When people hear about Linux, they either think about speed, or about being really confused. Either way, sometimes Linux runs a little slower than you’d like. Luckily you can speed the system up a little bit (or a lot, depending) using one or more of the simple tricks below.
Remove Unnecessary AppsThis happens to many computer users—they see an app, think it looks
cool and useful, then download it and never use it again. These apps
build up overtime and bog a system down. Start uninstalling apps you
don’t need and your system should increase in overall speed.
Reduce Start-Up Apps There are a number of different processes that start up when you
first boot, and probably don’t use most of them. The startup processes
will vary based on the distro, but all have the same effect—they slow
things down. Pull up the startup processes (which will also vary based
on distro), disable them, and they won’t slow things down anymore.
Reduce Swap SpaceSwap space is for people too cheap to buy RAM (ok, so maybe you’re
using old hardware). Swap space is basically an empty part of your hard
drive that has been reserved specifically for swapping info out with the
RAM. If you have a lot of processes going, your system will swap the
data in the RAM with the data in the swap space as a way to let you run
more apps. The problem is that this is a slow process, and unnecessary
if you don’t need it.
Increase App MemorySome programs will slug along, making it appear that your system is
slower than arctic ice, when in reality, the program is simply being
starved of adequate memory. Crack open the help files and see if there
is a way to increase the memory for that particular application. If
there is, increase it and things should speed up.
Burp Your AppsAlright, this might sound odd, but so does “bloated apps” if you
think about it. By ‘burps apps’, we mean, “Uninstall the crapware”. Some
people might gasp at this suggestion, not because they think it won’t
work, but because of the insinuation that Linux has bloatware. Sorry,
but it’s true. Some programs for Linux are just too clunky, chunky, and
memory hungry to have on a fast machine. Burp your apps and notice the
speed increase.
Increase RAMThis isn’t a software tweak, but oftentimes it can make a big
difference. Look for a small flap on the back of your laptop (or a slot
inside the your tower) and add some more. Going from 1GB to 4GB will
make a big difference in many cases.
Disable Eye CandyThose sweet Compiz tricks, those menu effects, those fancy mouse
pointers and jumping icons are all nice for showing your friends how
awesome Linux is, but isn’t so great when it comes to getting maximum
speed on your system. Depending on how many things you are running,
those graphics can slow a system down considerably. Disabling the
various effects will greatly speed a system up.
Eliminate Hardware BottleneckingYou end up with a bottleneck when one piece of hardware is faster
than another. This can happen because you have a slower-than-dirt hard
drive, a slow CPU with a fast graphics card, etc. Look at your hardware,
make a list if you need to, and update things that are slower. On the
other hand, make sure your system isn’t slowing down your hard drive as a
way to insure stability.
Update KernelA newer kernel will, in most cases, be faster than an older one. If
you’re running an old kernel, update it, or switch to a different distro
with a kernel that plays nicer with your particular hardware.
Changing File SystemsIf you’ve been running the same system for awhile, you might be using
an older, slower file system. Updating from EXT2/3 to EXT 4 will speed
things up a bit, though it will likely necessitate a complete system
overhaul, which might speed things up as well.
Use Command Line AppsTechnically, all apps are command line. The wonderful geeks of the
world then add a graphical user interface, most commonly called a GUI,
which gives you a nice program to click and point in, making it easier
for the everyday user or someone unfamiliar with the program to use. The
downside to a GUI is that it automatically makes an app a little more
bloated then it otherwise would be. You can reduce its impact on your
system by using it as a command line app, and only requires a little bit
of memorization.
Eliminate Boot Timer If you use GRUB, then you’re no doubt familiar with the annoying
little timer that counts down when you first start the computer up. That
timer is handy if you are dual-booting, but mostly just annoying if
you’re only running Linux on the machine. To speed the boot-process up a
little bit, crack open the Terminal and edit the ‘grub’ file, changing
the timer countdown value to ‘0’.
Remove Menu IconsMenu icons are mostly useless if you’re capable of reading,
especially since most users concerned with speed already have shortcuts
to launch their favorite apps. To get rid of that delay that happens
when you click on the menu, disable the icons. This can usually be done
by right-clicking on the menu and unchecking the box for displaying
icons.
Change Desktop EnvironmentIf you’re using Linux, there’s a good chance you’re using either
Gnome or KDE. KDE is even slower than Gnome, but both are slower than
many of the other systems available. If you still want menu bars but
don’t want to be as bogged down, look at the XFCE desktop environment.
If you’re really looking for speed, you can download Fluxbox, Icebox, or
Blackbox, all of which are as Spartan as you can get. Some distros come
with these desktop environments preloaded. With others, you need to
download them and switch. Don’t worry, the process can be reversed in
case you don’t like how it functions.http://laptoplogic.com/resources/14-ways-to-make-linux-run-faster
