Microsoft has the largest share of the global desktop OS pie, with nearly 70% of users using nothing but Windows. We’ve seen Linux adoption rates increase over the past few years, but that’s a story for another day. Meanwhile, Windows users like me are stuck with the ups and downs of using Windows 11.
Basically, Windows 11 is certainly easy to use, but it’s also incredibly heavy. In fact, Microsoft’s OS is no matter what device you’re using – a full-powered desktop device or a five-year-old laptop. Sure, it’s an OS that slows things down thanks to a lot of default settings you’ll never use, but they definitely feel like they’re holding your devices back.
Windows 11’s system standards love to keep your PC
The OS is too tight on your computer’s throat
There is nothing more refreshing than a fresh Windows installation for a computer. This is usually the nuke option we always have when things are too messy or something goes wrong and the reinstall is done. fresh new Windows desktop. What most users don’t really realize is that even in its freshest, newest avatar, Windows comes loaded with a lot of system defaults and services that serve no real purpose other than slowing down your computer more than necessary.
Either by running dozens of different startup programs, Copilot is loadingWindows loves to clutter things up and hates letting you run its own OS, by running up some of your memory with SysMain preloaded apps or continuing an Indexed search to clutter your drive.
System startup programs are a big default
Startup times and efficiency get worse
There are not many such programs indeed You should be able to start from the moment you get to your desktop, but Windows has a habit of waking up as much as it can. Of course, a few Apps like Wallpaper Engine or TranslucentTB makes sense, but heavy applications like MS Teams and Copilot make no sense. They can always be activated later, but the first thing they do is increase your startup times. Controlling your Windows startup programs is the first thing you should do with every new installation, and make sure that only the most important processes are started with Windows.
Ignore the Task Schedulereither. Windows likes to give you the illusion that you’re in control of all your startup processes once you open Task Manager’s Startup Programs, but Task Scheduler hides even more background processes that start right after it’s launched. Your software updaters and telemetry services are hidden here, and they continue to run in the background starting with Windows, even if you think you’ve taken care of all the startup programs and services from Task Manager.
SysMain is a relic you no longer need
In the age of SSDs, this is more irrelevant than ever
Antiquity of the Vista eraSuperFetch tries to make your computer look “fast” by preloading programs into system memory, but in the age of SSDs, it serves absolutely zero purpose. Not only does it keep some of your memory dedicated to preloaded apps, but assumes that you will use them. It sounds like a smart idea on paper, sure, but it does more harm than good. Instead of your system naturally responding to what you’re actually using, it’s constantly filling RAM. On older hard drives, this translates into constant disk activity and slow response. On SSD and NVMe drives, SysMain just causes a pointless backgroundit adds nothing meaningful to your experience.
Superfetch is now known as SysMain.
The real problem is that Windows considers this behavior important when it no longer is. Modern memory is already quite fast, and RAM is better used dynamically rather than allocated based on pre-guessing. Disabling SysMain doesn’t hurt your computer either; will only make it more consistent.
Copilot and AI services add a constant load layer
Intelligence you don’t always want outright
Microsoft has it all in AI, and Windows 11 makes that abundantly clear. Copilot is also not a feature you click on when needed. There is Microsoft cooked into the systemclosed it to the search and submitted it silently in the background. Even if you never actively use it, parts of its infrastructure still load, hoard memory, and sometimes spin up processes that contribute nothing to your daily workflow.
The bigger problem here is that it’s not optional either. AI services in Windows 11 feel more like a basic expectation than an add-on, and it comes at a cost. Whether it’s useful or not, you’d effectively run an extra layer of functionality all the time. On paper this is the “future”, but in practice it is more burden on a system that already has enough going on.
The search index works overtime for the results you need
Fast search should not come at the cost of system performance
Windows Search indexing is designed to find files instantly, but it often does more work than necessary. The indexer constantly scans, updates, and reevaluates your files in the background, especially after updates or when large chunks of data change. This means that random spikes in CPU and disk usage can make your system feel busy, even when you’re doing nothing.
The irony here is that most users don’t trust Windows Search enough to justify this behavior. Navigating folders manually is faster than relying on search results, and if you want, there are always other tools like VoidTools’ Everything or List. However, Windows insists on keeping the index fresh at all times, prioritizing theoretical speed over practical efficiency, and the price is paid by your system.
Windows 11 doesn’t need to be this heavy These are intentional defaults that prioritize functionality over efficiency.
None of these standard problems make Windows 11 “unusable”, but they do make it unnecessarily bloated. The frustrating part here is that most of these are not bugs or outliers. These are correct, intentional defaults that prioritize features over efficiency. Left untouched, they silently eat away at your system’s responsiveness, turning even powerful hardware into something that feels a bit slower than it should be.
The correction is not that sharp either. It’s about taking back control by cutting startup programs, calling background services, and querying what actually needs to be running. Windows 11 works well when you don’t let it do everything wants to do
