic Tool – from directX by microsoft
b. CrystalDiskInfo – 3rd party
c. CPU-Z – 3rd party
d. System File Checker – built in windows
e. Memory Test (for RAM)- built in windows
Procedure:
After inspection, depending on the investigation, steps to act
might be on this list.
1. Backup personal files
2. Reformatting windows operating system using an untouched
installer
 3. Setting up your operating system normally
4. Update firmware
5. Install Hardware > Reinstall Windows > Install Drivers
a. Hardware – if planning to upgrade make sure to install the
hardware first before installing any drivers, check the
following.
i. Installing a new storage (SSD/HDD) – this will replace
your operating system no matter what, so do this first
ii. Installing a new RAM – easy to install doesn’t need
format unless there’s a problem with the RAM slot or
the RAM itself.
iii. Replacement of CPU – may or may not require a
reinstall of windows
b. Reinstall Windows – depending on the hardware installed
(or newly installed) this may not be needed.
c. Installing drivers – clean install of all drivers needed for the
hardware installed.
6. Reconfigure Windows System Settings (control panel or
Windows Settings)
7. Properly installing program that are not bloatware.
8. Lastly, some benchmarks here and there just to see if everything
goes well.

Final notes:
You’ll be able to enjoy your laptop like new.