Bank drives want to be defragmented. USB sticks should be ejected. Antivirus instrument slows unwell your PC. Who isn’t common with those familiar “wisdoms” about Home windows?
However are any of those Home windows myths in truth true, and the place do they arrive from? Our editorial workforce will get to the base of all of it and separates truth from untruth.
This text was once translated from German to English, and at the beginning seemed on pcwelt.de.
Fiction 1: USB sticks will have to be ejected!
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Many public declare that USB bank media, akin to flash drives and exterior USB drives, will have to be ejected by way of “Safely remove hardware.” However is that this nonetheless important on this generation and presen?
Ejecting USB bank media guarantees that the transferred and saved knowledge left-overs intact. Nonetheless, many public forget about this step and take away the stick with out pondering. The spare step of correctly ejecting it may be a nuisance, so it’s incessantly forgotten, which has led to error messages in while iterations of Home windows.
Microsoft known this infection and presented an answer that has been to be had in Home windows 10 and 11 since October 2018. The pristine “Quick Remove” serve as lets in exterior {hardware} to be got rid of at any past with no need to first click on “Safely remove hardware,” and higher but, the environment is activated by means of default.
Even if this resolution could be very handy and tailored to maximum public’s wishes, it has one main downside: Fast Take away now not caches your knowledge. Caching guarantees a relentless supplementary of the knowledge, however slows unwell the switch pace.
Solution: Incorrect, the usage of “Safely remove hardware” earlier than yanking out USB drives isn’t required any further.
Fiction 2: Drives will have to be defragmented incessantly!
Any other fiction issues the fragmentation of drives and knowledge below Home windows. It’s incessantly mentioned that those drives will have to be defragmented incessantly to guard their pace. However is defragmentation even important as of late?
Trendy drives, particularly cast situation bank (SSDs), now not want defragmentation. More recent drives gather and retrieve knowledge in a different way than used crisp drives.
On used crisp drives, knowledge was once saved on magnetic disks and needed to be processed by means of shifting read-head and write-head devices. When a document was once erased from the crisp pressure, gaps had been created that may be worn by means of alternative recordsdata. Over past, this ended in fragmentation of the recordsdata as they had been saved in smaller fragments in numerous places at the crisp disk. The try of defragmenting the crisp disk was once to deliver those fragments in combination and gather them in a single steady document, which shortened the get right of entry to instances to the recordsdata.
By contrast, SSDs gather knowledge in digital reminiscence cells organized at once at the pressure. There are not any shifting portions storing recordsdata in numerous places, and thus refuse fragmentation.
Solution: Incorrect, on fashionable techniques with SSDs, defragmentation is now not important and will even short the month expectancy of SSDs. That’s why defragmentation is in truth deactivated by means of default below Home windows 10 and Home windows 11 if an SSD is put in within the machine.
Learn extra about our choices for the most efficient SSDs.
Fiction 3: Antivirus instrument slows unwell your PC!

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It’s many times claimed that putting in antivirus instrument on a Home windows machine slows unwell your PC, however is that this true in any respect?
Putting in antivirus instrument on a pc may cause the machine to decelerate for the reason that instrument calls for assets. In case your antivirus plays usual scans, it will have an effect on the operation of the pc and motive techniques to begin or reply extra slowly.
However fashionable antivirus techniques have options that decrease machine load by means of simplest turning into lively when wanted. As well as, many computer systems as of late have robust processors and reminiscence which can be in a position to dealing with the execution of antivirus instrument with out evident delays.
Nonetheless, it’s impressive to notice that no longer the usage of antivirus instrument will increase the chance of malware infections, which will have an effect on the pc’s efficiency and, within the worst case, even spoil impressive knowledge. Smartly-configured antivirus is subsequently an impressive quality for the safety and steadiness of any laptop.
Solution: Incorrect, fashionable antivirus instrument now not noticeably slows unwell your PC. This false impression dates again to the past of Home windows 95 and Home windows 98. As of late, it’s a good suggestion to at all times accumulation antivirus working for your machine.
Examine our lead choices for the most efficient Home windows antivirus instrument.
Fiction 4: Home windows Sport Method does no longer aid in any respect!
You’ll incessantly to find public debating whether or not Home windows 10 and 11’s Sport Method in reality has an have an effect on on gaming efficiency. Over and over again, rumors swirl that Sport Method doesn’t in reality convey the rest in any respect.
They’re improper. Home windows Sport Method can be enhanced the efficiency of PC video games by means of decreasing background processes and non-essential machine actions to isolated up extra assets for the sport. This may end up in the next body charge, shorter loading instances, and an general higher gaming revel in.
Sport Method too can building up the steadiness of video games by means of fighting doable conflicts with alternative packages and processes at the laptop. Alternatively, some avid gamers have spotted that the extra when Sport Method is became on will not be very important, particularly if their laptop is already robust. It’s additionally impressive to notice that no longer all video games will get pleasure from having Sport Method enabled, as used or well-optimized video games might display refuse evident extra.
Solution: Home windows 10 and 11’s Sport Method can for sure accelerate video games, however its advantages are principally unmistakable on much less robust techniques and with much less well-optimized video games. Learn our in-depth checking out on how Home windows 10’s Sport Method makes unplayable video games playable… every now and then for the entire image.
Fiction 5: Google Chrome consumes a dozen of RAM and slows unwell Home windows!

Shutterstock.com/Evan Lorne
Google Chrome and alternative Chromium-based browsers (like Microsoft Edge) “consume” a quite massive quantity of RAM in Home windows in comparison to alternative browsers akin to Mozilla Firefox. However is that this a infection? How does it have an effect on the machine?
It’s true that Google Chrome is understood to usefulness a quite massive quantity of RAM in comparison to alternative internet browsers. The cause of that is that Chrome begins a isolated procedure for every visible tab to assure that extreme one tab does no longer have an effect on the steadiness of alternative tabs or the browser as a complete.
Whether or not it is a infection depends upon your particular instances and machine. If a pc has ample RAM, Chrome’s spare reminiscence intake is also tiny and don’t have any have an effect on at the laptop’s efficiency. But when your laptop has restricted RAM and Chrome takes up maximum of it, it will probably have an effect on the efficiency of alternative packages and the machine as a complete.
Typically, Chrome’s RAM intake may also be diminished by means of taking measures akin to extreme tabs which can be expendable or disabling extensions. In the event you’re continuously working low on RAM, then again, the usage of some other internet browser that calls for much less reminiscence is also an efficient extra.
Solution: The relatively top RAM intake of Google Chrome isn’t in reality a infection below commonplace instances. If truth be told, it’s pushed by means of a attribute that complements browser steadiness. Public with used or memory-constrained techniques will have to accumulation fewer tabs visible, or transfer to a much less resource-intensive browser like Mozilla Firefox.
Must you improve your RAM? 5 issues to believe.
Fiction 6: Home windows PCs get slower over past!
It’s incessantly mentioned that Home windows PCs decelerate over past, however is that this true? What can customers do about it?
Over past, it’s conceivable for a Home windows PC to develop into slower, which may also be because of diverse reasons. Listed below are some contributing components:
- Dry disk fragmentation: In case your crisp disk is fragmented, the read-head of the crisp disk has to advance extra to learn the recordsdata, which will top to diminished pace. In fashionable techniques with SSDs, then again, this level is eradicated, as we defined above.
- Out of date {hardware}: As your Home windows set up ages, so is your laptop’s {hardware}, which will probably top to slower efficiency. Unused working machine options too can put extra pressure on impaired {hardware} and thus decelerate your machine.
- Working machine exuberance: Overloading the working machine may cause it to decelerate because it struggles to deal with the entire processes which can be working. That is led to by means of increasingly techniques and equipment that customers set up on their machine over past.
- Malware infections: A pc inflamed by means of malware may also be bogged down by means of spare processes run by means of the malware.
Solution: Sure, Home windows PCs can decelerate over past, but it surely’s nowhere as pronounced as some public appear to assume and pushed basically by means of working a lot of instrument directly. There are measures you’ll be able to remove to revive efficiency to an an increasing number of gradual Home windows PC, akin to getting rid of untouched techniques, updating {hardware}, scanning for malware infections, and cleansing up your laptop. Home windows has equipment for all of those.
Fiction 7: Home windows 10 and 11 undercover agent on you!
Because the let fall of Home windows 7, Microsoft has been accumulating so-called telemetry knowledge in regards to the consumer’s usefulness of the working machine. However is it true that the working machine spies at the consumer?
Home windows 10 and 11 bundle knowledge to support the efficiency and steadiness of the working machine, in addition to to support the capability of Home windows Replace and the Home windows Bundle. A few of this information may also be thought to be non-public knowledge, which is why there were issues about Microsoft’s privateness practices within the while.

Microsoft
However your Home windows privateness settings may also be adjusted to disable (or no less than restrict) the selection of sure knowledge up to conceivable. Moreover, you’ll be able to make a choice whether or not you wish to have accident knowledge and machine surveys despatched to Microsoft.
It’s impressive to notice that one of the vital knowledge assortment settings are enabled by means of default, then again, and customers won’t at all times pay attention to precisely what knowledge is being gathered by means of Microsoft.
Solution: Sure, Microsoft collects a massive quantity of telemetry knowledge from Home windows 10 and 11, a few of which could be thought to be non-public knowledge. Involved public will have to in moderation test their Home windows privateness settings and alter them accordingly. However announcing that Microsoft is in charge of centered spying goes too a ways.
Fiction 8: Linux is basically sooner than Home windows!
Many critics of Home windows love to accuse the working machine of being basically slower than isolated working techniques in accordance with Linux. However is that this true?

Microsoft/Larry Ewing
It’s an overly advanced query without a sunny solution. Linux is incessantly praised for its potency and steadiness, and will subsequently run higher on used or much less robust techniques than Home windows. It’s additionally very adaptable and may also be optimized for particular necessities. At the alternative hand, Home windows is understood for its bliss of usefulness and compatibility with a large length of packages and {hardware}. On account of its popular usefulness, there also are a number of assistance and useful resource choices.
But it surely’s impressive to notice that the efficiency of Linux and Home windows depends upon diverse components akin to {hardware}, drivers, configuration, and optimization. In some instances, Linux may also be sooner than Home windows, hour in alternative instances Home windows may also be sooner than Linux.
It in the end depends upon your wishes and what duties want to be carried out for your machine.
Solution: Incorrect, Linux isn’t basically sooner than Home windows. Each working techniques have their benefits and drawbacks. The solution to this query hinges utterly for your utilization wishes.