Dell Latitude 3420 Slow Performance

Users often leave multiple apps, browser tabs, or background tasks open at once. These use CPU and Memory, to fix this open the Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and check which program is are using the most CPU or memory, and close unnecessary tabs.

The Dell Latitude 3420 often comes with limited memory, which necessarily isn't enough for multitasking or modern applications. Upgrading the Laptops RAM to 16GB would significantly improve performance, To do this, remove the back cover and insert a compatible RAM stick in the open slot. This upgrade helps the system run faster and handle more tasks smoothly.

Old version of windows and device drivers can cause slow performance and compatibility issues. The solution for this is to run windows regularly and use Dell Support Assist to have it automatically check for BIOS and driver updates. Keeping everything up to date will have the laptop running efficiently.

When the laptop starts to overheat, the CPU automatically lowers its speed to prevent overheating, this will make the system feel very slow and unresponsive. The solution is to clean the air vents and fans to remove all the dust build up that blocks airflow. compressed air would be ideal to remove the dust, and use the laptop on hard surfaces to prevent unneeded overheating.

When the storage drive is almost full, Windows has less space for temporary files. this will slow down the performance of the laptop, also if the drive is old it can also make response time on the laptop slower. The solution to this is to delete unnecessary files and empty and the trash bin, you can also run Disk Cleanup to clean up more storage. If these do not work simply upgrade to a Solid State Drive(SSD).