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5 services I disabled to improve Windows performance
Windows comes with a myriad of background services, many of which run automatically, even if I never actually used their underlying functionality. By disabling a handful of these non-essential services, I was able to free up system resources and boost my computer’s responsiveness. Here are the services I disabled, along with why they were holding me back and how to disable them.
Windows Search
You can start it manually if you want
Windows Search indexes your files, emails, and system data to provide near-instant search results from the Start Menu and File Explorer. Although it looks like a harmless little service, it can consume a lot of your CPU and RAM, especially during updates or file changes.
Obviously, if you’re using it often, you shouldn’t touch it, but it makes sense for me to disable it because I rarely take advantage of it. To turn it off, press Ctrl + R, type services.msc, and press Enter. Then, look for Windows Search and stop the service. You can also change its Startup type to Disabled or Manual if you want to use it occasionally.
Of course, the process is reversible if you change your mind. You also need to change the Recovery tab of the service's properties and select Take no action in case of failures, because otherwise, the system will simply restart it right away.
SysMain (previously Superfetch)
The service doesn’t quite have a crystal ball
Superfetch was recently renamed to SysMain, and it preloads frequently used apps into memory. The service basically tries to predict what apps you might open next and loads them up preemptively to speed up application launch times.
If you have an SSD and plenty of RAM, this service isn’t actually doing anything productive. In fact, from time to time, I experienced unnecessary disk reads and writes that, in turn, caused performance dips. To disable the service, head over to the Services app (services.msc) look for SysMain, and turn its Startup Type to Disabled after stopping it.
Windows Update Delivery Optimization
You can at least limit the bandwidth usage
The Windows Update Delivery Optimization service helps optimize Windows update downloads by sharing update files with other PCs, either on your local network or over the internet. I like to help people download their updates faster, but I’m not prepared to pay with a chunk of my bandwidth.
So, it is quietly siphoning off your bandwidth to serve updates to other devices, even those you don’t own. For a single PC user with limited data, this feature wasn’t worth the trade-off in performance. To turn it off, go to Settings -> Windows Update -> Advanced Options and disable the service. You may opt instead to keep the service to help devices on your local network if you have more than one PC.
If you still want to help others, you can limit downloads to a percentage of your bandwidth. You can see exactly the download activity statistics at the bottom of the Delivery Optimization window from Settings.
Remote Desktop Services
Allowing remote connections to your device
Remote Desktop Services runs in the background to enable remote connections to your computer. I use the remote access features occasionally, but it doesn’t need to run all the time, just in case. Besides consuming resources, it can be a security risk for my PC.
The service is simply an unnecessary background process for everyday work. Removing it freed up resources without any negative impacts on the system. As usual, to disable the service, locate Remote Desktop Services in the Services app, stop it, and set its Startup type to Disabled. You can always reverse the action when you actually need the service.
Connected User Experiences and Telemetry
No need to send data to Microsoft
The Connected User Experiences and Telemetry service is connected to the Telemetry and Diagnostic data tools from Settings. These are used by Microsoft to collect data about Windows usage. Besides consuming resources, it also sends a lot of privacy-sensitive information such as browsing habits or app usage.
To get rid of it, it’s not enough to disable the Connected User Experiences and Telemetry service. You should also go to Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Diagnostics & Feedback and disable Diagnostic data.
While you’re there, you can also turn off the Diagnostic Data Viewer. If it’s turned on, it uses about 1 GB of space. If you’ve had the service activated until now, make sure you also delete the diagnostic data. Microsoft will delete the data about your device.
There are more services you should disable
The list above is just a fraction of the services you don't use and can use resources from your system. Do you have a printer? If not, disable the Print Spooler service. You can do the same with the Fax, Bluetooth Support, or Windows Error Reporting Service. To be fair, most of them don't affect your system too much, but when they add up, you will eventually see the changes, especially if you have an older laptop or PC.
