Have you noticed that the performance of your Ubuntu system has dropped? Even though Ubuntu 18.04 (the most recent version) is a very powerful Linux distribution, your installation can slow down over time.
Many factors can affect the speed of your system, including:
- The number of programs you have downloaded.
- Not enough virtual memory
- Not enough free disk space
- Not optimal configuration options
Below are six easy ways to speed up and optimize your installation.
Restart your computer
While this step may seem obvious, it is not suitable for regular Linux users. The reason for this is that you usually do not need to restart your Linux system.
It is well known for its ability to run for long periods of time without having to restart your computer. However, over time, running processes can accumulate and slow down your speed.
Instead of manually deleting temporary files, it is much easier to restart your computer.
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If your system has slowed down to the point where you cannot access the system menu, hold down the power button until it turns off.
Edit Autostart Applications
When you start your computer, you have a variety of applications that launch after the device boots.
However, do you really need them all set to start automatically? It takes up a lot of memory.
You can edit which applications start on restart in the Startup Applications utility.
The process is simple.
- Click the Launch Applications icon.
- You will see a screen similar to the one shown in the image above.
- See which items are listed in the application being launched.
- Select add, remove, or modify.
- If you do not need to select any application to launch at startup, click uninstall.
Only enable the most important Ubuntu software or applications that you always need, and uninstall the ones you don’t need.
Use Preload
Preloading is a background service that monitors and tracks the applications you use frequently. It remembers the binaries and libraries used and caches them in memory.
As a result, your applications will load much faster than without preloading.
For example, if you always use Firefox when you start working on your computer, the files are loaded into memory. This way, when you log into your computer, Firefox will load faster.
Not all Ubuntu distributions have Preload installed by default. Easy to install. Just run the command below:
sudo apt-get install preload
Preloading will run in the background of your system and speed it up. If you have a lot of memory, the speed increase can be significant – from 20% to 60%.
Preload will take a little while to find out which apps you use the most.
Free up disk space
It’s always a good idea to clean up clutter in your system storage to make room for new files and programs. This is especially important if you have limited memory space.
Although Ubuntu is a lightweight operating system, it can run into storage problems mainly because it does not remove downloaded and installed software packages.
Empty Trash
Removing temporary and unnecessary files from your computer not only gets rid of unnecessary files; it also frees up hard disk space.
Open the file manager and right click on the trash can icon. To remove these files permanently, select the “empty trash” option.
Delete temporary files
There are many files on your computer that take up a lot of space. For example, temporary files, browser histories and caches.
Removing these files will free up space on your system. Search your Software Center for a cleaning program called BleachBit.
After you have downloaded BleachBit, you need to install and run it. This will free up disk space and protect your privacy.
Analyze disk usage
Perhaps you have very large files that shouldn’t take up too much space. Ubuntu Linux has a tool called Disk Usage Analyzer.
It will scan your folders and files and graphically show which directories are taking up the most space.
You can access this tool through the Ubuntu Control Panel.
Edit Grub Configuration
By default, the Grub configuration provides a 10 second delay to choose which operating system you want to boot from.
You can enter this configuration and reduce the time to 2 seconds. This will save you 8 seconds on reboot.
To install this command, change:
“GRUB_TIMEOUT = 10” to “GRUB_TIMEOUT = 2”
Software Updates Mirror
Choose the best server for Ubuntu to get updates.
- Go to the app drawer.
- Find software and updates.
- Select your Ubuntu software.
- Choose the best server.
This is especially useful for those with slow internet connections. Your system will run a test looking for the closest server where it can access update files faster when performing an update or update.
This will not only speed up your Ubuntu system, but it will also install any required drivers that are missing and include all new security bug fixes.
Following these six steps will speed up your Ubuntu installation.
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