Author: Palla Sridhar

In today’s PC World, the question is SSD vs HDD boot time. 10 years back, people were not aware of the benefits of SSD. Also the price difference between a HDD and SSD was too high.

In 2019, OEM manufacturers of both PC and laptop have included SSD as an OS booting device. HDD serves the purpose of a storage device. In this way you can optimize both speed and price.

Since Windows 10 takes a maximum of 40GB storage for its system, program, desktop, personalization etc files and folders, a 120GB SSD disk is enough to save costs. This will not only improve boot times, but also program and apps performance.

In the below case-study, we will see the results of my tests conducted using SSD disks. A legacy computer configuration with Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 8GB DDR3 RAM and NVIDIA GeForce 210 graphics card were used.

You will be astonished at the results. If you want to find out how much time it takes to boot up in Windows 10 and Windows 7, keep reading on.

Note: If the boot results with Core 2 Duo CPU are so blazing fast, then you can imagine how your computer will boot up using 8th or 9th generation i3, i5, i7 processors.

Boot Time Testing Software

I used the BootRacer from Greatis Software to test the boot times. The latest version of 7.70 was used in the test for both Windows 7 and Win 10 versions.

This tiny software is very easy to install. You just have to click a few buttons to know the boot time. There are two options. 1. Full boot time 2. Clean boot time.

Once you click the “New Test” button, the computer will restart and will measure the boot time from BIOS start up. There are 4 stages in boot process according to BootRacer software.

Primarily (2) and (4) are considered in calculation of boot time. The other options are neglected. Windows Boot is the time taken to load system resources, drivers, services, logon display etc. Desktop is the boot time required for startup programs, preparing desktop etc.

Computer Configuration

The following test setup is used to see the boot time performance improvement using SSD.

Summary

Operating System

• Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

CPU

• Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 @ 2.93GHz 49 °C Wolfdale 45nm Technology

RAM

• 8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 533MHz (7-7-7-20)

Motherboard

• Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. G41MT-S2P (Socket 775) 46 °C

Graphics

• P225HQ (1920×1080@60Hz)
• 1024MB NVIDIA GeForce 210 (ASUStek Computer Inc) 56 °C

Storage

• 74GB Seagate ST380211AS ATA Device (SATA ) 45 °C

• 1397GB Seagate Expansion SCSI Disk Device (USB (SATA) ) 37 °C
• 28GB Kingston DT microDuo 3.0 USB Device (USB )

Optical Drives

• No optical disk drives detected

Audio

• High Definition Audio Device

Windows 10 64 Bit 1903 version

The latest OS Build of 18362.239 was used to test the boot times. Several iterations were done to test the efficiecy of SSD. As an average Windows 10 took only 35 seconds to boot from BIOS start up.

The Windows Boot Time took 10s and Desktop Boot time was 24s.

This is far quicker than using a HDD. Earlier I installed Windows 10 on a 74GB Seagate ST380211AS ATA Device. The boot time was 3-5 minutes.

I disabled all the startup programs except Greenshot, OneDrive, Windows Security. But the amount of time required to initialize the desktop was more than 5 minutes, when using a HDD.

In another check, the 1809 version booted up more quickly than 1903 version, using a SSD. Though I could not check the boot times using HDD and 1809 version, it is clear that SSD with October 2018 update had the fastest boot time.

Also, the start up programs were quick to initialize, after using a SSD.

Windows 7 64 Bit

The latest OS Build of 7601 was used to check the boot time using a SSD. Service Pack 1 was installed. As of July 2019, all the KB updates were installed.

The Windows Boot time took around 18s and Desktop Boot time was approximately 6s.

The start up programs included Greenshot, Microsoft Security Essentials, OneDrive. In this Windows OS version also both the full boot time and clean boot time were checked.

To my surprise, Windows 7 boot time was between 20 to 25 seconds. Greenshot took the major part of 1.138s. Still the total start up time of all the 3 programs was only 2.137s.

The desktop initialization and start up programs were quick to respond. Even OneDrive and MSE were fast enough to work with. Menus and Programs were quick to open and close. There was no lag or delay in program response.

Windows 10 vs Windows 7 Boot Time Comparison : Using SSD

Im my experience, I observed drastic improvement in boot times after using SSD in both Windows 7 and Windows 10.

I used 64 bit versions for both.

My old Phenom II X6 1045T system, with standard SATA Samsung 860 EVO went from a minute or two boot time on HDD to like 10 seconds boot time on SSD.

My new HP bargain basement laptop that I upgraded with an HP EX920 NVMe SSD (NVMe/PCIe is much faster than SATA) is now basically instant-on (under 3 seconds to boot). Prior it was probably 30 seconds to a minute with the cheap 5400 RPM HDD it came standard with.

Source : quora.com

Though slight improvement was observed in Windows 7 boot times in the SSD vs HDD comparison, further program operations were quick enough after using SSD.

The major boot time improvement can be seen in Windows 10 after using a SSD. As mentioned before, the boot times have come down from 3 minutes to 35s, with HDD and SSD respectively.

Another interesting fact, was that, Windows 7 booted up more quickly than Windows 10. I used the same computer configuration for both the OS, except that Windows 7 was installed on a 120GB SSD and Windows 10 on 250GB SSD.

I used Western Digital SSD for installing both Windows 10 and 7. The models were also the same, except the capacity.

Conclusion

It can be said that using an SSD and Windows 7 will quickly boot up your computer in 2019. But as we know that its support is ending Jan 2020, so Microsoft is deliberate on pushing Windows 10 as an upgrade.

But not to worry!

Even Windows 10 on a SSD was quick enough. Though the difference was only 10 to 15s in boot times, the desktop, drivers, programs, services etc were quick to initialize compared to using an HDD.

The 1903 update of Windows 10 was tested well before its release. It was a more stable version than October 2018 update. But it still had a few issues, which includes dpc latency spikes.

On my computer, the start up time was very high and takes long to become active. It is also slower while doing normal operations like opening some programs and Windows settings.

It is found that ntoskrnl.exe / dxgkrnl.sys are causing high DPC routine execution time when tested with LatencyMon. In this thread on Reddit, lot of feedback is left on Microsoft app, to make it know the issue.

Latest Update on 1903 DPC Latency Problem in Windows 10

After this article was written, I upgraded my PC with a new SSD. This reduced the amount of start up time and also execution of programs was quick enough. But I wanted to check whether Windows 10 1903 DPC latency problem was resolved or not.

I was using the latest KB build which had the following version – 18362.267.

As we can see the following metrics from the Latency Report show something like this –

1. Highest measured interrupt to process latency (micro secs) – 16376
2. The Highest reported ISR routine execution time (micro secs) – 8140.378793
3. Highest reported DPC routine execution time (micro secs) – 10872. 406751

As we can see the cause of the DPC latency spike problems after the 1903 update, were the following –

1. DirectX Graphics Kernel (dxgkrnl.sys)
2. NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver (nvlddmkm.sys)

Why does Ntoskrnl.exe take lot of CPU, Memory and Hard Disk Space

This is due to the new compressed memory feature built into Windows 10. Starting from Build 10525, Microsoft added a new feature in the Memory Manager called a compression store.

The compression store lives in the System process’s working set. Since the system process holds the store in memory, its working set grows larger exactly when memory is being made available for other processes. This is visible in Task Manager and the reason the System process appears to be consuming more memory than previous releases.

The large memory use is therefore kind of something Windows 10 has been built to do but can sometimes be mistaken as a memory leak. Windows 10, sacrifices memory in exchange for speed. Instead of writing pages into your HDD, it compresses the pages on the RAM. This makes Windows 10 faster than previous versions because reading compressed data from the computer’s RAM is faster than reading it from the HDD then loading into the RAM.

The error message would look something like this –

Your system appears to be having trouble handling real-time audio and other tasks. You are likely to experience buffer underruns appearing as drop outs, clicks or pops. One or more DPC routine that belong to a driver running in your system appear to be executing for too long. One problem may be related to power management, disable CPU throttling settings in Control Panel and BIOS setup. Check for BIOS updates.

If you are using legacy BIOS, you might try to update it, but to no avail. This error is more common using NVIDIA graphic drivers.

In this Windows report it is said that Microsoft and NVIDIA are working together to fix latency spikes in Windows 10 1903 version.

I use my desktop for general PC ops and also for my recording studio. With all versions including 1809 I haven’t had any issues with latency/clicks/dropouts in audio, etc. Resplendence Latency Mon shows no problems. However, with 1903 there is Latency problems. The “culprits” according to Latency Mon are USB bus and/or High Definition Audio (Realtek). I’ve restored my PC back to the 1809 5/22/19 disc image I did before upgrading to 1903. I’ve run Latency Mon again after restoring and still no issues (with 1809). This has also been reported on the gearslutz forum by another user.

Source: https://www.tenforums.com/performance-maintenance/133708-v1903-causing-dpc-latency-hits.html

Solutions for high DPC latency spike problem in 1903.

1. If you have updated from 1809 version, you can revert back to the last version. This solves the problem for many people. But you may not get the benefits of the new release.

2. You can change the startup type of “SysMain” service to “Disabled”  in Services tool. If it does not work out, you can revert back to normal setting.  This service is another name for prefetch or superfetch which existed in Windows 7. Atleast it will reduce the latency spike.

3. Upgrade to the Insider Build of 18909 and most-of the time it will be fixed. You can subscribe to it, using Update setting in Windows Settings.

4. You can use Windows System Timer Tool to reduce the timer to 0.5 secs which is generally 15 secs or more.

5. Build 18362.145 seems to solve this issue. So if you made a new KB update and been using 18362.207, you can uninstal that KB update.

6. Update your NVIDA graphic drivers to the latest version if they are available after the 1903 update. Since ntoskrnl.exe is the culprit, the incompatibility between NVIDIA and 1903 update can be reduced if updated to the latest drivers.

7. Disable MSI mode for Marvell networks cards which could stop the ntoskrnl.exe spikes.

8. Turn off CPU overclocking if you have done it before. Then you can turn it again after the DPC latency spikes are reduced. The 1903 update could be in conflict with the old overclocking strategy.

9. Turn off power throttling of your NVIDIA graphic cards. This can be done using Group Policy Editor. Open Windows Run dialog box, by pressing the Win + R keys. Then type “gpedit.msc”. Navigate to the following path.

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Power Management> Power Throttling Settings

Double click the “Turn off Power Throttling” setting and check “Enabled“.

10. Scan your computer for virus, adware and malware. This is because the malware might be associated with NTOSKRNL.exe file and hence take lot of CPU, RAM resources. Specifically scan the scan the C:\Windows\System32 folder, where the above file resides.

11. Uninstall incompatibility programs which trigger unusual behavior. These programs might execute sub tasks which cause the processes to stuck in a loop and end up taking lot of system resources.

12. Repair repair Windows System Image and Windows Component Store in Windows 10 using the following commands.

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

13. Stop the Runtime Broker process. Open the Task Manager and see if its using more than 15% of your memory. If it is, then some app is having an issue and taking lot of memory. End the task, by right-click and the “End Task”.

14. Adjust your Windows 10 for best performance results. This can be done by disabling visual effects. Open System from Control Panel. Then click on “Advanced system settings”. On the “Advanced” tab, under “Performance” click on Settings. Check the following settings using “Custom”.

1. Show shadows under windows.
2. Show thumbnails instead of icons.
3. Smooth edges of screen fonts
4. Smooth-scroll list boxes.
5. Use drop shadows for icon lables on desktop.

These are the minimal settings for a better appearance and performance.

15. Use Windows Performance Toolkit to find the root cause. Open cmd in elevated mode (with administrator privileges) and type the following command.

xperf -on latency -stackwalk profile -buffersize 1024 -MaxFile 256 -FileMode Circular && timeout -1 && xperf -d cpuusage.etl

Wait for sometimes, till the process is complete and check the logs in the following location C:\Windows\System32 folder. Open the file cpuusage.etl and analyze it with Windows Performance Analyzer for the exact cause.

Conclusion

As per WindowsReport, this seems to be a bug in 1903 version related to NVIDIA graphic cards. It could be fixed in the next release or KB update.

In the latest Windows 10 update, Microsoft introduced some significant changes including those to the WDDM (Windows Display Driver Model) and kernel.

For now, there are no solutions for the issue, but there is a workaround. Users said that after reverting to Windows 10 version 1809, the problem disappeared.

The Windows 10 1903 update has seen minor enhancements which are good enough to speed up PC performance. For example, Windows Updates are reformed that could help you pause them.

Another major improvement is blocking of Spectre attacks. It is a design flaw in CPUs. This will allow it find loop holes to read other program’s memory instructions. But Microsoft has enabled “specific” features which will speed up Windows 10 PC.

Sometimes in the midst of an update, you find that the hard disk space is not enough on legacy disks. This problem is resolved by reserving storage of 7GB for upgrades only.

Another 1903 feature is the light desktop theme which users can use it to have a different feel of the OS. A less cluttered desktop start menu is helpful for simplicity liking users.

Sandbox is another feature in 1903 that helps put viruses at bay. It is an integrated, isolated environment that can run software in a container without affecting other programs.

Even though the above features could help improve speed, you need to take other steps for old hardware.

Let’s see the following methods to speed up Windows 10 1903 computer.

1. Update your Graphic Drivers.
2. Turn off Focus Assist
3. Disable Windows Update Delivery Optimization
4. Disable Unnecessary Startup Items
5. Reduce Visual Effects
6. Disable or Stop Redundant Services
7. Remove some Inbuilt Installed Apps

The final method is crucial. This is definitely going to help improving the Windows 10 performance on a legacy HDD. The following are some of the services you can stop and disable to see speed improvements in 1903 update.

List of Services to be Disabled for Performance Boost

• Windows Search (This will disable Windows Search TOO, keep it if you use it)
• All Xbox Services (You do need these for any Xbox Service games like Sea of Thieves.)
• Microsoft SMS router service
• Diagnostics tracking service
• Fax service
• dmwappushsvc
• AllJoyn Router Service
• Application Layer Gateway Service
• Bluetooth Support Service
• BranchCache
• Certificate Propagation
• Client for NFS
• Distributed Link Tracking Client
• dmwappushsvc
• Downloaded Maps Manager
• Enterprise App Management Service
• Geolocation Service
• Health Key and Certificate Management
• Hyper-V Data Exchange Service
• Hyper-V Guest Service Interface
• Hyper-V Guest Shutdown Service
• Hyper-V Heartbeat Service
• Hyper-V Remote Desktop Virtualization Service
• Hyper-V Time Synchronization Service
• Hyper-V VM Session Service
• Hyper-V Volume Shadow Copy Requestor
• Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
• Internet Explorer ETW Collector Service
• IP Helper
• Microsoft Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector Service
• Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service
• Microsoft Windows SMS Router Service
• Netlogon
• Offline Files
• Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator
• Retail Demo Service
• Sensor Data Service
• Sensor Monitoring Service
• Sensor Service
• Smart Card Device Enumeration Service
• Smart Card Removal Policy
• SNMP Trap
• Storage Service
• Touch Keyboard and Handwriting Panel Service
• Windows Biometric Service
• Windows Connect Now – Config Registrar
• Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service
• Windows Mobile Hotspot Service
• Windows MultiPoint Server Host Service
• Windows MultiPoint Server Repair Service
• Windows Remote Management (WS-Management)
• Xbox Live Auth Manager
• Xbox Live Game Save
• XboxNetApiSvc

Due to the above speed tweaks, you may lose some visual experience, at the cost of a faster PC.

How to Remove Pre-Installed Apps in Windows 10 1903 PC

The following commands will remove most of the pre-installed apps in Windows 10 PC. Even if they are removed, you can get them back through Microsoft Store at a later time.

If the play store stuck on downloading, you need to find the right cause.

Microsoft Store cache could be a problem, time & date & region settings could be wrong due to battery problem, windows update may not be working correctly.

Sometime app downloads are in pending state forever. One of the reasons could be acquiring license error in Windows Store.

This is a big headache for Microsoft game lovers, even in 1909 version. You can have hanging or crashing apps.

Microsoft Store Download Stuck

You cannot install any of the Windows Store apps. When you click “Downloads and Updates“, you see dots revolving as if they are working, but nothing happens. This is very frustrating.

I had this issue when I tried to download Mail & Calendar app and install updates for Skype and App Installer.

One may think it is a problem with any of the app or program that is installed in Windows 10.

You try to uninstall and reinstall them, but the app updates will still not happen.

How to Fix Microsoft Store Stuck on Downloading

The following 5 methods will show fixes to Windows 10 store not downloading apps.

Method #1: Reinstall all apps via PowerShell

You may think that reinstalling just the Store app will fix the problem. Yes, it can and sometimes it cannot.

So the best bet would be to reinstall all the inbuilt apps.  In this way, if there is any internal problem in any app, that would go away.

1: Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys. Otherwise, right-click the Start button and open PowerShell (Admin).

2: Close all the running apps using Task Manager.
3: Enter the following command in PowerShell by just copying from here and right-clicking in PowerShell. You can also press Ctrl + V.

This may take sometime to complete and you may see some red warning messages. Just ignore them and wait till they are finished.
4: Once the process is complete, restart your computer. You can then install or update any of your Store apps. The issue will be resolved.

The below user testimonials on a authority site regarding windows store apps stuck on downloading and updating is proof of the above method.

If you still face any problems, you can further dwell below for other solutions.

Method #2: Troubleshoot Windows Store Apps

Another cause for Windows Store apps paused or not updating could be due Windows Update service got corrupted. If you can troubleshoot and fix this app, you may have your Store apps updating normally.

This is because Windows Update and Store are internally linked because of app updates.

This should fix any problems with existing Windows Store apps.

Method #3: Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

Just as mentioned above, if the Windows Update is causing the Store apps to pause, suspend or hang, then you can run its troubleshooter.

On the same page, as above, you can click on “Windows Update” on the right-hand side. Then click “Run the troubleshooter“.

Otherwise you can use the Control Panel.

The process will run till it fixes all the Update related issues. You can download and update your Store apps as usual.

Method #4: Reset Windows Store app

This can be done in the same way as resetting all apps.

The same things can be done in a different fashion.
Press Start > type wsreset > select wsreset.
When Microsoft Store opens, all app downloads and updates should work properly.

This will set to the default settings of Microsoft Store which was previously called Windows Store.

Method #5: Reset Windows Update service.

#1: Open services app, by typing “services.msc” in the Run box.
#2: Go to the Windows Update service > right-click on it > click on Stop.
#3: In the File Explorer, go to “Windows” directory in OS drive.
#4: Rename the SoftwareDistribution folder to something like SoftwareDistribution.bkup.
#5: Restart the Windows Update service again.
Now check if your Microsoft Store is working properly or not.

Final Resort: Create a New User Account

This can be done only if you have administrator privileges. Otherwise, you need to ask your System Administrator.

Before that you can logout of your current account and login again, to see if this fixes the Windows Store app problem.

In some cases all the above methods to reinstall or reset all preinstall apps may fail. But if you want your Microsoft Store app to keep working as usual, then its best to create a new Windows user account.

To create a new account follow these steps.
#1: Open Accounts in Windows Settings.
#2: Click on “Family & other users”.
#3: Click on “Add someone else to this PC”.
You can follow the on-screen instruction to create a new user account with the required privileges.

Once you clean install Windows 10, you would expect it work quicker.  To some people’s dismay, it may boot slowly and freeze sometimes. There are lot of complaints in Windows forums that Windows 10 is much slower than 7 and 8.1. But if you make the right tweaks, then this “sick” feeling can go away.

You just have to observe the working of Windows 10. Task Manager is a great app that shows, how your PC or Laptop uses Internet, CPU, RAM and Hard-Disk.  The major culprit for Windows 10 slowing down is inherent in the built-in apps, which come pre-installed. You cannot uninstall them like other 3rd party apps.

In this post, we are going to discuss 9 ways to speed up your Windows 10 PC.

Kill some built-in apps using CCleaner

Microsoft has received negative reviews for pushing games and other apps to newly installed Pro systems. This includes Universal Platform applications, which get installaed by default.

No official explantion is there on why Candy Crush Saga, Seeker’s Notes, Netflix, Spotify etc are installed by default without any notice.

As we have seen earlier, these run in the background, download updates, give notifications etc taking precious CPU and RAM resources.

Personally after installing the 1809 version, I felt the same thing as Windows 10 installs these apps silently in the background without user involvement.

By default, you can uninstall apps from “Windows Settings”. But some apps don’t provide the privilege to do so. In that case, you can go through the below post, on how to delete built-in apps in Windows 10 using CCleaner.

Microsoft Edge and Cortana may cause problem

When I check my Task Manager in Windows 10, I find Microsoft Edge and Cortana seem to suspend processes with a “leaf” symbol. Though I could not understand the reason behind it, I find that these two programs are taking majority of the CPU cycle time.

Though I used the “End Task” option to close both of these apps, they seem to reappear.  Even after restarting they seem to suspend process, as if they are talking to somebody for unlimited time.

If you have the same problem, follow the below tweaks to re-register or reset them. This could be due to corruption of Cortana or Microsoft Edge system files.  You might be also using an older version of Windows 10 like 1511 or 1703 which could cause this.

Re-Register or Reset Apps

The best method to counter such unproductive apps, is to uninstall them. But Microsoft Edge and Cortana are so bound to Windows 10, that you cannot remove them.

In that case, you can terminate these processes, reset them.

Still if that fails you can reregister these apps, using PowerShell or Command Prompt.

To open PowerShell, you can press the Win + X key and click on PowerShell(admin).

Copy and paste the following command in PowerShell command window. You can press Ctrl + C to copy below and press Ctrl + V in the PowerShell window.

Get-AppXPackage -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose}

This will Re-Register for current account only.

To do the same for all accounts copy and paste the following command.

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose}

You can also terminate, repair and reset using “Windows Settings” by following this post.

To Re-Register Cortana for current user, copy and paste the following command in PowerShell(Admin) mode.

Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.Cortana | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

For All users

Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Microsoft.Windows.Cortana | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

Unpin apps from Taskbar

Since Taskbar is another process that starts during initial phase of booting, make sure that less apps are pinned to it.

In my case, I unpinned Microsoft Edge, Store, Mail, People.

This will make Windows 10 to load less apps on Taskbar when it is initiated.

Disable High Impact Startup Items

Another crucial factor for a quick Windows 10, is to stop high impact desktop apps or modern apps from starting up during boot.

For example, OneDrive takes time and connects to the Internet, during start up. Though this is important to sync your files and settings, you can disable it if you like.

Then you can manually invoke it, once the system starts.

Pro Tip:

I personally installed Windows 10 1809, after downloading it from the microsoft website. Initially for some unknown reasons, the bootup time and speed of operations was very slow.

I thought, this was due to Cortana and Microsoft Edge.

So I switched off all the options related to Cortana from “Windows Settings” (which can be invoked by pressing the Win + I keys).

This did not make any improvement and Windows 10 was still slow.

After ending Cortana task and re-registering it, I still faced the same problem.

After that, my computer seem to work fast and without any freeze or break.

So you can try disable and enable the Cortana settings, to see how they impact your Windows 10 performance.

Somehow, I feel that Cortana is integrated into Windows 10. So leaving the default settings when you install Win 10, will make it quick.

Turn Off or Disable certain Settings

As we know Windows 10 collects some information related to advertising and diagnostics.

So disabling these options could help you make your Windows 10 system run faster.

Using Windows Settings, you can turn off the following Settings.

System

• Focus Assist
• Storage Sense (if you have large storage)
• Tablet Mode (if you are using laptop or desktop)
• Shared Experiences
• Clipboard

Devices

• Bluetooth (if you are not using it)
• Pen & Windows Ink
• AutoPlay

Network & Internet

• VPN (if you are not using it)
• Airplane mode
• Mobile hotspot

Gaming (if you are not a gamer like me)

• Game bar
• Captures
• Game Mode

Privacy

• General (turn off most of the options, as they are related to advertising)
• Inking & typing personalization
• Radios
• Background apps

Update & Security

• Delivery Optimization
• Uninstall Unnecessary desktop apps

Uninstall Unnecessary desktop apps

Still in 2019, there are lot of desktop apps (previously called programs and applications) installed in Windows 10. For example, some people still use Nero, Adobe Creative Cloud, Photoshop, Camtasia etc for their desktop needs.

Though I don’t comment, that these apps slow down your Windows 10 PC, but there are apps which can make your Win 10 computer slow.

In that case, use the “Programs & Features” of Control Panel to uninstall these programs and check the speed of your Windows 10 laptop or PC. If it is working quickly after uninstall, then that program is not compatible with Win 10.

This happens with many old programs written for Windows 7 or Vista and not updated to meet the new code requirements of Windows 10.

Do Clean Boot

Sometimes, you have a hunch that some service or driver is causing the issue. In that case, you can try starting Windows 10 with clean boot. To do this follow these steps. Source : https://support.logitech.com/en_ch/article/228

Clean boot in Windows 10

To perform a clean boot in  Windows 10:

1. Press the “Windows + R” key to open a Run box.
2. Type msconfig and click OK.
3. On the General tab, click Selective startup.
4. Clear the Load startup items check box.
5. Click the Services tab.
6. Select the Hide all Microsoft services check box (at the bottom).
7. Click Disable all.
8. Click the Startup tab.
9. Click Open Task Manager.
10. On the Startup tab, right-click each enabled startup item and select Disable.
11. Click OK.
12. Click Restart.

After completing your troubleshooting, restore your system by doing the following:

1. Press the “Windows + R” key to open a Run box.
2. Type msconfig and click OK.
3. On the General tab, select Normal startup.
4. Click the Services tab.
5. Clear the Hide all Microsoft services check box.
6. Click Enable all.
7. Click the Startup tab.
8. Click Open Task Manager and enable all of your startup programs.
9. Click OK.
10. Click Restart.

SSD to Install Windows 10

In 2019, HDD have become obsolete. These are spinning disks which make lot of sound. Also the sequential read/write speeds are also slow.

To circumvent this problem, you can use SSD disks. These make less noise and have read/write speeds of 500 MB/sec. In addition these have major benefits while booting and during normal operations.

It will make Windows 10 lot quicker and the performance gains can be seen immediately.

So if all the above tweaks fail, then it is time to change your hardware.