Make Sure the Processor is not Overheating

Windows 8 can lag due to processor overheating. Turn your computer off and clean all the components including processor fan, motherboard & all the cables.

Turn Off Unnecessary Services

Your computer might have several running services. Turn off all the services you don’t require. Here’s how:

• Right click your Taskbar.
• Select Task Manager.
• The Task Manager shall open.
• Click the More Details link.
• The basic view shall turn into extended view.
• Click the Services tab.
• Click the Services tab.
• Right click unnecessary services and select Stop option.
  
  Stop following services:
  It is safe to stop the following services. It will optimize Windows 8 performance and stop frequent lags.
  
  Certificate Propagation, IP Helper, Windows Media Center Service Launcher, Windows Search and Windows Time
• Close Task Manager.

Clean and Defrag Windows Registry

Over a period of time Windows Registry becomes corrupted and fragmented. It is important to clean and defrag it for fixing Windows 8 lagging. Do these tasks on a regular basis, especially once a week.

• Download, install and run RegInOut System Utilities.
• Click the Registry Cleaner tab on the left.
• Click Start Scan.
• The registry scan process shall start. Be patience.
• After it is finished, click Fix Issues.
• Then click Defragmenter tab.
• Click Analyze.
• Let the program determine fragmented portion of your registry.
• After completion, please click Defragment.
• The system shall restart during this operation.

Change Process Priority

If the lags are experienced for selected programs it’s time to change their process priority. By changing process priority you allow the processor to allocate more memory to the specified tasks.

• Open Task Manager as mentioned in the Steps 1 to 4 under Turn off Unnecessary Services section.
• Click the Details tab.
• Right click an application process to change its priority. (Select the application which is lagging frequently)
• Select Set Priority | Above Normal.
• A confirmation box shall appear. Click Change Priority to confirm.
• Close Task Manager.

Disable Visual Effects

Disabling Visual Effects can prevent Windows 8 lagging. Following are the steps required to adjust your computer for Best Performance instead of Best Appearance:

• Press Windows Key + X combination.
• Following context menu shall appear:
• Select System.
• System dialog shall open.
• Click advanced system settings link.
• System Properties dialog shall open.
• Under Advanced tab, click Settings from Performance.
• Select the option Adjust for best performance from Visual Effects tab.
• Click OK | OK.