Nothing puts me on the far end of frustration than the slow boot times on my Windows PC. Especially when I’m in a hurry and wish to take on the pending tasks – sooner rather than later, the lagging boot times tend to irritate me no end. The good thing about this issue is that I’m not the only one who has to deal with this annoyance. The better? Well, there are quite a few reliable ways to fix the slow boot times on Windows 11 and speed it up. And that’s precisely what I’m going to discuss in this detailed guide so that it will no longer hurt your PC experience. Keep reading to…
Fix Slow Boot Times on Windows 11 Like a Pro
Never fail to get to the root cause of a problem before going for a long troubleshooting drive. That’s the reason why I’ve lined up all the culprits that have the habit of slowing down the boot times on Windows 11. Take a look:
- Excessive Startup Programs
- Outdated Drivers
- Fast Startup Issues
- Malware Infections
- Fragmented HDD
- Background Processes
- Virtual Memory Misconfiguration
- BIOS Misconfiguration
- Visual Effects Overload
- Outdated Windows Updates
Now that you are fully aware of the usual suspects, let’s look for ways to remove them altogether or prevent them from causing conflicts.
1. Disable Startup Programs
There is no dearth of greedy programs that set themselves to launch at startup, slowing down the boot process. Therefore, be sure to get rid all the redundant startup programs for improved performance.
- To disable them, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Now, navigate to the Startup tab, and disable unnecessary apps by right-clicking and selecting Disable.
2. Turn Off Fast Startup
While the Fast Startup is designed to accelerate boot time by loading a hybrid state between shutdown and hibernation, keep in mind that it can – at times – cause conflicts and slow things down.
- To turn it off, open Control Panel > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do.
- Next up, click Change settings that are currently unavailable, and uncheck Turn on fast startup.
14. Disable Background Apps
Do you know that Windows 11 allows apps to run in the background to provide notifications and updates for a more personalized experience? While this is a pretty useful and well-thought-out feature, it does come at a cost.
- To disable background apps, navigate to the Settings app on your PC > Privacy & Security > Background apps and turn off background activity for unnecessary apps.
3. Update Windows
Note that the outdated Windows updates or drivers are also equally responsible for causing performance bottlenecks.
- To update Windows, go to Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates.
Update Your Drivers
Overlook the possibility of the malicious drivers at your own peril.
- To update drivers, open Device Manager, expand the device category (e.g., Display adapters), right-click the device, and select Update driver.
- Now, select “Search automatically for drivers” > Update your driver and then reboot your PC – once the update is done.
4. Perform a Clean Boot
Still can’t accelerate the boot times on your Windows PC? Now is the right time to go for the clean boot as it’s exceptionally helpful in identifying and eliminating software conflicts that slow down boot time.
- To perform one, type msconfig in the Start Menu, open System Configuration, go to the Services tab.
- After that, you need to check Hide all Microsoft services, and disable non-essential services.
- In the end, be sure to restart your PC to check if the boot time improves.
5. Manage Background Processes
Background apps that run after startup can impact overall performance.
- To manage them, open Task Manager, go to the Processes tab, and end tasks that are consuming a high amount of resources.
6. Enable High-Performance Power Plan
By default, Windows 11 might be set to a balanced power mode. Switching to a high-performance power plan allocates more resources during startup.
- Go to Settings > System > Power & Battery > Power Mode and choose Best Performance.
7. Run Disk Cleanup
It’s worth pointing out that the temporary files, cache, and other junk data can accumulate over time, slowing down the system.
- To clean them up, search for Disk Cleanup in the Start Menu, select the drive to clean (usually C:), and check the files you want to delete.
8. Defragment and Optimize Drives
On HDDs, fragmentation can slow down file access, affecting boot speed.
- To defragment, search for Defragment and Optimize Drives, select your drive, and click Optimize.
- SSDs don’t need defragmentation, but optimizing them regularly is still beneficial.
9. Check for Malware
Be warned that malware and viruses can gobble up a ton of system resources and cause startup delays. So, eliminate the hidden malware.
- Run a full system scan with the help of the Windows Security or a trusted third-party antivirus program to detect and remove threats.
10. Upgrade to an SSD
If you’re using a traditional HDD, upgrading to an SSD can drastically improve boot times. SSDs are faster at reading and writing data, resulting in a near-instant startup experience. You can clone your current drive to an SSD or perform a clean Windows installation on the new drive.
11. Disable Visual Effects
Visual effects like animations and transparency can slow down the system, especially on older hardware.
- To disable them, go to the Settings app on your Windows 11 device > System > About.
- Now, head over to Advanced system settings, click Settings under Performance.
- Then, choose Adjust for best performance.
- Do not forget to click Apply > OK.
12. Adjust Virtual Memory Settings
Virtual memory acts as an extension of RAM by using space on your hard drive. Improperly configured virtual memory settings can slow down your PC.
- To adjust it, search for Advanced system settings, click Settings under Performance, go to the Advanced tab, and click Change under Virtual memory.
- Uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives and set a custom size based on your RAM.
13. Reset Your PC’s BIOS Settings
Misconfigured BIOS settings can also cause boot delays. Resetting BIOS to its default settings might fix the issue.
- To get it done, restart your PC and press the key (usually Del, Esc, or F2) to enter BIOS setup.
- Then, find the option to Load Default Settings or Reset to Default and save the changes.
15. Reset Windows 11 (as a Last Resort)
If nothing has worked in speeding up your boot time, try resetting your PC. If the issue is due to a deep corruption, it will let you flush out the chaos and restore the normalcy.
- To do this, go to Settings > System > Recovery.
- Click Reset this PC.
- Now, choose either Keep my files or Remove everything, based on your preference.
- Then, go through the on-screen instructions to complete the reset.
Wrapping up…
There you have it! As outlined above, the slow boot times can be caused by a number of factors, including startup programs, outdated drivers, malware, or hardware limitations. By taking control of the startup items, corrupted drivers, out-of-date software, and the hardware restrictions, you can get the better of the problem. So, which one got the job done for you?
