Windows Performance Tuning 

Introduction 

This guide has steps to increase the performance of Windows starting with the most impactful to the least. Before doing anything, it is recommended to create a system restore point first.

Power Plans 

Power plans determine how much power a computer can use. The lower the power usage, the lower the performance. These are the power plans available on Windows:

Power Saver
Balanced (default)
High Performance
Ultimate Performance (hidden)

It is recommended to switch from the default power plan of Balanced to High Performance instead.

Windows 11

Settings (ms-settings:) > Power & battery > Power mode: Best performance

Windows 10

Settings (ms-settings:) > System > Power & sleep > Power mode: Best performance

Starting with Windows 10, it is also possible to use Ultimate Performance mode which will run the processor at its top clock speed at all times. This is very inefficient and not recommended. [1]

Run Windows PowerShell as Administrator and then execute this command to show the hidden Ultimate Performance power plan.

PS C:\Windows\system32> powercfg -duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61
Power Scheme GUID: 662d10a0-f646-4056-be5f-c104a4642c76  (Ultimate Performance)

Enable the Ultimate Performance power plan.

Control Panel (Control Panel) > System and Security > Power Options > Selected plan: Ultimate Performance

Starting with Windows 8, fast startup is enabled by default which makes Windows boot a few seconds faster. This hibernates part of the operating system leading to faster boot times. If it is not enabled, it can be enabled using the Control Panel. [11]

Control Panel (Control Panel) > Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Change what the power buttons do > Change settings that are currently unavailable > (check "Turn on fast startup (recommended)") > Save changes

When dual-booting with other operating systems, disable fast startup. Otherwise, other operating systems may not be able to boot because Windows locks access to storage devices, GPUs, wireless devies such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and the mouse and keyboard. [12]

Replace Microsoft Defender 

Microsoft Defender is the default antivirus for Windows. It is the second worst antivirus for causing a computer to be slow. It is recommended to disable it and use a lightweight program such as K7 Antivirus Premium, Panda Free Antivirus, or ESET NOD32 Antivirus instead. [2]

Disable Virtualization-Based Security (Windows >= 11)

Virtualization-based security (VBS) isolates RAM allocations of every application. That way, a malicious application cannot access the memory of other applications on the system. VBS is reported to cause anywhere between a 5-25% slowdown of a computer. [5]

Settings (ms-settings:) > Privacy & security > Windows Security > Device security > Core isolation details > Memory integrity: Off

Disable Startup Applications 

Some applications will enable themselves to startup upon login. These take up system resources and users may not want them running automatically. View the resource impact and disable all or some applications from automatically starting up by using the System Configuration utility. [3]

Task Manager (taskmgr.exe) > Startup > (select an application) > Disable

Disable Background Applications (Windows >= 10)

Background applications are allowed to launch silently and not appear in the taskbar. These applications can easily run without a user knowing. Disable some or all of the background applications [4]:

Windows 11 [10]
- Open the “Registry Editor” and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows.
  - Edit > New > Key > Name: AppPrivacy
    - (right-click on AppPrivacy) > New > DWORD (32-bit) Value > Value name: LetAppsRunInBackground, Value data: 2 > Base: Hexadecimal > OK

Windows 10

Settings (ms-settings:) > Privacy > App Permissions > Background apps > Let apps run in the background: Off

Disable Scheduled Tasks 

Some applications start themselves by using scheduled tasks. Look at the current tasks and see if there are any that should be disabled.

Task Scheduler (taskschd.msc) > Task Scheduler (Local) > Task Scheduler Library > (select an existing task) > Actions > Disable

Uninstall Programs 

If there are programs installed that will never be used again, then uninstall them. Otherwise, they take up storage space and may be running in the background.

Windows 11

Settings (ms-settings:) > Apps > Installed apps > (select an application) > Uninstall

Windows 10

Settings (ms-settings:) > Apps > Apps & features > (select an application)> Uninstall

Scan for Viruses 

Viruses typically slow down a computer. They run in the background to hijack processes, encrypt files, mine cryptocurrency, or do other malicious acts. Use one of the top 3 most efficient antiviruses to run an antivirus scan: K7 Antivirus Premium, Panda Free Antivirus, or ESET NOD32 Antivirus. [2]

Defragment HDDs 

Traditional spinning disk drives (HDDs) are faster and more efficient when all of the data for a file is in the same area. Otherwise, it has to seek to different regions of the disk which is a slow process. Manually defragment a HDD:

Windows >= 8

Optimize Drives (dfrgui.exe) > (select a drive) > Optimize

Windows <= 7

Disk Defragmenter (dfrgui.exe) > (select a drive) > Defragment disk

This process takes a long time and a lot of system resources. A consumer HDD only needs to be defragmented once every 3 months. [6] By default, Windows will automatically defragment drives every week. It also tries to optimize SSD drives with is not necessary and will not improve their performance. Here is how to disable the scheduled optimization:

Windows >= 8

Optimize Drives (dfrgui.exe) > Scheduled optimization > Change settings > uncheck "Run on a schedule (recommended)" > OK

Windows <= 7

Disk Defragmenter (dfrgui.exe) > Schedule: > Configure schedule... > uncheck "Run on a schedule (recommended)" > OK

Windows Updates 

Check for Updates 

Windows occasionally has updates to the operating system itself, other applications, and drivers that include performance improvements. It is recommended to be on the latest version of these.

Settings (ms-settings:) > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates

Disable Windows Updates 

Windows Updates use a lot of resources when it is updating. Consider disabling automatic updates and doing manual updates instead.

Increase Page File Size 

Increasing the page file on systems with a small amount of RAM can help speed them up. This is especially helpful when using a fast drive such as a NVMe drive.

Disable Windows Search Indexing 

The Windows Search Index keeps a database of all files and their contents that are found on a drive. This is used for the search functionality in File Explorer. This uses a lot of processing power when it is indexing. The index can be disabled while keeping the search functionality working.

Disable it for a specific local drive. [8]

File Explorer (Explorer) > (right-click on "Local Disk (C:)") > Properties > General > uncheck "Allow files on this drive to have contents indexed in addition to file properties" > OK > Apply changes to drive C:\, subfolders and files > OK

Or disable the entire Windows Search Indexing service. [9]

Services (services.msc) > (right-click on "Windows Search") > Properties > General > Startup type: Disabled > Stop > OK

Consider using an alternative search tool such as Everything from voidtools that is faster and more efficient.

Disable Windows Tips (Windows >= 8.1)

Windows monitors your behavior and provides tips based on your usage. Since it is always monitoring your actions in the background, it is utilizing system resources. These tips should be disabled.

Windows 11

Settings (ms-settings:) > System > Notifications > Additional settings > uncheck "Show the Windows welcome experience after updates" and "Get tips and suggestions when using Windows"

Windows 10

Settings (ms-settings:) > System > Notifications & actions > uncheck "Suggest ways I can finish setting up my device to get the most out of Windows"

Windows 8.1
- This version of Windows introduced “Help Tips” which is slightly different. It works as an on-going tutorial with pop-ups on how to use the Windows 8.1 interface. This can be disabled by setting the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\EdgeUI to a DWORD value of 1. [7]

History 

Latest

Bibliography 

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“AV-Comparatives: Microsoft Defender has a large impact on system performance.” gHacks. May 4, 2022. Accessed July 13, 2022. https://www.ghacks.net/2022/05/04/av-comparatives-microsoft-defender-has-a-large-impact-on-system-performance/
“How to Disable Startup Programs in Windows.” How-To Geek. May 11, 2018. Accessed July 13, 2022. https://www.howtogeek.com/74523/how-to-disable-startup-programs-in-windows/
“How to disable background apps in Windows 10.” TechEngage. May 3, 2022. Accessed June 15, 2022. https://techengage.com/how-to-disable-background-apps-in-windows-10/
“How to Disable VBS and Speed Up Windows 11.” Tom’s Hardware. October 6, 2021. Accessed June 16, 2022. https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/disable-vbs-windows-11
“How Often Should I Defrag My HDD?” AOMEI Partition Assistant. March 4, 2022. Accessed June 17, 2022. https://www.diskpart.com/articles/how-often-should-I-defrag-my-hdd-0725.html
“Ways to completely disable windows 8 1 help tips.” Tutorials Point. October 23, 2019. Accessed June 17, 2022. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/ways-to-completely-disable-windows-8-1-help-tips
“How to Disable Indexing in Windows 10 & 11.” MajorGeeks. Accessed December 15, 2022. https://www.majorgeeks.com/content/page/disable_indexing_11.html
“Manage Windows 10 Search Indexing.” gHacks Technology News. October 26, 2021. Accessed December 15, 2022. https://www.ghacks.net/2017/08/10/manage-windows-10-search-indexing/
“How to Disable Background Apps in Windows 11.” MakeUsOf. September 22, 2022. Accessed February 16, 2023. https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-11-disable-background-apps/
“How to Disable Fast Startup in Windows 11/10 (And Why You Should).” Help Desk Geek. October 20, 2022. Accessed March 2, 2024. https://helpdeskgeek.com/windows-11/how-to-disable-fast-startup-in-windows-11-10-and-why-you-should/
“PSA: Disable Fast Startup and Hibernation in Windows.” Reddit r/linuxmint. Apriil 27, 2022. Accessed March 2, 2024. https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxmint/comments/ucnjlj/psa_disable_fast_startup_and_hibernation_in/