Anyone who’s switched from an HDD to an SSD knows that it can cut your boot time down by a noticeable margin, not to mention make performance across the board feel more snappy. That is, unless there’s something wrong with the SSD. Yes, SSDs, too, can encounter problems and run slower than expected. If you have a sluggish SSD, don’t fret. Here are my five essential tips to help you speed it up. 1. Free up space When your SSD’s space is filled up it will run a lot slower. If your SSD is at 90 percent capacity and you start to notice some performance issues, your first step should be to delete unnecessary files and folders. Another thing you can do is to disable hibernation as this could free up some disk space. Here’s how to do that: Type CMD in Windows search. Right-click on the top search result and choose Run as Administrator . Type powercfg -h and hit Enter. Once you’ve followed the steps above to clear some space in your SSD, check if there has been any improvement in the read/write speed. If it didn’t work, try the next solution. Dominic Bayley / Foundry 2. Make sure the TRIM command is running An SSD will run painfully slow if the TRIM command isn’t running. Therefore, follow these steps to ensure the TRIM command is enabled. Type CMD in the Search bar. Right-click on the top search result and select Run as Administrator . Copy and paste the command: fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify . Press Enter. If you get a 0 it means TRIM is enabled. If you get a 1 it means TRIM is disabled. If you got a 1 then type this: fsutil behavior set DisableDeleteNotify 0 . Hit Enter. Dominic Bayley / Foundry This will enable the TRIM command on your system. 3. Switch to Best Performance mode In balanced mode, the SSD may not necessarily be getting enough power to run at its optimal speed. However, Best Performance mode favors performance. Here’s how to switch to Best Performance mode. Search for Power, sleep, and battery settings at the Start menu. Under Power Mode , switch to Best Performance from the drop-down menu for plugged in and on battery. Dominic Bayley / Foundry Now your PC will run in Best Performance mode and hopefully also operate your SSD a little quicker. 4. Optimize the drive If you’ve been using your SSD for some time, especially if you’ve been installing lots of applications, it’s recommended to optimize your drive. Optimizing is simple. Just follow these steps: Search Defrag at the Start menu. Select Defragment and Optimize Drives . Select the SSD drive and click Optimize . Dominic Bayley / Foundry You just have to wait now while Windows optimizes the drive. 5. Update the firmware SSDs are not unlike other hardware in that they receive patches and updates periodically from the manufacturers. An SSD’s firmware is essential for its smooth and efficient operation, so it’s worthwhile to check for firmware updates. Here’s how to do that. Type Windows + R keys to open the Run box. In the Run box type devmgmt.msc and hit Enter. In the Device Manager window locate Disk drives and click on the arrow to expand it. Right-click on the SSD and click Update Drivers . You will be prompted for options on how you want to search for drivers. Click on Search automatically for drivers. Dominic Bayley / Foundry Windows will then search for any new updated drivers for your SSD and install them. Once the process has finished, check if your issue is resolved. Related content Best SSDs: From SATA to PCIe 5.0, from budget to premium Optimize your SSD’s speed with this obscure Windows setting Best external drives 2025: Top picks in portable storage