How to Fix Windows 11 Slow Startup (Without Upgrading Hardware)

If you’re reading this, you’re probably tired of turning on your computer, making a coffee, and coming back to find Windows 11 is still loading. I deal with this issue constantly when troubleshooting PCs for clients. The good news? You usually don’t need to buy a new SSD or more RAM to fix it.

Windows 11 is packed with background services, telemetry, and pre-loaded bloatware that all fight for resources the second you hit the power button. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the exact steps I use to cut startup times in half.

1. Disable Startup Apps (The Right Way)

This is the most common culprit. Every app you install wants to launch at startup.

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager directly.
2. Click on the Startup apps icon on the left sidebar (it looks like a speedometer).
3. Sort the list by the Status column so all “Enabled” apps are at the top.
4. Right-click anything you don’t absolutely need the second your PC boots (like Spotify, Steam, or Skype) and select Disable.

Pro tip: Leave your antivirus and critical driver software (like NVIDIA or Intel) enabled.

2. Turn Off Windows 11 Fast Startup

This sounds counterintuitive, but the “Fast Startup” feature actually causes more problems than it solves on modern SSDs. It prevents your PC from fully shutting down, leading to corrupted caches.

1. Hit the Windows key and type Control Panel, then hit Enter.
2. Go to Hardware and Sound > Power Options.
3. On the left panel, click Choose what the power buttons do.
4. Click the blue text that says Change settings that are currently unavailable.
5. Uncheck the box next to Turn on fast startup (recommended).
6. Click Save changes.

3. Delay Non-Essential Windows Services

You can tell Windows to load certain background services a few minutes after the desktop appears, rather than trying to load everything at once.

1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog.
2. Type services.msc and hit Enter.
3. Find Windows Search in the list. Right-click it and select Properties.
4. Change the Startup type to Automatic (Delayed Start).
5. Click Apply and OK.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Will disabling Fast Startup harm my PC?

No. In fact, if you’re using a modern SSD, you likely won’t even notice a difference in boot times, but you will notice fewer weird glitches because your PC is actually doing a clean boot every time.

Why is my boot time still slow after doing this?

If you’ve done all the above and it still takes over 2 minutes to boot, check your storage drive health. A failing SSD or an old mechanical hard drive (HDD) will bottleneck Windows 11 regardless of your software settings.