Are you tired of waiting for hours to open Unity Dash on your old PC? These simple tricks will make it lightning fast!
As the world becomes more digitally advanced, it becomes increasingly frustrating to use an outdated computer. Having to wait for hours to open Unity Dash on your slow and outdated PC can be a nightmare. But have no fear, there are some simple tricks that you can use to make it less of a headache.
- Clear your cache
Clearing your cache can help speed up the loading time of Unity Dash. A cache is a temporary storage location for files that your computer uses frequently. When you open an application, it is stored in your cache, making it easier to access the next time you use it. However, if your cache becomes too large, it can cause your computer’s speed to slow down. To clear your cache, go to your settings, select “Privacy,” and then choose “Clear cache.”
- Delete unnecessary files
Deleting irrelevant files that you no longer need can help speed up your computer’s overall performance. The more cluttered your system is, the slower it becomes. To delete unwanted files, go to your browser history and clear it, delete old downloads, and uninstall applications you no longer use.
- Use a lightweight desktop environment
If your computer’s hardware is outdated, it might not be able to handle a heavyweight desktop environment. Switching to a more lightweight desktop environment can be a game-changer. Lightweight desktop environments use fewer resources, making them faster and more responsive. You can try using Lubuntu or Xubuntu, Ubuntu’s lightweight desktop environments.
- Disable animations
Animations might look cool, but they can be a burden on your computer’s resources. Disabling animations can reduce the strain on your computer, making it faster. To disable animations, go to your settings, select “Appearance,” and then click on the “Behavior” tab. From there, disable animations.
- Install an SSD
An SSD (Solid State Drive) is significantly faster than the traditional HDD (Hard Disk Drive). It might be a bit costly, but installing an SSD can drastically improve your computer’s speed. After all, it’s not just Unity Dash that will have quick loading times; your entire system will benefit from having an SSD.
In conclusion, there are several simple tricks to make Unity Dash faster on your old PC. Clearing your cache, deleting unnecessary files, using a lightweight desktop environment, disabling animations, and replacing your HDD with an SSD can all help speed up your computer. With these tips, you’ll be able to operate Unity Dash faster than ever before, without any hiccups.
If you have used Ubuntu, you know that it comes with the Unity desktop environment. The idea behind Unity was to make the Ubuntu desktop more attractive or modern-looking while also making it easier for users to find what they are looking for. Whether or not Unity achieved its goal is a totally different question, but many users find it a pain to use with old, resource-crunched computers.
If you are using Ubuntu with Unity on an old machine, there are a few tricks you can use to make your experience better. In this tutorial we’ll be discussing one such trick.
How to make Unity Dash respond faster
Dash, as you’ll likely agree, can be referred to as Unity’s version of the Start menu. For the uninitiated, it sits at the top of the Unity launcher, which itself is located on the left of the Ubuntu desktop by default.
When you launch the Unity Dash (by clicking the Dash icon shown above) to search for a file or application, it launches with a transparent UI but with blurred background in the default mode Like the image below.
While the Dash UI no doubt looks elegant this way, it takes time to launch. And if you are working on an under-powered machine, the launch could very well be painfully slow. Thankfully, there’s a way you can disable this background blur feature.
For that you’ll have to use the Unity-Tweak-Tool. If you don’t already have it, you can easily download and install it via the Ubuntu Software Center. From the terminal you can install with the following command:
Once installed, the tool can be accessed through the Unity Dash.
Here’s the UI of the tool when it’s launched.
Click the “Launcher” icon (first entry under the Unity section), and then head to the “Search” tab.
Here you’ll see that the customization option we’re looking for sits under the “General” category. It’s the “Background blur” option I am talking about.
All you have to do is to toggle its value to OFF.
That’s it. Now, when you try launching the Unity Dash, you’ll observe that the response is faster.
The UI may not seem elegant due to lack of background blur, but I think that’s a small compromise that one can do in exchange for better performance.
Aside from this there are a couple more small tweaks that you can do to better Unity’s performance. Head to general “Settings” on your system, and click the “Security & Privacy” entry.
Here in the “Search” tab, make sure online search results are disabled.
Also, in the “File & Applications” tab, the “Record file and application usage” option is ON by default.
You can toggle it OFF and click the “Clear Usage Data …” button as well.
Conclusion
With the tips mentioned in this article (especially disabling the background blur feature), you can easily improve the response time of the Unity Dash. While it may compromise the look and feel, it does give you what matters the most: performance. Try them out and see if they make life easy for you.
Himanshu Arora is a freelance technical writer by profession but a software programmer and Linux researcher at heart. He covers software tutorials, reviews, tips/tricks, and more. Some of his articles have been featured on IBM developerworks, ComputerWorld, and in Linux Journal.
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