How To Fix Slow Startup Windows

There can be multiple reasons for slow startup across both Windows 10 and 11 and earlier versions

It can be a frustrating experience when your Windows PC or laptop does not load as fast as you expect. Either one or multiple issues could be causing your Windows machine to load slowly at startup. You may need to apply multiple fixes to ensure a fast Windows bootup. Let’s take a look at some options you can try.

How to fix slow startup Windows

Update and restart Windows – In many cases, a Windows Update can fix the problems your slow Windows machine could be facing. For this, you just need to go to Windows Update and click ‘Check for Updates’. If there are any updates available, make sure you install all the necessary ones. If you have not updated your Windows machine for a long time, you may have to repeat this process multiple times. After all updates are installed, your system will restart. Updating Windows to the latest version can fix a slow startup.

Disable unwanted startup apps – Another thing you can do to fix slow startup Windows is to disable any unnecessary startup apps. In case of many software programs you may be installing on your Windows machine, several of these may be getting added to the startup list. This naturally increases the startup time, as all the programs have to be loaded.

You can check the startup app via the Task Manager and selecting Startup apps. If you notice any third-party apps in the startup list, you can disable them and restart your machine. This won’t lead to any issues because apps can be started when you actually need them. Having them in the startup list does not give any real benefits.

Use fast startup option – If you want superfast startup Windows, you can use the hybrid hibernation mode. This can be accessed via the Power Options. However, users have reported that using fast startup option can lead to inconsistent behavior or update issues. This is especially true in case of SSDs.

Use Disk Cleanup – There’s a nice little utility inside Windows that checks and removes temporary files from your computer. You can find the Disk Cleanup utility from the Search console. After opening the Disk Cleanup utility, you need to select the drive on which the Windows OS is installed. The utility will check and show the files that can be deleted. You can then select the files and start the cleanup process. Disk Cleanup will also help increase the storage space on the selected drive by deleting temporary files.

Upgrade hardware – If you have an old HDD inside your Windows machine, it could be a key reason for slow startups. If your machine supports an upgrade, you can replace the HDD with an SSD. You can also have both disks, but choose to install Windows on the SSD. Not having adequate RAM can also lead to slow startups. You can add more RAM if your machine supports it. You can also use the disk defragment tool to optimize your drives.

In addition to the above, you can also check for viruses and malware. Adware can also slow down your Windows machine. Services and background apps could also cause slow startups. You can check for these and disable the ones that are third-party and unnecessary. Hopefully, these steps will help to fix slow startup Windows.