This guide was written by @doctoon, however most tips here originated from other sources.
I just compiled them into one big document so you don't have to look everywhere.
Note
Most things here was written (and tested) by a human, no AI was involved in the creative process.
I did my own research and I do most of these tweaks on my own machine.
Warning
I don't like Windows updates, I've seen too many cases of them making your system worse. (Ahem, Windows 11...)
I'm staying on Windows 10 20H2, Microslop will not convince me otherwise.
I highly recommend you disable updates (check Phase 1 > Unneccesary Settings).
| Performance Impact | Complexity |
|---|---|
| 🟣 Very High | 🟥 Very Hard |
| 🔵 High | 🟧 Hard |
| 🟢 Considerable | 🟨 Medium |
| 🟡 Medium | 🟩 Easy |
| 🟠 Low | |
| 🔴 None | |
| 🔘 Depends |
| Title | Overview | Performance Impact | Complexity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apps Needed | Dependencies | - | - |
| Performance Benchmark | Real results on old hardware | - | - |
| Phase 1: The Basics | Stuff most people do | 🔵 High | 🟩 Easy |
➜ sysdm.cpl tweaks |
- | 🟡 Medium | 🟩 Easy |
| ➜ Disabling Startups | - | 🔵 High | 🟨 Medium |
| ➜ Unnecessary Settings | - | 🟡 Medium | 🟩 Easy |
| ➜ Disk Cleanup | - | 🟡 Medium | 🟩 Easy |
| Phase 2: The Purge | Deep cleaning the system | 🟣 Very High | 🟧 Hard |
| ➜ Everything by Voidtools | - | 🔘 Depends | 🟨 Medium |
| ➜ Browser Profile Migration | - | 🔘 Depends | 🟩 Easy |
| ➜ Deep Uninstalls | - | 🔵 High | 🟨 Medium |
| ➜ Defragmentation | - | 🔵 High | 🟩 Easy |
| Phase 3: Miscellaneous | Additional system tweaks | 🟠 Low | 🟧 Hard |
| ➜ Tweaking the Registry | - | 🟠 Low | 🟥 Very Hard |
| ➜ Disabling Expensive Services | - | 🟡 Medium | 🟧 Hard |
| ➜ Overclocking | - | 🔵 High | 🟧 Hard |
| ➜ Thank You | - | - | - |
Third-party tools
Built-in apps
| App | Description |
|---|---|
| Run Box | To run apps |
services.msc |
Service Manager |
sysdm.cpl |
Advanced System Properties |
appwiz.cpl |
Programs and Features |
regedit.exe |
Registry Editor |
control.exe |
Legacy Control Panel |
taskmgr.exe |
Task Manager |
dfrgui.exe |
Defragment and Optimize Drives |
cleanmgr.exe |
Disk Cleanup |
ms-settings.exe |
UWP Settings App |
cmd.exe |
Command Prompt |
powershell.exe |
Good alternative to command prompt |
Here are the results of me doing (most) of these tweaks to my own system.
System Specs: 4GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB HDD, 2011 prebuilt PC
| What | Before | After | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Boot Time | 7m 32s | 2m 45s | -4m 47s |
| Logon Time | 2:36 | 0:28 | -2m 08s |
| Free Space (C:) | 24 GB | 59.4 GB | +35.4 GB |
| File Count (C:) | 467k | 92k | -375k |
| User Files | 325k | 8.5k | -316.5k |
| System Performance | Pretty slow | Decently Fast | Night and Day |
This section focuses on the basic stuff most people do, and is generally the easiest.
apps needed: sysdm, taskmgr, autoruns, appwiz.cpl, cleanmgr, wiztree, ms-settings, control
Some quick tips:
- When deleting files, use Shift+Delete if you're certain that you wont need the files again.
The recycle bin is just a folder, so moving files to it will cause slowness and fragmentation.
Try to avoid the recycle bin, and move files to another partition if neccesary. - To open the Run dialog, press
+ R.
Note
Note about paging files:
A pagefile is a file in your C drive that acts as a buffer for when Windows needs more RAM.
You should set a static size (same initial and maximum) to avoid disk fragmentation.
Also, make sure to turn off "Automatically manage paging file for all drives".
With 4GB of RAM, you should stick to a minimum of 2GB (2048 MB) for the pagefile.
With 8GB of RAM, the paging file is less neccesary, but 1GB (1024 MB) should be fine.
If you have 16GB of RAM or more, consider setting it to just 512 MB.
Disable Visual Effects
- Open the Run dialog and enter
sysdm.cpl. - Go to the Advanced tab, then open the Performance tab.
- Choose "Adjust for best performance", then enable:
- Show thumbnails instead of icons
- Smooth edges of screen fonts
- Done!
Resize the Pagefile
- Open the Run dialog and enter
sysdm.cpl. - Go to the Advanced tab, then open the Performance tab.
- Go to the Advanced tab (in the performance section).
A quick tweak you could do is changing the scheduling mode to Programs instead of Background services. - Open the virtual memory subsection, from here, follow the size tips above.
- Done! (Restart your PC to apply the changes)
Task Manager
- Open task manager (preferably by typing
taskmgrin the Run box). - Navigate to the Startup tab.
- Disable anything you don't absolutely need. (you can start the apps manually)
Autoruns
If you haven't already, install Autoruns from Microsoft Learn.
- Navigate to the installation directory, and open Autoruns as Administrator. (optional but helps)
- Hide any Microsoft stuff.
- Uncheck anything you don't want to start up as soon as you log in.
PLEASE READ: If you disable the wrong thing, your system might become unstable, check before you disable stuff.
Modern Settings (Windows 8+)
If a setting doesn't appear, don't worry.
- System
- System > Notifications, Disable the following:
- Show me the Windows welcome experience after updates and occasionally when I sign in to highlight what's new and suggested
- Suggest ways I can finish setting up my device to get the most out of Windows
- Get tips, tricks, and suggestions as you use Windows
- Notifications from apps you don't use, or all notifications
- System > Storage
- Disable StorageSense if it's enabled.
Contrary to popular belief, StorageSense can have its risks. And it also runs in the background.
- Disable StorageSense if it's enabled.
- System > Remote Desktop
- Disable Remote Desktop
- System > Notifications, Disable the following:
- Personalization
- Personalization > Colors: Disable Transparency effects
- Apps
- Apps & features
- Sort by: Size, Filter by: Local Disk (C:)
- Uninstall any apps here you don't need.
- Offline maps
- Disable everything, you likely use an online maps application.
- Startup
- Disable anything you don't use regularly, or any apps you don't want to automatically start up.
- Apps & features
- Gaming
- Xbox Game Bar
- Unless you actively use it, turn this off. It runs a background service and makes your games slower.
- Game Mode
- If you play games a lot on your PC, this can benefit game performance.
- Xbox Game Bar
- Ease of Access
- Display > Simplify and personalize Windows
- Show animations in Windows: off
- Show transparency in Windows: off
- Display > Simplify and personalize Windows
- Search
- Permissions & History
- Disable SafeSearch if you accept the risk and want searches to be faster.
- Disable "Search history on this device". It gets bigger over time and causes fragmentation.
- Searching Windows
- Ignore this tab, disable indexing via the following steps:
- 1: Type
control.exe srchadmin.dllin the Run dialog. - 2: Disable indexing for all locations entirely
- 1: Type
- Ignore this tab, disable indexing via the following steps:
- Permissions & History
- Updates & Security (optional)
- Windows Update
- Change your active hours to 12:00 AM > 12:00 PM
- Advanced options > pause for 35 days if available
- Delivery Optimization
- Disable delivery optimization, its just torrenting but for updates.
- Windows Update
- Administrative Tools
- If you need quick access to stuff, use this.
- Default Programs
- Check your default programs here to see if you spot anything weird.
- Mouse
- Pointer Options
- Make sure your speed is set to a reasonable speed (i couldnt think of another word lol)
- Disable "Enhance pointer precision" if you draw or play games, it enables mouse acceleration.
- Pointer Options
- Power Options
- Choose or customize a power plan
- Install the AtlasOS power plan by running the Powershell
plan.ps1script below. - Then activate it by pressing "Atlas Power Plan" in this section. (you might need to restart control panel)
- (shoutout to AtlasOS devs for creating the power plan)
- Install the AtlasOS power plan by running the Powershell
- Choose what the power buttons do
- Click "Change settings that are currently unavailable"
- Now, uncheck "Turn on fast start-up (recommended)".
- This makes your system boot slower but it improves performance as you are actually shutting down the system.
- Choose or customize a power plan
Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr)
Tip
All entries are located at Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VolumeCaches.
- Open disk cleanup by typing
cleanmgrinto the Run box. - Select your C drive.
- Choose "Clean up system files"
- Select your C drive again.
- Select everything, except:
- Downloads
- Previous Installations (if you want to revert to an older version)
- Recycle Bin (unless you don't want the files in there)
Wiztree
If you haven't already, install Wiztree from The official Website.
- Open WizTree.
- Scan your C drive
- Delete any junk files you see (IF YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT A FILE/FOLDER, LOOK IT UP)
- List of common unneccesary folders
temp%temp%- Chromium based Browsers
- User Data\Default\Cache\Cache_Data
- User Data\Default\Code Cache\js
- User Data\Default\Code Cache\wasm
- User Data\Default\GPUCache
- User Data\Default\Service Worker\CacheStorage
- User Data\Default\Service Worker\ScriptCache
- User Data\Default\History
- User Data\Default\Favicons
- User Data\Default\Top Sites
This section focuses on deep system cleanup and configuration, therefore it is more complex.
apps needed: everything, browser profile folder, office scrubber, bulk crap uninstaller, dfrgui
If you haven't already, install Everything from The official Website.
Warning
I know I keep saying this, but do NOT just instantly delete things that look suspicious.
A quick google search can save your life, because if you delete something critical without a backup, RIP.
This tool is actually really simple to use, I'll just give you some queries:
- Find Caches and Temporary Files
C: cache|.tmp|temporary|temp - Find Large Folders
Prerequisite: Enable folder size indexing inTools > Options > IndexesC: folder: depth:>1 !C:\Windows !path:Microsoft size:>20MB - Find Folders with a lot of Items
C: folder: depth:>1 !C:\Windows !path:Microsoft childcount:>30 - Find Large Files (Over 5MB)
file: C: size:>5MB !ext:sys;dll;msi;exe;dat;pak;db !C:\Windows
Work in progress, a PowerShell script for migrating your browser profiles to another partition will be coming soon.
You can skip this step for now.
Office Scrubber
If you haven't already, install Office Scrubber from The GitHub repository.
- Launch
OfficeScrubber.cmd - Wait 15 minutes
Bulk Crap Uninstaller
If you haven't already, install BCUninstaller from The GitHub repository.
- Launch Bulk Crap Uninstaller
- Uninstall any apps you don't want
Chris Titus Tool
If you haven't already, install the utility from The official website.
- The steps are on the website.
WinSxS Component Cleanup
This step is risky! Only do this if you know what you're doing
- Type
cmdinto the Run box, and pressCtrl+Shift+Enter(opens as Administrator) - Now, type
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
(you can add/ResetBasebut that's even more risky, as you won't be able to repair system files)
- Type
dfrguiinto the Run box. - Choose the drives you want to optimize.
- Click "Analyze" to make sure you aren't defragging a 0% defragmented drive.
- Close all applications using Task Manager! (do not skip this step, save any unsaved progress)
- Now, click "Optimize". This defragments your HDD. However it sends TRIM operations on SSDs. (also, you can defrag SSDs.)
- Please wait, this will take on average 30 minutes to an hour.
This section focuses on optional tweaks you could do, but arent neccesary and may not give you any performance benefits.
apps needed: regedit, services.msc
Tip
You should back up your Registry if you're worried about any accidents.
- Type
regeditinto the Run box. - Enter the path into the address bar, if a path is invalid, create the keys and values that are missing.
- If you don't understand what you're doing, close the Registry Editor. Better safe than sorry!
| Path | Key | New Value | Description | Performance Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop |
MenuShowDelay |
1 |
Make right-click submenus faster | Depends |
HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop |
DragWidth |
20 or 30 |
Makes it harder to accidentally drag | None |
HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop |
DragHeight |
20 or 30 |
Makes it harder to accidentally drag | None |
HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop |
DragFromMaximize |
0 |
Disables the annoying minimization when you drag a window | None |
HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop |
AutoEndTasks |
1 |
Automatically end tasks when shutting down | None |
HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop |
WaitToKillAppTimeout |
2000 |
Reduce the time it takes to shut down | Low |
HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop |
HungAppTimeout |
2000 |
Reduce the time it takes to shut down | Low |
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System |
VerboseStatus |
1 |
See what's happening when you login/out, restart, or shut down | None |
HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer |
DisableSearchBoxSuggestions |
1 |
Disable the online search results | Low |
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced |
ShowSecondsInSystemClock |
1 |
Show seconds in taskbar | None |
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced |
LastActiveClick |
1 |
Opens the last active instance instead of making you choose | None |
Soon™
This section will be touched on soon. It is also not recommended to casual users as you need to learn about each component and that is time intensive for many.
Thank you so much for reading and following this guide.
I want to prove that you shouldn't dump your PCs just because a corporation said so. Make good use of them (or install linux, your choice not mine), optimize them, host servers, etc! Computers don't become worthless because they're labeled obsolete, you bought the thing, you deserve to use it however you want.
(Also the fact that people actually destroy hard drives, or throw entire PCs into the garbage is insane.
Now onto the personal stuff.
I program in my free time and I have a lot of cool projects over on my GitHub.
If you're into open source and control over what you own, check out what I have!
That said, enjoy your day. Bye!