Did you buy a brand-new Chromebook and are eager to start using it, take a step back and read our comprehensive instructions first. Even while ChromeOS works well out of the box, what if we told you that, with a little bit of effort on your part, your Chromebook might speed up and be easier to use?
That’s accurate. The tune-up that follows is a collection of some of the top tips and shortcuts to help you get the most out of your gadget. Most individuals begin exploring their gadgets straight away since they are uninformed of the next procedures, which is not good nor the best course of action. Follow along as we explain how to get off to a good start.
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Tuning your Chromebook in 21 minutes for the best performance
You must complete each stage in a step-by-step procedure to tune your Chromebook to provide you with the optimum levels of performance and speed.
You’ll start seeing noticeable effects as soon as you follow the steps properly, both for the operating system as a whole and for the Google Chrome browser specifically.
Get rid of unnecessary extensions and apps
You should take a critical, honest look at your installed programs, applications, and Google Chrome extensions as one of the initial steps in the whole tune-up procedure. We often lose track of the programs we install on our devices, accumulating a huge number of undesirable applications.
In certain circumstances, uninstalling programs you no longer use is strongly advised to avoid the system being clogged. To test whether any duplicate programs are also included in the mix and might perform better without taking up so much space on your Chromebook, try searching your launcher by hitting the “Search” key.
Similar principles apply to Google Chrome addons. Even while they significantly increase our productivity using the well-known internet browser, it’s nevertheless vital to remove any add-ons that don’t contribute anything to your experience.
Last but not least, considering the diversity of Linux software, the storage on your Chromebook may end up being rather active.
You can recall this from the beginning of the setting of Linux programs on ChromeOS, but Linux, too, uses a certain piece of your hard disk. As a result, if it’s not necessary, you may not wish to occupy that space. By doing this, you can improve the speed of your Chromebook and give it more room to breathe when running resource-intensive applications.
This first step shouldn’t take more than 4-5 minutes to complete since removing programs is simple and fast. All you have to do is right-click an app by touching it with two fingers at once on the touchpad of your Chromebook, then choose “Uninstall.” That ought should finish it.
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Delete your Chrome browser cache and history
The next step concerns the Chrome browser, which is something that often goes missing. Many people lament the slowness of their Chromebooks but often neglect to carefully examine their browsers.
Your Google Chrome may have amassed a sizable amount of trash, cache, and other undesirable files if you’ve owned your device for a time.
Your browsing performance will undoubtedly slow down as a result in some manner. We are certain that you do not want what formerly seemed blazingly fast to now demonstrate subpar performance levels.
On the other hand, accessing the app’s “Settings” in the Chrome browser to clear its cache and history is quite simple.
For the best outcomes, make sure the “Time range” is set to “All time.” Your Chromebook will most likely get heated up in this manner throughout the next duration.
Preload websites in Chrome
Long-term speed improvements for Google Chrome can be made with yet another clever tip. Preloading pages for speedier browsing and searching is an option you’re sure to find if you play about with the application for a while.
Once enabled, you can visit websites more easily in the future. Start by selecting the three vertical dots icon labelled “Customize and manage Google Chrome” in the top-right corner of the screen to access Chrome settings. After then, a variety of alternatives will show up on the screen. To continue, click “Settings.”
When you’re done, use the in-app search box to look for the relevant feature by entering “Preload.” After that, you ought to be transported directly to the “Cookies and other site data” area. Scroll down and click the latter to activate the “Preload sites for quicker browsing and searching” option. This is how you’ll finish the procedure.
Try using the browser on your Chromebook now. The benefits won’t be apparent right away, but after some time, you’ll start to notice the difference.
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Update your Chromebook OS
The importance of keeping your Chromebook completely updated cannot be emphasized enough. For ChromeOS to get newer feature enhancements, Google continuously pushes out planned upgrades.
Also, the latter comes with a plethora of security updates, bug fixes, and other modifications to keep the system operating flawlessly.
The finest feature is that a Chromebook can automatically update without the user needing to physically enter the download phase. Your Chromebook has to restart to update, the system will ask you once it has completed downloading updates.
You must restart the Chromebook from that point on for the modifications to take effect. Please, whenever the prompt comes up, don’t just ignore it. Instead, stop what you’re working on and quickly restart the device.
Your Chromebook will always behave as expected if you do this. Also, making it a practice to update your Chromebook will benefit you in the future while using it.
Install the dark mode
Several graphic modifications were made to ChromeOS 104 around the middle of August, making Chromebooks stand out from a visual standpoint. Making your gadget look attractive and not simply function like a fighter jet is part of the whole tune-up procedure.
It is no less than a gift that the new themed collection of ChromeOS wallpapers allows users to methodically move between day and night. The new “Radiance” and “Element” wallpaper kinds combine the best of both worlds by displaying an image that is similar to that of the daytime while the moon is not yet visible outside, then changing into the nighttime look when it is.
Don’t forget to explore the customizing area and decide what modifications you can make in the future.
Manage Chrome extensions
Examining the extensions menu in your Google Chrome browser and ensuring sure no extensions are getting in the way are two more significant ways you can optimize your Chromebook. On your Chromebook, you can control attachments to the point where they follow your commands.
To begin with, you can decide to temporarily stop certain extensions from operating on the device by disabling them on your end. Also, to get the most performance out of any extension, you can manually search for extension updates. Last but not least is that you should remove any outdated extensions right away.
You should monitor your Chrome extensions to ensure they don’t use up too much of your system resources. By doing so, you can save valuable system resources that would improve your Chromebook’s performance and stop any add-on from doing actions that it is not authorized to.
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Setup Google Assistant
Google’s AI-powered digital assistant is ready to do more for you; all you have to do is tweak its settings.
On ChromeOS, the Assistant can assist you with a range of activities. To begin with, it enables users to set alarms, make reminders, and even aid with navigation via Google Maps. Not to mention the additional features of monitoring the weather and managing the volume, it can also play music for you directly from YouTube using voice commands.
The time it will take you to set up Google Assistant on your end—which shouldn’t take more than a few minutes—is time well spent. The AI tool will first attempt to capture your speech to keep it in its database. However, after it is finished, the Assistant will work without a hitch.
Free up your Storage to improve your RAM
Checking the amount of free RAM that is present on your Chromebook and clearing it if the results are subpar are two of the finest speed upgrades you can do. There are many methods to do this, including starting the Task Manager to look at all background processes that are presently active.
By first picking the item and then choosing “End task,” you can quickly delete unnecessary tasks from your Chromebook’s RAM. Oh, and in case you didn’t know, the Chromebook’s “Search” and “Esc” buttons can be used to launch the Task Manager. It’s a terrific technique to manage how much internal memory you use.
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Increase the cursor size
Call us prejudiced, but we find the ChromeOS cursor to be a touch too little in its initial size. If you don’t mind how it appears, continue reading with the next part. However, if you’d want to test a different size, pay attention to what we have to say.
With ChromeVox, dictated speech, and a plethora of other capabilities, ChromeOS thankfully has no lack of accessibility tools and features. One of these chosen features has to do with the touchpad, which in turn lets you change the pointer size.
To proceed, open the “Settings” system app, pick “Advanced” from the side panel, and then choose “Accessibility.” To reach the correct location where ChromeOS stores all these useful features, you will then need to click on “Manage accessibility features.”
You can change the cursor size by scrolling down until you locate the “Mouse and touchpad” area. Easy as pie. Adjust the slider to your needs, and you’ll see the changes take effect right away.
Use the Night Light feature
As you travel with your Chromebook, be aware of practical features that might give you an advantage in particular circumstances. The “Night Light” feature on a Chromebook, which works similarly to the blue light filter on mobile phones, can make it much more pleasant to use at night.
It is concealed in your status bar and is activated by pressing a single button. The useful feature reduces your risk of developing health issues like headaches and eye strain by blocking blue light rays from the screen.
This function can be launched instantly, so adding it to your 21-minute Chromebook tune-up shouldn’t take much longer.
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Optimize your computer for Quick Search
Regarding the final piece of advice for optimizing your Chromebook, we have a very practical tool at our disposal that will make it much faster for you to navigate your favourite websites. The function is known as “Site search,” and it serves a clear purpose.
You can conduct site “searches” automatically with Google Chrome, doing away with the need for manual research. You can browse more quickly and work more productively all day long if you do this.
If you frequently need to check in with a few websites where you work or if you must do so for a specific reason, you should use this function. Start by typing the following into the address bar of your Chrome browser. Press “Enter” to continue once you’re done.
chrome:settings/searchEngines
You must be able to envision what happens after everything is finished. The websites for which you want to create shortcuts can be specified here. At this point, you can also switch from using Google as your default search engine to using Bing or Yahoo.
As you use Chrome, it gradually compiles recommendations for you, but you can always “Add” new websites by pressing the corresponding button. You can also disable or enable the shortcut option for your websites on this page.
Let’s discuss how practical the tool is in real life. You should be prompted to press the “Tab” button to perform a “Site search” by the Google Chrome address bar, which should highlight the website’s name, such as Chrome Ready.
After hitting it, you must enter your search word so that you can get the search results right away. One of the simplest components of configuring your Chromebook, in our opinion, is this. So don’t miss this fantastic chance.
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The bottom line
The wonderful operating system ChromeOS does not overburden users with numerous activities and ongoing tasks that should confuse the person on the other end of the line. Instead, Chromebooks have mastered the art of simplification to the point where it is easy to distinguish between different graphical elements.
Owners of Chromebooks can use their devices up to and even after their respective end-of-life dates with the aid of this maintenance-focused guide. Make sure to implement each of the aforementioned suggestions for the best results.