Windows 11 is great, but you don’t get the best of everything it offers when you launch it. Instead, you get loads of bloatware and subdued performance in some areas. The list is long, from throttled network performance to slowed-down content menu appearances and restrained CPU power.
Some things make sense on a low-spec PC, but if you want to unleash the full power of the OS and have a machine that can benefit from it, why stick with the default settings? There are abundant registry settings that you can tweak to boost your PC’s performance and turn off all the limiting factors.
In this post, I’ll share the most useful performance-boosting Windows 11 registry and service hacks I’ve tried and tested. Let’s begin.
WARNING
The Windows Registry is a critical system tool, and should not be played around with. Each system setting is configurable using it. So, before making any changes, it’s wise to create a backup.
You don’t need to do much. Plug in a USB drive and then open the Registry Editor. Click on File > Export and name the File. Pick the USB drive as a location and export it.
We’re doing this because if anything goes wrong, you can go back. An external drive is safe because you cannot change it, but can use it for recovery when needed.
Also, all the tweaks mentioned below might not always have a positive response. So, try one and then test your PC for some time. If you find more slowdowns, set the reg value to the earlier state.
1. Disable Power Throttling
Your CPU cannot reach full power because Windows has decided to play it slowly. If you have a powerful GPU and CPU, this registry entry may be holding back the CPU performance. Here’s how to change it:
Step 1: Launch the Registry Editor and go to the following path:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power
Step 2: Right-click on the Power key and select New > Key option. Name it PowerThrottling.
Step 3: Right-click on the white space and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value option.
Step 4: Name the key PowerThrottlingOff and set its Value data to 1. Click on OK.
Step 5: Restart your PC.
2. Disable Startup Delay
Windows 11 induces a pre-determined delay in starting all the required apps and services comfortably. But the delay is not good if you need your PC to boot to the desktop faster.
Here, you can use the Serialize key to control the startup behavior and set it to the lowest. Repeat the following steps:
Step 1: Launch the Registry Editor and go to the following path:
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
Step 2: Right-click on the Power key and select New > Key option. Name it Serialize.
Step 3: Right-click on the white space and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value option.
Step 4: Name the key StartupDelayInMSec and set its Value data to 0. Click on OK.
Step 5: Restart your PC.
3. Disable CPU Core Parking
The operating system tries its best to manage the CPU cores and reserve them when not in use. But this parking behavior isn’t good if you want to draw out all the cores’ maximum CPU power. You can change the PC power settings registry key to do so. Here’s how:
Step 1: Launch the Registry Editor and go to the following path:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerSettings\54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00\0cc5b647-c1df-4637-891a-dec35c318583
Step 2: Double-click on the Attributes key and set its Value data to 0. Click on OK.
Step 3: Restart your PC.
4. Disable System Responsiveness
This key manages how much CPU power is reserved for the background tasks. Ideally, it believes 20% to be a good number, but if you need a tiny boost, changing this key can help. Repeat the following steps:
Step 1: Launch the Registry Editor and go to the following path:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile
Step 2: Double-click on the SystemResponsiveness key and set its Value data to 10. Click on OK.
Step 3: Restart your PC.
5. Disable Network Throttling
This is geared more towards network performance as opposed to system performance. Suppose you don’t want any restrictions on the internet speed while gaming, you can use this registry key to your advantage. Multiplayer games will find this very useful, located in the same key as system responsiveness. Here’s how:
Step 1: Launch the Registry Editor and go to the following path:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile
Step 2: Double-click on the NetworkThrottlingIndex key and set its Value data to ffffffff. Click on OK.
Step 3: Restart your PC.
6. Disable WaitToKillServiceTimeout (Faster shut down)
Ever had slow shutdown episodes where your PC takes longer than usual? Windows tries to shut down each process before enforcing the force kill approach. The WaitToKillServiceTimeout registry value controls it, and if you reduce its value, the shutdown will happen faster.
Repeat the following steps:
Step 1: Launch the Registry Editor and go to the following path:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control
Step 2: Double-click the WaitToKillServiceTimeout key and set its Value data to 2000 or 3000. Click on OK.
Step 1: Restart your PC.
7. Boost Game Performance
Most queries I have seen related to Windows performance are gaming-related. Windows has a default notion of allocating CPU, GPU, and other resources, but if you want your games to have the topmost priority, you can modify the Games key in the registry.
Since there are a lot of values to change, you must first access the location.
Go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile\Tasks\Games and then you need to tweak the following values inside:
- GPU Priority (DWORD (32-bit) Value) – 8
- Affinity (DWORD (32-bit) Value) – f
- Background Only (String Value) – False
- Background Priority (DWORD (32-bit) Value) – 1
- Priority (DWORD (32-bit) Value) – 6
- Scheduling Category (String Value) – High
- SFIO Priority (String Value) – High
- SFIO Rate (DWORD (32-bit) Value) – 4
If you don’t see any of the above values, create a new one and pick the appropriate value type as I’ve mentioned inside the brackets of each entry. Then, restart your PC.
8. Disabling Useless Windows Services
Not all Windows services are essential and need to be running 24/7. A good example of this is Xbox-related services for users who don’t use the app but still have to deal with it. Here are several such services that you can turn off manually.
- Fax
- Windows Mobile Hotspot Service
- Downloaded Maps Manager
- Certificate Propagation
- Windows Insider Service
- Windows Image Acquisition
- Xbox Live Game Save
- TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
- Connected User Experiences and Telemetry
- Print Spooler
- Connected User Experiences and Telemetry
To disable a service, double-click on it and select the Disable option from the drop-down list next to the Startup type field. If the service is running, click on Stop and then disable it.
This sums up the post on drawing our maximum performance on your Windows 11 PC. These are all registry-related, not basic, like changing themes, appearance settings, or turning off an OS feature.
Which ones had the most impact on your PC? Tell us in the comments.
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