Windows loads applications in the background when you turn on your PC. Spotify, Discord, Adobe Creative Cloud, OneDrive, and Steam can all run at boot, adding 1-5 seconds to startup time.
Open Task Manager with Ctrl + Shift + Esc, click the Startup tab, or Startup apps on Windows 11, and check the Startup impact column. Right-click programs you do not need immediately after boot and select Disable. You can launch them manually later.

You can disable Skype, Discord, Spotify, Steam, Adobe Reader, OneDrive if you do not need instant sync, Dropbox, Google Drive, printer utilities, and Bluetooth managers. If the PC stays sluggish after boot, read our guide on why your computer runs slowly.
Keep Windows Security notifications, audio drivers such as Realtek HD Audio, and your GPU control panel for NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel enabled.
For deeper control, Sysinternals Autoruns shows startup entries, including scheduled tasks and Winlogon notifications that Task Manager hides.

Fast Startup saves the system state, including loaded drivers, the kernel, and services, to `hiberfil.sys`. When you press the power button again, Windows reads that file instead of reinitializing everything.

You can also open Command Prompt as administrator and run `powercfg /h on`.
Restart still performs a full shutdown and reboot, which is useful for Windows Updates. Dual-boot users should leave Fast Startup off because the Windows partition stays locked and Linux cannot access it.
On fast NVMe SSDs, disabling Fast Startup can produce a slightly quicker boot. Reading `hiberfil.sys` can take longer than a clean kernel init on a fast drive. If you have a modern SSD, try both and time the difference.

A mechanical hard drive spins platters and moves a read head to find boot files scattered across the disk. An SSD reads electronically with no moving parts. A typical SATA SSD boots Windows in 15-25 seconds, while an NVMe SSD does it in 10-18 seconds.
If your system drive is still an HDD, clone it to an SSD with Macrium Reflect, free for personal use, or Samsung Data Migration. These tools copy the system, programs, and files to the new drive. Swap the physical drive, set it as the boot device in BIOS, and Windows picks up where you left off.

A budget SATA SSD, around $30 for 500 GB in 2026, can transform a sluggish laptop. After upgrading, a boost pc tool fine-tunes startup services and background processes automatically.

Press Win + R, type `sysdm.cpl`, and press Enter. Go to the Advanced tab. Under Startup and Recovery, click Settings. Change Time to display list of operating systems from 30 to 5 seconds, or 3 if you prefer. You can still use the arrow keys if you need the menu.

Alternatively, run `bcdedit /timeout 5` in an admin Command Prompt. The change takes effect on the next reboot.

A clean boot starts Windows with only Microsoft services and no third-party startup items.
1. Press Win + R, type `msconfig`, and press Enter.
2. Go to the Services tab.
3. Check "Hide all Microsoft services" (this is critical; never disable Microsoft services).
4. Click Disable all to turn off every remaining third-party service.
5. Click Apply, then OK.
6. Open Task Manager, go to the Startup tab, and disable all startup items there too.
7. Restart your PC.

If boot time drops dramatically, the problem is third-party software. Re-enable services and startup items one batch at a time, restarting after each group. The last group you enabled contains the culprit. See Microsoft's official clean boot guide for more detail.

Press Win + R, type `services.msc`, and hit Enter. Sort by the Startup Type column and check services set to Automatic that you do not need.
Several services can be set to Manual or Disabled for home users. Fax can go unless you use a fax modem. Print Spooler can be disabled if you do not own a printer. Remote Registry is unnecessary and a security risk when enabled. Connected User Experiences and Telemetry collects data you may not want. Set Windows Search to Manual if you rarely use Start menu search and want to stop background indexing.

When in doubt, use Manual rather than Disabled. Windows can start a manual service when something requests it. A pc optimizer applies tested service presets for common configurations.

If boot time got worse after an update, check for driver updates.
1. Go to Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates.
2. Install available driver updates, especially for storage controllers, chipset, and display adapters.
3. For GPU drivers, use NVIDIA GeForce Experience or AMD Adrenalin to get the latest version directly.

If Windows Update says a restart is required, complete it. If boot still drags, Windows Event Log Viewer & Monitoring Software can show which driver or service is throwing errors at boot.

Press Win + R, type `dfrgui`, and hit Enter to open Defragment and Optimize Drives. Select your system drive, usually C:, and click Analyze. If fragmentation is above 10%, click Optimize.

Windows defragments on a schedule, but it can fall behind on nearly full drives. Keep at least 15-20% free space on the system drive. If temporary files have filled the drive, search Disk Cleanup from Start and run it first.

1. Press Win + R, type `sysdm.cpl`, press Enter.
2. Open the Advanced tab, under Performance, and click Settings.
3. Open the Advanced tab, under Virtual memory, and click Change.
4. Uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
5. Select your system drive and choose Custom size.
6. Set Initial size to 1.5x your RAM in MB. For 16 GB RAM: 16384 x 1.5 = 24576 MB.
7. Set Maximum size to 3x your RAM. For 16 GB RAM: 49152 MB.
8. Click Set, then OK, and restart.

On systems with 16 GB or more RAM, the automatic setting is usually fine. This tweak matters most on machines with 8 GB or less.

Restart your PC and press the BIOS key during the manufacturer logo. Depending on the brand, this is typically F2, Del, F10, or Esc. Open the Boot section and move your system drive, the one with Windows, to the first position. Save and exit, usually with F10.

A plugged-in USB drive or phone can otherwise cause the PC to hang at a "no bootable device" screen.

Cryptominers, adware, and spyware can register themselves to launch at boot and consume CPU and disk resources.
Run a full scan through Windows Security: go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options > Full scan. A full scan can take hours on a large drive because it checks every file.

For a second opinion, the Malwarebytes free edition catches threats that Windows Defender sometimes misses, particularly adware and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs).

Sleep keeps your session in RAM with minimal power draw. Press the power button or any key to wake the PC in 1-3 seconds. Hibernate saves the session to disk and uses zero power. Resume takes 5-15 seconds.

To enable Hibernate in the power menu, open Command Prompt as administrator and run `powercfg /h on`. Go to Control Panel > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do and check Hibernate under shutdown settings.
Sleep suits daily use. Full shutdown makes sense before travel, after major updates, or when you want a clean slate.

• How-To Geek, Speed Up Windows 11 Boot Time
• How-To Geek, Make Your Windows Computer Boot Faster
• XDA Developers, 11 Ways to Boost Windows Boot Time
• Microsoft Support, How to Perform a Clean Boot
• Sysinternals Autoruns