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Why is my Acer Laptop so Slow? (Troubleshooting Guide)

Why is my Acer laptop so slow?

Your Acer laptop may be slow because of too many startup programs, malware running as a background application, battery problems, full hard drive memory full or failing hardware.

The below issues may cause your Acer laptop to run slow:

  • Startup programs
  • Malware
  • Battery issues
  • Full hard drive
  • Overheating
  • Hardware failure

 

Troubleshooting a slow Acer laptop

Problem Cause Solution
Acer Laptop slow to startup Too many startup programs Manage the auto-run services and disable the non-essential startup programs.
Slow internet Poor network connection Check the internet connection.
Laptop slow when charging Power saving mode enabled while ‘Plugged in’ Turn OFF the power saver option in the settings when  ‘Plugged in’
Laptop slow when not charging Power saving mode enabled while ‘On Battery’ Turn OFF the power saver option while ‘On Battery’
Slow to turn ON Battery issues Disable the Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery device and save the settings

 

Acer laptop is slow

 

How to fix an Acer laptop that’s running very slow?

You can fix an Acer laptop that’s running slow by trying out some basic troubleshooting methods like checking the network connection, changing the battery mode, checking the hardware and so on.

The steps below guide you on how to carry out the troubleshooting for a slow Acer laptop.

  1. Try freeing up space from your hard drive as a full hard drive can cause the laptop to run slow. You can do this either manually or using cleaning software to remove duplicate files, browser history, caches and so on.
  2. Change the power settings to “maximum performance” on your laptop to make your laptop work faster.
  3. Prevent the hardware, CPU, and GPU from overheating by removing dust from their surfaces.
  4. Run system updates and antivirus scanners to spot any malicious presence of threats existing in your laptop and remove them.

 

How to fix Acer laptop slow after update?

You can fix an Acer laptop that is working slowly after an update by checking for corrupted files that may have been downloaded on your laptop or some updates that couldn’t be downloaded.

 

Steps

  1. Use the inbuilt antivirus software of your computer or an externally downloaded antivirus software to scan for corrupted files and malware in your system and remove them.
  2. Check for pending updates on your laptop by going to the Settings menu and select Update and Security from the list. The pending updates will be available in the window and you can resume the download.

 

Acer laptop is slow when charging

The Acer laptop is slow while charging because the battery options are set to power saver mode when the laptop is getting charged. You can turn OFF the power saving mode to stop your Acer laptop from being slow while charging.

  1. Right-click on the battery icon present in the taskbar of your laptop screen. Alternatively, you can go to the “Settings” of your laptop and choose “Battery” from the left-hand menu.
  2. Move the slider on the option that says “Turn battery saver ON automatically if my battery falls below” to the extreme left side. You can also turn OFF the toggle bar marked “Battery saver status until next charge”.

 

Acer Laptop slow to startup

The Acer laptop is slow to startup when there are so many startup programs or autorun services running on your laptop. This increases the booting time and slows the booting of the laptop.

You can fix this problem by managing the startup programs on your computer. This can be done by either accessing the “Task Manager” on your laptop or using an externally installed application like CleanMyPC and starting the “autorun” feature.

 

How to manage startup programs from the “Task Manager”:

  1. Right-click anywhere on the home screen of your laptop and go to the “Task Manager” from the menu.
  2. At first, it displays only the programs running on the laptop. To access all the features, go to the “More Details” option by clicking on the downward arrow.
  3. Click the “Startup” tab. You will see all the programs that run along with Windows as soon as you boot the system. It also shows if the application is enabled and its impact on startup.
  4. Right-click an application and go to the “Search Online” option to know its impact on the system. It is necessary to do so because some programs are important for the computer startup.
  5. Disable the apps that can be safely disabled after doing the above check by right-clicking on the app name. Select the “Disable” option from the context menu. This will disable the unnecessary programs and applications that may be slowing down the startup of the laptop.

 

Acer laptop is slow when not plugged in

The Acer laptop is slow when the charger is not plugged in because most of the systems are programmed to reduce the power usage while working on the battery. The system requires maximum power to work fast. So, when the power consumption is reduced by the settings of the Acer laptop, it may work slowly.

You can fix this by simply changing the power settings in the “Control Panel” of your laptop.

  1. Open the “Settings” of your laptop and go to the “System settings”.
  2. Click the “Power and Sleep” option.
  3. Click “Additional Power Settings” to open the “Power Options” window. This window displays the different power plans programmed in your computer like “Balanced”, “Maximum Performance”, and “Battery life”.
  4. Click the power plan to change the time after which the display turns OFF and the computer goes to “Sleep”.
  5. Go to the “Change Advanced Power Settings” to open a more elaborate menu of options.
  6. Change the settings in these options according to your requirements.

 

Why is my Acer Aspire 5 laptop so slow?

Your Acer Aspire 5 laptop may be slow because of malware in your computer, battery problems, almost full hard drive, overheating or too many startup programs. You can fix each of these reasons in the ways given below.

  1. Scan and remove all the viruses as well as malware in a computer by using built-in software like Windows Defender or paid software like Bitdefender Antivirus Plus. You can simply install antivirus software on your computer and run a thorough check to find the malicious files and clean them later.
  2. If your battery is causing the Acer Aspire 5 to slow down, start your laptop in the “Safe Mode”. Go to “Device Manager” and expand the Batteries menu. Turn OFF the Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery device and save the settings. Switch OFF the laptop and restart in the regular mode.
  3. To prevent the slowing down of Acer Aspire 5 due to an almost full hard disk, you will need to install an application called CleanMyPC to remove all the browser junk, duplicate files and unused applications.
  4. Overheating may be caused due to dust over the CPU and GPU. To prevent overheating, you will need to use alcohol and a microfiber cloth to remove the dust from the CPU and GPU of your laptop.
  5. To manage the slow-down issue of your laptop because of too many startup programs, manage the programs and applications from the Settings menu. Alternatively, you can use the “Autorun” feature of the CleanMyPC application to manage and disable the auto-run services of your laptop.

 

Why is my Acer Nitro 5 laptop so slow?

Your Acer Nitro 5 laptop may become slow because of low memory. You can fix this by increasing the virtual memory of your laptop. Follow the steps given below to increase the virtual memory and boost your laptop’s performance.

  1. Left-click on the “folder” icon present in the taskbar of your laptop. Right-click on the “This PC” option located on the left-hand side of the “File Explorer” window. Select the “Properties” from the menu that appears.
  2. Check the installed capacity of RAM in your laptop. It can be noted from the system window that is appearing on the screen.
  3. Click “Advanced System Settings” to open the System Properties window.
  4. Click the “Advanced” tab.
  5. In the “Performance” section, click the “Settings” button to open the Performance Options window.
  6. Click the “Advanced” tab.
  7. In the “Virtual Memory” section, click on the “Change…” button.
  8. Click on the “Automatically manage paging file size for all drivers” checkbox to disable it.
  9. Click the “Custom size” option and enter the desired values of initial memory size and maximum memory size.
  10. Click on the button marked “Set”, followed by OK.

Ernie Lo

Ernie Lo is a qualified web designer and web developer. He works as an IT support technician and website manager at Benleigh Vending, and he also fixes vending machines.

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