How to Fix MSI Running Slow on Windows 10/11?

Why Is My Gaming Laptop Running So Slow?

If you are a PC game fan, MSI laptops might not be new to you. MSI laptops are known for their excellent build quality, innovative features, and high-performance hardware tailored for gaming. However, it must be incredibly frustrating to find that your MSI running slow suddenly for no reason.

Multiple reasons might lead to MSI running slow and these elements include:

• Using an old HDD.
• Running too many startup or background apps.
• Outdated device driver.
• Insufficient disk space.
• Hardware issues.
• Use the Power Saver mode.
• Virus & threat protection.
• Outdated operating system.
• Too many fragments on the hard drive.

How to Fix MSI Running Slow on Windows 10/11?

Fix 1: Limit Startup Programs

Startup programs slow down the boot time and system performance of your MSI laptop by using your CPU, disk, memory, and network. If there are too may startup programs running at boot, you need to limit some of them for better system performance.

Step 1. Right-click on the taskbar and select Task Manager.

Step 2. Under the Startup tab, find the unnecessary startup programs and right-click on it to choose Disable.

Fix 2: Update Your Windows

To run your MSI laptop more efficiently, it is important to update to the most current Windows operating system in time. The latest Windows OS might fix some known bugs, deliver some new features, and release security patches. Follow these steps:

Step 1. Press Win + I to open Windows Settings.

Step 2. Go to Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates.

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Fix 3: Update Device Driver

Keeping your device drivers up to date might help to ensure your system runs more smoothly. Once your device drivers are corrupted, it might trigger issues on graphic output, video resolution, and internet connection. Here, take updating graphics drivers as an example:

Step 1. Right-click on the Start icon and choose Device Manager.

Step 2. Expand Display adapters and right-click on your graphics card to choose Update driver.

Step 3. Click on Search automatically for drivers and then follow the guidelines on the screen.

Fix 4: Uninstall Unused Programs

When you uninstall programs that you rarely use, it will free up valuable space on your hard drive. By doing so, the strain on your system resources will be reduced, making your MSI laptop faster and more responsive. To do so:

Step 1. Press Win + R to open the Run box.

Step 2. Type appwiz.cpl and hit Enter to launch Programs and Features.

Step 3. Select the programs you don’t need > right-click on them to choose Uninstall > confirm this operation > follow the uninstallation wizard to complete the rest process.

Fix 5: Upgrade HDD to SSD

As is known to all, the read and write speed of SSD is much faster than that of HDD. Therefore, if you are running an HDD as the system disk, why not consider replacing it with an SSD? Speaking of cloning HDD to SSD, a free PC backup software called MiniTool ShadowMaker might help you out.

This tool is aimed to provide data protection and disaster recovery solutions for individuals and companies. It supports file backup, system backup, disk backup and partition backup. Furthermore, it also allows you to clone a disk and sync your files.  If your MSI is running slow, you can migrate the entire system disk to an SSD via the Clone Disk feature without reinstalling Windows.

Step 1. Launch MiniTool ShadowMaker.

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Step 2. In the Tools page, click on Clone Disk.

Step 3. In the lower right, click on Options. Then, you will see the New disk ID option is selected by default.

In Disk clone mode, you can select either of the two modes: Used sector clone and Sector by sector clone.

Step 4. Then, you need to choose your original hard drive as the source disk and the new SSD as the target disk.

Step 5. Next, MiniTool ShadowMaker will inform you that all data on the target will be destroyed, so make sure to back them up in advance. Click on OK to confirm this operation and wait for the process to complete. If the disk you clone is a system disk, you can set the new SSD as the default boot device in BIOS.

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Fix 6: Terminate Resource-Hogging Background Programs

Some unnecessary background tasks might be resource-intensive, eating up your system resources. To eliminate their interference to your operating system, you need to terminate these tasks. Follow these guidelines:

Step 1. Right-click on taskbar and select Task Manager.

Step 2. Under the Processes tab, identify processes that are consuming lots of disk, memory, network, or CPU usage. Right-click on them one after another and then select End task. After that, check if MSI running slow still exists.

Fix 7: Perform a Full Scan

A slowdown in computer might be a sign of malware or virus infection. If your MSI laptop runs slow unexpectedly, run a full scan with Windows Defender to see if the MSI running slow gets fixed.

Step 1. Open Windows Settings.

Step 2. Go to Update & Security > Windows Security > Virus & threat protection.

Step 3. Click on Scan options > check Full scan > hit Scan now to start the scanning.

Fix 8: Run Windows Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter

MSI running slow might also be caused by memory issues. To detect and fix hardware-related issues, you can utilize Windows Hardware and Devices troubleshooter via Command Prompt. To do so:

Step 1. Launch Command Prompt as an administrator.

Step 2. Type msdt.exe -id DeviceDiagnostic and hit Enter.

Step 3. In the Hardware and Devices dialog, click on Next to start applying any repairs available.

Fix 9: Perform a Clean Boot

Performing a clean boot disables all non-Microsoft programs and services. It helps to fix any existing software conflicts and enhance PC performance. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1. Type msconfig in the search bar and hit OK to open System Configuration.

Step 2. In Services section, tick Hide all Microsoft services and hit Disable all.

Step 3. In the Startup tab, click on Open Task Manager.

Step 4. Right-click on each enabled item and choose Disable.

Step 5. Click on Apply & OK.

Fix 10: Remove Temporary Files

There might be many temporary files from application data, browsing data, windows updates, and more. These files can occupy much disk space on your hard drive, leading to MSI running slow. To guarantee the efficiency of your system performance, you can consider removing these temp files periodically.

Step 1. Right-click on the Start icon and select Run from the quick menu.

Step 2. Type %temp% and hit OK to open the Temp folder on your computer.

Step 3. Press Ctrl + A to select all the files and right-click on them to select Delete.

Fix 11: Perform Disk Cleanup

Windows is equipped with a utility called Disk Cleanup that enables you to delete unimportant files and data including Download Program Files, Temporary Internet Files, DirectX Shader Cache, Delivery Optimization Files, Temporary Files, Thumbnails, User File History, as well as files in Recycle Bin. Here’s the detailed tutorial to free up disk space via this tool:

Step 1. Type cleanmgr in the Run dialog and hit Enter.

Step 2. Select the drive you want to clean up and hit OK.

Step 3. Tick the files you want to delete and then hit OK to start the process. After completion, check if MSI running slow is gone.

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Fix 12: Adjust Virtual Memory

Virtual memory is significant for multitasking and launching resource-hogging programs. If your MSI laptop is running slow and it is running out of physical RAM, increasing virtual memory might help to speed up your computer. To do so:

Step 1. Open Control Panel.

Step 2. Expand the drop-down menu beside View by and highlight Category.

Step 3. Go to System and Security > System > Advanced System Settings.

Step 4. In the Advanced tab, click on Settings under Performance.

Step 5. In the Advanced tab of Performance Options, hit Change under Virtual memory.

Step 6. Uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives > tick Custom size > enter the Initial size and Maximum size of the paging file based on the physical memory of your PC > save the changes.

Fix 13: Defrag Your Hard Drive

The fragmented data on the hard drive might be accumulated over time, so you need to defrag your hard drive on a regular basis to avoid more performance loss. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1. Press Win + S to evoke the search bar.

Step 2. Type defrag to locate Defragment and Optimize Drives and hit it.

Step 3. Select the drive you would like to defrag and click on Optimize.

Fix 14: Change Power Plans

If you choose the Power Saver plan, the performance of your MSI laptop might be reduced to conserve energy. To prioritize system performance, it is a good option to choose the High performance plan (for higher-end PCs, select the Ultimate Performance plan). To do so:

Step 1. Open Control Panel.

Step 2. Expand the drop-down menu beside View by and select Small icons.

Step 3. Click on Power options to view all the power plans on your computer.

Step 4. In the right pane, tick High performance or Ultimate Performance as per your need.

My MSI laptop is extremely sluggish with long load time. Thanks to the tips in this guide, my computer runs smoothly again. Try them if you are bothered by the same issue!Click to Tweet

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This guide demonstrates several ways to speed up MSI laptops and improve your system performance. For more ideas about MiniTool Software, feel free to contact us via [email protected]. We are willing to receive your feedback!

MSI Running Slow FAQ