Clean up your hard drive
Having a cluttered hard drive can slow down your PC’s performance. Here are some tips for freeing up space:
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Run Disk Cleanup – This built-in Windows tool removes temporary files, empties the recycle bin, and cleans up other areas taking up space.
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Uninstall unused programs – Go to Settings > Apps > Apps & features and uninstall programs you no longer need.
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Move files to an external drive – Photos, videos, music and other media files can quickly eat up space. Move them to an external USB drive or cloud storage.
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Delete System Restore points – If you have multiple restore points saved, you can likely delete older ones to recover several GB of space.
Keeping at least 10-20% of your hard drive free can prevent slowdowns from file fragmentation.
Use Startup Manager to reduce boot time
The Startup tab in Task Manager shows programs configured to launch at boot. Disable anything unnecessary:
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Launch Task Manager and go to the Startup tab.
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For each startup app, click Disable if you don’t need it.
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Reboot and see if your boot time improves.
Key candidates to disable include third-party software, hardware utilities and Windows features like Fax and XPS Services.
Turn off visual effects
Windows 11’s visual effects like animations look nice, but use extra system resources.
To optimize performance:
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Go to Settings > System > Display.
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Under Customize your display, set Visual effects to Best performance.
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Alternatively, go to Advanced system settings and adjust for best performance.
This will disable transparency effects, animations and other aesthetics. Your PC will look more basic but work faster.
Stop apps running in the background
Background apps can hamper performance and boot time, even if you aren’t using them. Limit which run at start:
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Open Task Manager and go to the Startup tab.
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Click each app and select Disable to prevent automatic launching.
You can also set non-essential apps like iTunes to not run in the background:
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Go to Settings > Apps > Apps & features.
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Click each app and toggle Let this app run in the background to Off.
Check for and install updates
Microsoft frequently releases Windows updates that include performance improvements.
Keep Windows updated:
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Go to Settings > Windows Update and click Check for updates.
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Install any available system updates.
Check for new drivers for your hardware too. Updated drivers can often resolve performance issues.
Adjust visual effects for maximum performance
Visual effects in Windows 11 look nice but use system resources. By adjusting them you can optimize performance:
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Right click the desktop and select Personalize.
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Click Colors on the right side.
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Under More options, scroll down and click Advanced appearance settings.
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Click the Visual Effects tab.
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Select Adjust for best performance to disable all visual effects.
Alternatively you can selectively turn off effects like animations, transparency, shadows etc. This will make Windows appear more basic but run faster.
Change power settings to High Performance
Windows power settings control CPU and GPU performance. Set it to High for maximum speed:
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Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options.
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Click High performance.
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Click Change plan settings.
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Change both battery and plugged in settings to High performance.
This disables CPU throttling and forces the system to use maximum power instead of balancing performance and efficiency. Useful when you need pure speed.
Run periodic maintenance with CCleaner
CCleaner is a free system optimization utility that can reclaim space and fix issues slowing down your PC.
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Download and install CCleaner.
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Open CCleaner and run the cleaner tool. Check all boxes before clicking Clean.
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Next run the Registry scan to fix errors and defrag the Registry.
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Use the Startup tool to disable unneeded apps at boot.
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Analyze disk usage with the Space Analyzer to find large, unused files to delete.
Run CCleaner every few weeks to keep your system optimized.
Do a clean install of Windows
If your PC is still slow after trying the above, a clean install of Windows 11 may help. This removes bloatware and resets Windows to factory condition.
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Back up your files and data you want to keep.
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Boot into the Windows 11 installer from a USB drive. Click Install Now.
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Choose Custom install. Delete all partitions until the drive is Unallocated Space.
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Click Install. Windows will install fresh on a clean drive.
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Reinstall apps and restore your files from backup.
This removes manufacturer bloatware and resets all settings. Often resolves persistent performance issues.
