Keep Your Windows PC Fast for Years — 10 Default Settings You Should Turn Off (Plus a Built-In Cleaner)

When you first bought your PC, it was fast.
Apps opened instantly. Windows felt snappy.

Then time passes, and one day you catch yourself thinking:

• “Is my PC underpowered now?”

• “Do I need to wipe everything and reinstall Windows?”

Most of the time, it’s neither.
It’s usually Windows sitting on default settings that quietly chew up CPU, memory, disk, and network in the background.

This guide is not about installing “magic cleaner” apps or running sketchy optimizers.
No registry hacks either. Just 10 settings you can change today to keep your PC responsive long-term.

Follow them top to bottom — we’ll remove the usual suspects one by one.

---

Group 1: Settings you’ll feel immediately

1️⃣ Clean up Startup Apps (biggest impact)

If your PC feels slow right after boot, start here.
A lot of apps add themselves to startup during installation.

Go here:

• Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc)

• Startup apps tab

How to decide:

• Don’t use it daily → Disable

• Name looks unfamiliar → disable first, observe later

👉 This one change alone often brings back that “Wait… why is it suddenly faster?” feeling.

---

2️⃣ Make sure Power Mode isn’t stuck on power saving

On laptops (and some desktops), Windows can default to efficiency modes that cap CPU performance.

Go here:

• Settings → System → Power & battery

• Power mode → Balanced (or Best performance if you prefer speed)

👉 If your PC feels “heavy” for no clear reason, this is a common hidden cause.

---

3️⃣ Turn off Transparency & Animation Effects (especially on laptops / older PCs)

If opening/minimizing windows feels laggy, visual effects may be wasting GPU resources.

Go here:

• Settings → Personalization → Colors → Transparency effects → Off

• Settings → Accessibility → Visual effects → Animation effects → Off

👉 Less eye candy, more real responsiveness.

---

Group 2: Background “resource thieves” to block

4️⃣ Disable Delivery Optimization (strongly recommended)

This one catches people off guard.

Windows can use your internet to help deliver updates to other PCs (peer-to-peer).
If you’re on Wi-Fi or working from home, that’s the last thing you want running silently.

Go here:

• Settings → Windows Update → Advanced options → Delivery Optimization

• Turn off Allow downloads from other PCs

👉 Your PC shouldn’t act like someone else’s update server.

If your Wi-Fi shows “connected” but your speed feels weirdly unstable (especially during work calls), it’s often a Windows/network setting issue rather than your ISP.
This step-by-step guide helps you narrow it down quickly:
[Wi-Fi Connected but No Internet — Step-by-Step Fix]

---

5️⃣ Reduce Location Tracking & Diagnostic Data

Windows can collect usage and system data continuously.
That’s not just a privacy thing — it can mean background traffic and extra disk activity.

Go here:

• Settings → Privacy & security

  • Location → Off (if you don’t need it)

  • Diagnostics & feedback → Send optional diagnostic data → Off

👉 Helps performance and privacy in one move.

---

6️⃣ Turn off Fast Startup (prevents long-uptime weirdness)

Most people don’t realize this:

On Windows 10/11, pressing Shut down often doesn’t fully shut down the system.
It’s closer to a partial hibernation that keeps system state around.

Why it matters:

• Small glitches can “carry over” for days

• Network/audio/device issues are more likely to show up after long periods

Pro Tip (quick proof):
Open Task Manager → Performance → CPU.
If Up time shows days or weeks even though you “just turned on” your PC, Fast Startup is the culprit.
Turning it off helps reset that state properly.

Go here:

• Control Panel → Power Options

• Choose what the power buttons do

• Change settings that are currently unavailable

• Uncheck Turn on fast startup (recommended)

👉 This makes “Shut down” behave more like a real shutdown.

---

7️⃣ Disable Xbox Game Bar & Background Recording (if you don’t game)

If you don’t use gaming features, these can become always-on overhead.

Go here:

• Settings → Gaming → Xbox Game Bar → Off

• Settings → Gaming → Captures → Background recording → Off

👉 On laptops and mid-range PCs, this can noticeably reduce CPU/GPU load.

---

Group 3: UI tweaks that keep things feeling clean

8️⃣ Reduce Start Menu search web/cloud pulling (realistic approach)

Start search can feel slow because Windows tries to blend local results with online/cloud content.

But here’s the reality:
Windows versions and regions differ, and some menus move around with updates.
So don’t stress if you can’t find the “perfect” toggle.

Start here (works in most setups):

• Settings → Privacy & security → Search permissions

• Turn off Cloud content search

If you see other options (web suggestions, Bing integration, etc.), turn those off too.
If you don’t see them, Cloud content search off alone still helps.

👉 Goal is simple: make search focus on what’s on your PC, not the internet.

---

9️⃣ Turn off Windows tips, suggestions, and extra prompts

Windows “helpfulness” often means more background checks and naggy notifications.

Go here:

• Settings → System → Notifications

• Scroll down and disable things like:

  • Tips and suggestions

  • “Get the most out of Windows” prompts

👉 Cleaner system, fewer interruptions.

---

🔟 Windows 11: Restrict background app permissions (app-by-app)

Windows 11 removed the old global “disable background apps” switch.
So you have to do it per app — but you only need to do it for the ones you never use.

Go here:

• Settings → Apps → Installed apps

• For each app:

  • ⋯ → Advanced options

  • Background apps permissions → Never

Good candidates:

• News, Weather, preinstalled apps you don’t open

👉 If you don’t use an app, it has no reason to stay awake.

---

Quick Cheatsheet (scroll-friendly summary)

---

Bonus: The Built-In Cleaner (no “optimizer” apps needed)

If you were thinking about installing something like CCleaner — don’t.

Windows already has a built-in cleanup feature that does the boring maintenance automatically.

Go here:

• Settings → System → Storage

• Turn on Storage Sense

What it does:

• Cleans temporary files

• Clears Recycle Bin on a schedule (depending on your settings)

• Helps prevent silent junk buildup over time

👉 It’s the safest kind of “cleaning”: built in, predictable, and not aggressive.

---

Wrap-up (the real point)

These aren’t “speed tricks.”
They’re about stopping Windows from doing things you never asked for.

You don’t need a cleaner app first.
You don’t need to reinstall Windows first.

Do these once, and your PC stays faster, longer — with fewer random slowdowns and weird system behavior.

---

👉 This guide is also available in Korean.
It explains the same issue with localized, Korean-language instructions
[윈도우 PC를 오래 써도 느려지지 않게 만드는 – 꼭 꺼두면 좋은 기본 설정 10가지]