Your Windows 11 PC felt fast the day you bought it. Six months later, it feels like it's running through mud. This is normal — and fixable. Here's the exact 14-step cleanup our technicians run during a standard remote session.
Storage Cleanup (Steps 1-4)
1. Run Disk Cleanup
Search "Disk Cleanup" in Start, select your C: drive, click "Clean up system files." Check everything — especially Windows Update Cleanup (can be 5-10GB), Temporary files, and Delivery Optimization Files. This alone often frees 3-15GB.
2. Clear Browser Caches
Chrome: Ctrl+Shift+Del → All time → Cached images and files. Edge: same shortcut. Firefox: Ctrl+Shift+Del → Everything → Cache. Each browser can accumulate 1-3GB over time.
3. Uninstall Unused Apps
Settings → Apps → Installed Apps. Sort by size. Remove anything you haven't opened in 3+ months. Pay special attention to:
- Trial software that came with your PC (McAfee, Norton trials, manufacturer bloatware)
- Games you've finished
- Old versions of software (you don't need Java 8 AND Java 11)
4. Empty Downloads Folder
Open File Explorer → Downloads. Sort by date. Most people have months of installers, PDFs, and random files here. Move what you need, delete the rest.
Performance Tuning (Steps 5-8)
5. Disable Startup Programs
Task Manager → Startup tab. Disable anything rated "High impact" that you don't need at boot. Common offenders: Spotify, Discord, OneDrive (if you don't use it), Adobe Creative Cloud, Steam.
6. Adjust Visual Effects
Search "Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows." Select "Adjust for best performance," then re-enable only: "Show thumbnails instead of icons" and "Smooth edges of screen fonts." This is especially impactful on older hardware.
7. Check for Driver Updates
Settings → Windows Update → Advanced options → Optional updates. Install any driver updates listed. Outdated drivers — especially graphics and network — cause stability issues.
8. Set Power Plan to High Performance
Control Panel → Power Options. Select "High Performance" (you may need to click "Show additional plans"). On laptops, this trades battery life for speed — switch back to "Balanced" when on battery.
Security Sweep (Steps 9-11)
9. Run a Full Defender Scan
Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Scan options → Full scan. This takes 30-60 minutes but catches things the quick scan misses.
10. Check Installed Browser Extensions
In each browser, go to Extensions settings and remove anything you don't actively use. Extensions run in the background and can slow browsing significantly. If you have more than 5 extensions, you probably have too many.
11. Review Privacy Settings
Settings → Privacy & security. Turn off: Advertising ID, Inking & typing personalization, Activity history, and anything under "App permissions" that apps don't need (most apps don't need Location, Camera, or Microphone access by default).
Maintenance (Steps 12-14)
12. Run SFC and DISM
Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:
sfc /scannow— repairs corrupted system filesDISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth— repairs the Windows image
These take 10-20 minutes each but can fix mysterious slowdowns and errors.
13. Restart (Really)
Windows 11 uses "Fast Startup" by default, which means shutting down isn't really shutting down. Hold Shift and click "Restart" for a true reboot. This clears memory leaks and resets stuck processes.
14. Set Up Automatic Maintenance
Settings → Windows Update → set active hours so updates install overnight. Enable Storage Sense (Settings → System → Storage → Storage Sense) to automatically clean temp files.
When the Checklist Isn't Enough
If you've done all 14 steps and your PC is still slow, the issue is likely deeper — a failing SSD, insufficient RAM, corrupted user profile, or something running at the kernel level that these steps don't reach. Book a free diagnosis and we'll find it.