How to Speed Up Windows 11 Laptop: 8 Easy Tips (2026)
Is your Windows 11 laptop feeling slower than it used to? Apps take forever to open, startup drags on for minutes, and the system randomly hangs in the middle of work — this is one of the most common complaints among Windows 11 users, especially on budget laptops. The good news? You do not need to buy any software or upgrade your hardware right away. These 8 free tips can make a noticeable difference in just 15–20 minutes.
1. Disable Unnecessary Startup Apps
Every time you turn on your laptop, several apps automatically launch in the background — Spotify, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Adobe updater, and more. These silently eat up your RAM and CPU before you even open a single browser tab.
How to do it:
- Press
Ctrl + Shift + Escto open Task Manager - Click on the Startup apps tab
- Right-click any app you do not need at startup and select Disable
This single step can cut your boot time significantly — especially if you have 5 or more startup apps running.
2. Switch Power Mode to Best Performance
Windows 11 defaults to "Balanced" mode, which limits your CPU speed to save battery. If you mostly work with the charger plugged in, this setting is unnecessarily holding your laptop back.
How to do it:
- Go to Settings > System > Power & battery
- Under "Power mode," select Best performance from the dropdown
Note: This will drain your battery faster, so only use this mode when your laptop is plugged in.
3. Turn Off Visual Effects
Windows 11 comes with smooth animations, transparency effects, and shadows that look great but consume extra CPU and GPU resources — especially on laptops with 4GB or 8GB RAM.
How to do it:
- In the search bar, type: Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows and open it
- Select Adjust for best performance
- Click Apply, then OK
The interface will look more basic, but the speed improvement is very noticeable on lower-end laptops.
4. Stop Apps From Running in the Background
Many apps continue running in the background even after you close them. They quietly consume RAM and CPU without you knowing. Turning off background permissions for these apps frees up resources instantly.
How to do it:
- Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps
- Click the three-dot menu next to any app and select Advanced options
- Under "Background app permissions," set it to Never
Do this for apps like WhatsApp, Spotify, and any other app you do not need running in the background.
5. Delete Temporary Files
Windows constantly creates temporary files as you use apps and browse the web. Over time, these pile up and take up storage space, which slows down your system.
How to do it:
- Press
Windows + R, type %temp% and press Enter - Select all files with
Ctrl + Aand delete them - Some files may be skipped — that is fine, just delete the rest
Do this once a month. You will typically free up 1–3 GB of storage in just a few seconds.
6. Enable Storage Sense
Storage Sense is a built-in Windows 11 feature that automatically cleans up temporary files, empties the Recycle Bin, and removes old update files on a schedule — so you do not have to do it manually every time.
How to do it:
- Go to Settings > System > Storage
- Toggle Storage Sense to ON
- Set the cleanup schedule to Weekly
7. Keep Windows and Drivers Updated
Outdated drivers — especially GPU and chipset drivers — are one of the most overlooked causes of a slow Windows 11 system. Microsoft's updates also include performance fixes that improve how Windows runs on your specific hardware.
How to do it:
- Go to Settings > Windows Update and click Check for updates
- Install any pending updates and restart your laptop
- For GPU drivers: use NVIDIA GeForce Experience (for NVIDIA) or AMD Adrenalin (for AMD)
8. Enable Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling
This is a lesser-known but very effective setting — especially if your laptop has a dedicated GPU like an NVIDIA RTX or AMD RX series. It shifts some of the workload from your CPU to your GPU, making the system feel more responsive overall.
How to do it:
- Go to Settings > System > Display > Graphics
- Click on Advanced graphics settings
- Toggle Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling to ON
- Restart your laptop
Quick Summary Checklist
| # | Tip | Time Required |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disable startup apps | 2 min |
| 2 | Switch to Best performance mode | 1 min |
| 3 | Turn off visual effects | 2 min |
| 4 | Stop background apps | 3 min |
| 5 | Delete temp files | 2 min |
| 6 | Enable Storage Sense | 1 min |
| 7 | Update Windows and drivers | 5 min |
| 8 | Enable GPU scheduling | 2 min |
Conclusion
A slow Windows 11 laptop is frustrating, but most of the time the fix is simpler than you think. The 8 tips above are completely free, take less than 20 minutes in total, and require no third-party tools. Start with disabling startup apps and turning off visual effects — those two changes alone make the biggest difference on most laptops.
If your laptop is still slow after trying all these tips, it may be time to consider a hardware upgrade — like adding more RAM or switching from an HDD to an SSD. That is a topic for another day.
Did this guide help you? Drop a comment below and let us know how much faster your laptop got — and share this with anyone else struggling with a slow Windows 11 PC!
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