How to prevent Windows 11 from getting slower and slower

Although, on paper, Windows 11 came to improve the shortcomings of Windows 10, many users have found themselves with the unpleasant surprise that history repeats itself. One of the most annoying problems is that Windows 11 runs slower and slower. Why does this happen? And most importantly: how can we avoid it?

It must be said that most of the time these types of problems are more common on computers with limited RAM memory (for example, 4 GB), although they also have a lot to do with the installation requirements of this version of the Microsoft operating system, much more demanding than those of the previous version. A not very powerful processor or little storage space doesn't help either.

Before we start reviewing our list of tricks and solutions, it is worth clarifying what the Minimum configuration required to ensure correct performance of Windows 11. Broadly speaking, we can say that a good quad-core processor is necessary (for example, an Intel Core i3-8100 or a Ryzen 3 2300X), at least 8 GB of RAM and a SSD drive on which to install the operating system.

With these features, any PC can run smoothly using this operating system. However, there may be other factors that cause our computer to slow down. If what we want is for everything to flow better without having to spend too much money or directly buy a new computer, this is what we can do:

Disable some startup programs

Some programs consume a large amount of RAM when we start the PC. These applications (often dispensable) usually remain in the background, consuming resources and slowing down startup.. To disable these programs you must do the following:

1. First we press the Windows key and write "Task Manager".
2. From there we go to the tab "Start".
3. Then we right click with the mouse on the programs we want to disable.

Close programs running in the background

The previous action serves to make the PC boot faster, but we may find that Windows 11 is slow after startup. What you have to do is close the applications that are running in the background, consuming resources that we need. The process is very similar to the one described in the previous section:

• First of all, we press the Windows key and write «Task Manager".
• Next we go to the tab «Processes».
• Finally, we right click on the started processes that we want to close.

Delete apps you don't need

Sometimes, even when we have closed them, there are programs and applications that start automatically. That is, they consume resources and make our Windows 11 computer run slower than we would like. The solution is to permanently eliminate them in this way:

1. Once again, we press the Windows key and type "Add and remove Programs".
2. We access the first result.
3. To finish, in the list of applications and programs installed on the PC, we select the ones we want to delete and execute the action.

Change the device's power mode

This is a trick that also works for Windows 10. There is the possibility of select different power modes for our PC. Depending on which one you choose, you get a different level of performance. By default, balanced mode usually defaults to all computers. However, to give our PC a little speed it is a good idea switch to low power mode. This is what we should do:

1. We press the Windows key and this time we write "Energy".
2. Then we click on the first result that appears.
3. Finally, we change the energy mode by selecting the low consumption.

Optimize or defragment the storage drive

This is a very healthy process for our Windows 11 PC and one that we should do regularly to prevent it from working slowly. The idea consists of group data scattered on the hard drive that actually belong to the same program. This, which results in improved performance, can be done as follows:

1. After pressing the Windows key, we write «Optimize and Defragment Drives».
2. We access the first result that appears.
3. Then we select the unit we want to optimize and start the process.

Limit effects and animations

One of the advantages of Windows 11 compared to Windows 10 (its improved interface, with more aesthetic and display effects), is also a disadvantage, as it implies greater resource consumption. To solve this, we can choose to limit these effects in the following way:

1. We click on the menu Configuration (the gear icon) and we are going to "Personalization".
2. From there, we select the menu "Colors" and we disable the transparency effects.
3. To finish, let's "Accessibility", where we disable the animations.

Other useful actions to prevent Windows 11 from getting slower and slower

In addition to the tricks we have discussed, there are some other actions worth trying so that our Windows 11 PC has fast and fluid performance. Here is a small additional list of recommendations:

• Update the system from time to time, including software and drivers.
• Regularly check the temperature of all equipment components. This helps us rule out problems of excess heat, which always end up negatively affecting performance.
• Disable Game Mode if we are not going to need it.
• Disable VBS q functionIt is integrated by default in Windows 11.
• Uninstall third-party antivirus, which also involve consumption of resources. The functions of Microsoft Defender They should be more than enough.
• Delete apps installed by default, such as OneDrive and Microsoft Teams, in case we are not going to use them.
• Clean your PC regularly, especially to prevent the entry of dust and dirt that could affect its components.
• Periodically perform a system scan to detect the presence of malware or adware.

Finally, it must be said that, if we have already tried all these tricks and our PC with Windows 11 continues to work slowly, we always have the option of proceed to a clean reinstallation of the operating system. That is, delete and create a new account as a last resort.