Windows 11 Running Slow — How to Speed It Up

Category: Windows 11 · Audience: Customers & Technicians · Est. time: 15–30 min

Summary

A Windows 11 PC that has become sluggish can usually be restored to good performance without a rebuild. Work through the steps below in order — each one is safe and reversible.

Symptoms

• Slow to start up or log in
• Apps take a long time to open or freeze
• Constant hard‑drive/CPU activity
• Fans running loudly for no obvious reason

Solution

1. Restart properly. Choose Start → Power → Restart (not Shut down). A restart clears memory and stuck processes; a shutdown on Windows 11 uses Fast Startup and does *not*.
2. Check for updates. Settings → Windows Update → Check for updates. Install everything, including *optional* driver updates, then reboot.
3. See what's using resources. Right‑click the taskbar → Task Manager → Processes, sort by CPU, then Memory, then Disk. Note anything sitting at 90–100%.
4. Disable heavy startup apps. Task Manager → Startup apps. Disable anything with High startup impact that you don't need immediately at login (Teams, Spotify, updaters, etc.).
5. Free up disk space. If the system drive is more than ~90% full, run Settings → System → Storage → Cleanup recommendations and remove temporary files. Aim for at least 15% free.
6. Check for malware. Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Quick scan (or a full scan if the PC is heavily affected).
7. Adjust for performance (older/low‑RAM PCs). Search "Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows" → Adjust for best performance to disable animations.

If that doesn't work

• Run Task Manager → Performance and note total RAM. Under 8 GB on Windows 11 is often the real bottleneck — recommend a RAM upgrade.
• Check the drive type: an old spinning hard disk (HDD) is the most common cause of chronic slowness. Upgrading to an SSD is the single biggest speed improvement.
• Open a ticket with BBN Support and mention which resource (CPU / Memory / Disk) was pinned in Task Manager.

Prevention

• Keep at least 15% of the system drive free.
• Reboot at least once a week.
• Keep Windows and drivers up to date.