7 Fixes For Too Many Background Processes In Windows 10/11

Is your PC slower than before? Too many processes running in the background may slow down your PC, and you can’t even perform basic things smoothly. Use this guide to turn off unwanted programs and processes and make your PC fast again.

What are the Causes of a Slow-Running Computer?

• You have many applications opened.
• Many processes and unnecessary apps are running in the background.
• Several services are running in the background.

How To Fix Too Many Background Processes In Windows 10 and 11?

Many applications and processes run in the background even when you haven’t opened them. If you’re experiencing high CPU or RAM usage, use these methods to give your PC a breather.

1. Close All the Open Applications
2. Disable Processes That are Using a lot of Memory
3. Remove Unnecessary Apps from the Windows Startup Menu
4. Stop Background Apps from the Privacy Settings
5. Turn Off Background Apps from the Battery Settings
6. Disable Services of Third-Party Programs
7. Completely Uninstall Applications You Don’t Use

1. Close All the Open Applications

You want to speed up your computer so you can easily open the applications you want. So, this first fix seems counterproductive. But closing your applications and active windows is suggested, so your PC gains some memory for troubleshooting this problem. 

So, close the active applications for now. After completing this guide, you can open them again.

2. Disable Processes That are Using a lot of Memory

To clear up more memory, close the background processes of Windows 10, which take up too much of the memory. But make sure not to disable any Microsoft processes. Use these steps:

• Right-click the Start button on the taskbar and choose ‘Task Manager.’ Or press Ctrl + Alt + Del keys on your keyboard.
• On the Process tab, right-click the header section and choose ‘Publisher.’ You’ll see that another column, Publisher, will appear. This is to ensure that we don’t disable Microsoft processes.

• Now, click ‘Memory.’ This will list the process in order of most memory usage.
• Now, you can see the top apps and processes eating up your RAM. Right-click each process and select ‘End task’ or select the function and press the End task button at the bottom right corner of the Task Manager.
• Don’t end Windows processes with ‘Microsoft Corporation’ written in their ‘Publisher’ column.
• It would help if you disabled system tray programs. A system tray program is the one that never closes completely and runs in the background even when you close it.

3. Remove Unnecessary Apps from the Windows Startup Menu

The startup menu lists the apps that your Windows OS starts when you turn on your computer. If too many apps are allowed to launch at startup, your computer’s startup time will be slow, and the apps will keep running in the background even if you don’t use them.

So, if you don’t want apps to be launched unnecessarily on startup, remove them from the startup menu by following these steps:

• Right-click the Start icon on the taskbar and pick ‘Task Manager.’ Or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
• Go to the ‘Startup’ tab.
• Observe the list of startup programs. If you don’t want any app to run on startup, right-click it and choose ‘Disable.’

• You can even disable Microsoft applications here because the apps listed in this section are not critical for your system. For instance, if you prefer Google Chrome over Microsoft Edge, you can disable Edge from launching at startup.

4. Stop Background Apps from the Privacy Settings

Apps downloaded from the Microsoft Store, and pre-installed apps on your Windows run in the background by default. Most Microsoft apps are optimized so they won’t use much memory, but some downloaded apps may.

That said, you can disable any app (installed from Microsoft Store) from running in the background from the privacy settings on your Windows computer.

4.1 Disable Background Apps on Windows 10

• Click the Start menu and open Settings.
• Select ‘Privacy’.
• On the side pane, choose ‘Background apps.’
• Switch off the toggle under ‘Let apps run in the background to stop all the apps from running in the background.

• If you want to close only a few apps, you can turn them on or off with their toggles.

1. Disable Background Apps on Windows 11

On Windows 11, you have to disable each app one by one. 

• Click the Start menu and select Settings.
• From the side pane, choose ‘Apps.’
• You’ll find the list of all apps installed on your computer. You can disable the background processes of apps installed from the Microsoft Store.
• Click the dots at the right end of the app you want to disable and select ‘Advanced options.’

• Find ‘Background apps permissions,’ click the menu under it, and choose ‘Never.’

If you want to disable the background process of all the apps and programs at once, use Method 5.

5. Turn Off Background Apps from the Battery Settings

If you have a laptop, there is another trick to disable services and background processes on Windows 10 and 11. You can use the Battery Saver option.

When Battery Saver is enabled, Windows automatically restricts background apps to extend your battery life. So, as long as Battery Saver is enabled, all background apps except essential processes will be kept off.

This option is also helpful if you don’t want to disable background processes permanently but only for the time being.

5.1 Enable Battery Saver on Windows 10

• Click the battery icon on the taskbar and select ‘Battery settings.’
• Under ‘Turn battery saver on automatically at,’ click the drop-down menu, and select ‘Always.’

Or

• Click the Battery icon on the taskbar.
• Move the slide to the left end to enable the battery saver mode.

5.2 Enable Battery Saver on Windows 11

• Go to Settings.
• Select ‘System.’
• Choose ‘Power & battery.
• Click ‘Battery saver.’
• Press the button ‘Turn on now.’

Or

• Click the battery icon on the taskbar.
• Press the Battery Saver button to turn on the battery saver mode.

6. Disable Services of Third-Party Programs

Services on Windows are like background processes, but they run entirely in the background and don’t have any user interface. They start with Windows (if they are set to run at startup).

Too many services can also slow down your computer. But before you begin with it, be sure not to touch Microsoft services, as many of them are essential for your Windows to run properly. 

Below we’ll show you the steps to recognize third-party software services and how to disable them.

6.1 Disable Services of Other Applications for One Session 

If you only want to check what happens when you stop services of third-party applications installed on your computer, use these steps:

• Click the Start menu, type.’msconfig,’ and open ‘System Configuration.’
• When the system configuration utility launches, go to the Services tab.
• Checkmark the box ‘Hide all Microsoft services’ so you don’t accidentally stop a critical service.
• Now, you’ll have the services of third-party programs only (non-Microsoft services). Select ‘Disable all’ to disable all the third-party software services.

• Click ‘Apply’ and ‘OK.’
• If you only want to disable a few services, note down the name of the service from the above steps
• Right-click the Start menu and choose ‘Task Manager.’
• When it opens, go to the ‘Services’ tab.
• Find the service with its name. Right-click it and select ‘Stop.’

This will stop the service for the existing session. If that service is set to begin at startup, it’ll start when you reboot your computer.

6.2 Disable Services of Third-Party Applications Permanently

To disable the services you don’t want to run permanently, use these steps:

• Enter the Control Panel by opening the Start menu and typing its name.
• On the Control panel, navigate to System and Security > Administrative Tools > Services
• Once the Services window opens, find the service you want to disable permanently.
• Right-click the service and choose ‘Properties.’

• It’ll open the properties window of the service. Click the drop-down menu next to ‘Startup’ and select ‘Disable.’

• Click ‘Apply’ and ‘OK.’

7. Completely Uninstall Applications You Don’t Use

We install many apps and programs on our computers. As most of us have enough storage, we don’t mind keeping the apps we install but don’t use. Most of these apps are harmless, but some apps always run in the background and consume your system resources.

So, if you don’t like any app or don’t use it, uninstall it completely. To know which to uninstall, recall when was the last time you used it. If it was a few months ago, then you must uninstall it.

• Click the Start menu, type.’add or remove programs‘ and open the first result.
• Select the application you want to remove and click ‘Uninstall.’
• Perform this action for all the applications you need to delete.
• Restart your computer.

Conclusion

Closing background processes in Windows 10 and 11 free up your computer’s memory and, in turn, makes your computer faster. But during this, ensure that Microsoft processes are untouched to avoid problems.

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