Have you ever turned on your PC only to hear the fans spin up and feel sluggish system response before launching a single app? On systems with 8 GB or 16 GB of RAM, apps that boot up automatically can drastically slow down your PC. How many system resources are running apps eating up in the background without your consent?
Quick Summary
- Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc), go to ‘Startup apps’, and disable messengers, game launchers, and auto-updaters.
- In startup impact ratings, apps using under 300 ms of CPU time and under 292 KB of disk I/O are considered ‘Low impact’. Start by disabling high-impact third-party apps.
- Keep Windows Defender and graphics/audio drivers set to ‘Enabled’ for system security and stability.
- For Microsoft Store apps, go to Settings (Win + I) > ‘Installed apps’ > Advanced options and set background permissions to ‘Never’.
How to Check Startup Impact and Disable Apps in Task Manager
The quickest way to stop apps from launching automatically at boot is through Task Manager. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc or right-click the Start button and select Task Manager.
Navigate to the Startup apps tab in the left sidebar to see the list of registered programs and their ‘Startup impact’. According to Microsoft’s criteria, an app has a ‘Low impact’ rating if it uses less than 300 milliseconds (ms) of CPU time and less than 292 KB of disk I/O during boot.
It is like walking out the door carrying a backpack stuffed with unnecessary weight. Right-click any third-party app with a high impact rating and select Disable to ease the boot burden.
Which Programs to Disable and Which to Keep
Disabling every startup app indiscriminately can cause issues with essential security functions or peripheral devices. You need to distinguish between critical system utilities that must launch on boot and everyday apps you can open manually.
| Category | Recommended Setting | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Disable | Disabled | Messengers (Discord, Slack), game launchers (Steam), updaters (Chrome Updater, third-party software updaters), cloud sync services |
| Keep Enabled (Essential) | Enabled | Windows Security (Windows Defender), real-time antivirus, audio/graphics drivers, dedicated mouse/keyboard software |
Messengers and gaming clients run perfectly fine when you launch them manually from an icon, even if they do not boot up with Windows. Hardware drivers and security tools like Windows Defender, on the other hand, should stay enabled to ensure background protection.
Related Reading
Slow Boot Times? How to Disable Startup Programs in Windows
How to Turn Off the Windows 11 Taskbar Weather Widget and Search Box
Managing Background Permissions for Store Apps in Settings
You can also press Win + I to open Windows Settings and go to Apps > Startup to toggle off apps that start with Windows. In Windows 11, it is equally important to manage individual background app permissions for Microsoft Store apps.
Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps, click the three-dot menu (…) next to the target app, and select Advanced options. Look for the Background apps permissions section.
From the three available options—Always, Power optimized (recommended), and Never—selecting Never prevents the app from consuming resources in the background once you close its window. Keep in mind that this advanced option primarily applies to Microsoft Store apps; traditional desktop programs (Win32) require toggling off startup and background options within their own in-app settings.
The 50% Memory Reduction Myth and Caution with Services
Claims that cleaning up startup programs will automatically cut your memory usage in half (a 50% reduction) have no official basis. The actual amount of RAM freed depends on how many third-party programs you have installed and your system specifications.
Some internet guides also suggest opening the services.msc console and disabling the SysMain service (formerly Superfetch). However, Microsoft’s official performance optimization documentation does not recommend disabling SysMain as a standard performance fix.
Disabling critical Windows services without proper verification impairs file caching and can actually make your system feel slower and less responsive. It is far safer to start by disabling verified startup programs and background apps.
Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc right now and switch off the messengers and game launchers you don’t need running every time your PC boots up.
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