To speed up your Chromebook you need to free up its memory. To do this you have to end certain apps from running, limit the amount of tabs you have opened, or disable and uninstall any unused extensions. You also need to check if any update is available and install it.
A Chromebook is a type of computer that mostly uses the Google Chrome browser to get things done. It runs on Chrome OS which is low maintenance as it is secure and updates itself automatically. These models are usually cheaper than their Windows counterparts and are great to use for productivity work using Google Docs.
Make your Chromebook run faster and speed it up
The first time you use your Chromebook you will notice that it runs quite smoothly. Over time though it might run sluggishly. This is usually due to several factors that are attributed with general use. The good thing is that with this device it’s quite easy to make it run the way it used to. Here’s what you need to do.
Method 1: Update your Chromebook software
The first thing you will want to do in this case is to make sure that the device is running on the latest Chrome OS version.
Time needed: 5 minutes.
Update Chromebook software
- Click the Status area.
This is located on the lower right side of the home screen.
- Click the Settings icon.
This uses the icon of a gear and is found at the top part of the status menu.
- Click About Chrome OS.
This is located on the bottom of the left pane of the Settings window.
- Click the “Check for updates button”.
If any update is available it will be automatically downloaded and installed.
With your device now running on the latest software update try to check if it works smoothly.
Method 2: Limit the amount of tabs you have open on Chrome
Having a lot of tabs open on the Chrome browser will use up your system RAM. Once your device gets low on memory it will run slowly. Since most Chromebooks don’t have an extra slot to upgrade the RAM then the next best thing to do is to limit the amount of tabs you have open. You can start with 4 to 5 tabs open then increase this number if the device does not slow down.
Method 3: Uninstall any unused browser extensions
If you have browser extensions enabled but are not using them then consider disabling or uninstalling these as they are using system resources. You can check your browser extensions by clicking on Menu – More tools- then Extensions. From here you can determine which extensions you want enabled.
Method 4: Perform a Powerwash on your Chromebook to speed up your device
As a last resort you can perform a Powerwash. This is basically a factory reset that erases all your data on the device and reverts it to its condition when it was new. Make sure to backup any locally stored data before performing this action.
- Click the Status area.
- Click the Settings icon.
- Click on Advanced located at the bottom of the right pane.
- Click on Reset on the Reset settings section found at the bottom of the right pane.
- Click the Restart button to proceed with the factory reset.
After performing the steps listed above you will successfully speed up your Chromebook.
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