Slow PC and high usage
A slow PC usually has one process or one setting behind it. Find the culprit with the built-in tools before you clean, tweak or reinstall anything.
- Diagnose Windows Explorer Eating the CPU
- Measure and Fix a Slow Windows Boot
- Capture a Stutter with Windows Performance Recorder
- Record a Performance Monitor Log and Read It Back
- Reduce Idle RAM Usage Without Killing Services
- Change the Firmware Boot Order from Windows
- Build a Custom Power Plan for a Desktop
- Repair a Boot Failure with Bootrec and Bcdboot
- Boot into Safe Mode and Get Back Out Again
- Change the Boot Menu Timeout with BCDEdit
- Check Secure Boot and Enroll the Keys When It Fails
- Boot a Second Windows From a VHD for Testing
- Restore the Recovery Environment and Repair the Boot Record
- Find Out Why SMB File Copies Are Slow
- Add Your Own Command to the Explorer Context Menu
- Reseat RAM Sticks Into the Right Slots
- Enable Hibernation and Tune Fast Startup
- Check CPU Temperatures and Stop Thermal Throttling
- Dual Boot Windows and Linux by Shrinking a Partition
- Test RAM Stability With MemTest86
- Enable Memory Integrity and Find Blocked Drivers
- Turn On Memory Integrity and Clear the Driver Blocking It
- Build a Multi-Boot Rescue USB With Ventoy
- Clear Stuck Print Jobs and Speed Up a Slow Queue
- Check Laptop Battery Health and Slow the Wear
- Fix Windows 11 Stuck at 100% Disk Usage in Task Manager
- Measure Real Disk Speed with Built-in Tools
- Configure Jumbo Frames Without Breaking the Network
- Rebuild the Start Menu When It Will Not Open
- Move the Automatic Maintenance Window Out of Your Workday
- Fix Stuttering Video Playback in the Browser
- Fix a Right-Click Menu That Takes Seconds to Open
- Rebuild the Windows Icon and Thumbnail Cache
- Move the Temp Folder to Another Drive Safely
- Turn Off Game DVR Background Capture to Stop Stutter
- Use a Dev Drive for Faster Builds and Caches
- Use Lossless Scaling to Upscale Old Games
- Audit What Starts With Windows Using Autoruns
- Get a Laptop Game to Use the Dedicated GPU
- Stop Game Stutter by Fixing the Windows Page File