Ubuntu Running Slow: How to Speed up Ubuntu Effectively

It is common to experience the Ubuntu running slow issue after you use it for some time. Fortunately, you can speed up Ubuntu by using some methods. Here, MiniTool Partition Wizard tells you how to speed up Ubuntu with 7 tricks.

No matter what system your computer uses, your device will get slow and unresponsive after running for some time. There’s no exception for Ubuntu. How to speed up Ubuntu? This post collects some tricks and tips for you.

Tips:

When your Windows 10/11 computer running slow, speed up it by using MiniTool Partition Wizard. As a PC optimizer and cleaner, it helps you clean up and optimize the computer effectively. For instance, it can check disk space usage and free up space, extend the capacity of your partition, check hard drive for errors, copy disk, wipe disk, and recover missing data and partitions, etc.

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Trick 1: Disable Unnecessary Startup Applications

A lot of applications start during the boot process of Ubuntu, but many of them are unnecessary. Therefore, you can disable these unimportant programs to speed up Ubuntu. Some unnecessary applications for Ubuntu are listed as follows.

Accessibility profile manager
Backup monitor
Blueman applet
Caribou
Desktop sharing
Gnome software
Orca screen reader
Personal file sharing
Update notifier

Launch Startup Applications and then uncheck the specific application in the prompted window to disable it.

Trick 2: Reduce the Default GRUB Load Time

GRUB is the default bootloader for nearly all Linux distro, offering you 10 seconds to choose between dual boot OS or to go in recovery. If you think that your Ubuntu runs slowly, lower the waiting time by using GRUB. To do that, open the terminal window and type the command below.

sudo gedit /etc/default/grub

After the text editor is opened by this command, modify the GRUB_TIMEOUT value from 10 to 2 seconds. You should not enter a value less than 2 because this will deprive the changes to switch between OS and recovery screens. After changing the value, run the “sudo update-grub” command.

Trick 3: Install Preload

Preload is a daemon running in the background, which analyzes user behavior and often runs applications automatically. To be specific, it loads the frequently used apps so that they load faster whenever you open them. For instance, if you often open LibreOffice and Firefox, Preload will automatically load the start-up files into its memory to enable faster processing for you at startup time.

Tips:

Preload stores the necessary files in RAM, which is much faster than keeping them on the hard drive. Find the difference between RAM and hard drive in this post.

It means that it won’t be working from scratch when you open the application the next time. So, it is recommended to install Preload on your Ubuntu with the following command.

sudo apt install preload

After you install Preload, it will be started by automation. You can check it out with the command below.

systemctl status preload

If it’s not running, start it by executing the command below.

sudo systemctl enable –now preload

Trick 4: Disable Fancy Effects

With fancy effects enabled, you may also encounter the Ubuntu running slow issue. So, simply disable fancy effects to speed up Ubuntu. You can do that by using the compizconfig-settings-manager with the command below.

sudo apt install compizconfig-settings-manager

Then tap on the Effects tab on the left and disable effects that you don’t like. Besides, you can disable the background blur of Unity Dash with Unity tweak tool to make Dash more responsive.

sudo apt install unity-tweak-tool

After opening the tool, click on the Search tab and set Background blur to OFF status.

Trick 5: Enable Proprietary Graphics Drivers

Try installing the proprietary drivers of your graphics card if specific graphics-related tasks such as desktop effects or games are running slow. To do that, open the Dash, look for Drivers, and then open the Additional Drivers utility. Then the program will find hardware connected to your computer and provide compatible and proprietary drivers for you to install.

Also read: Windows 8.1 Running Slow? Speed up Windows 8.1 with 5 Ways

Trick 6: Upgrade the RAM

Adding the amount of virtual memory can boost the overall speed of the computer significantly. If you are using Ubuntu 18.04, you need 2GB RAM at least to run smoothly. Please note that this doesn’t take resource-consuming applications like video editors and certain games into account.

When your Ubuntu running slow, add RAM manually. Check the model of your PC to find the specific type of RAM it uses. You can type and execute the command below to find the total available amount of RAM in Ubuntu type.

free -m

To see the RAM type and speed, use the command

sudo lshw -c memory

Then install new RAM chips by placing them into RAM slots. Upgrade the RAM by referring to this tutorial: How to Upgrade or Replace the RAM on Your Computer

Trick 7: Update Ubuntu

Canonical keeps releasing new updates for Ubuntu to improve user experience. These new updates usually include new features and bug patches, maximizing efficiency.

To look for and install updates, open Linux Terminal and type:

sudo apt-get update

To see if a major upgrade is available, open Terminal and run the command.

sudo apt-get upgrade

Then finish the operation by following the on-screen instructions.

Ubuntu running slow? This post shows you how to speed up Ubuntu in 7 methods. Try them now!

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Having writing articles about computer tech for a long time, I am rather experienced especially on the aspect of computer optimization, PC enhancement, as well as tech terms explanation. The habit of looking through tech forums makes me a great computer issues collector. And then, many articles related to these issues are released, which benefit plenty of users. Professional, effective, and innovative are always the pursuit of an editing worker.