Disabling unnecessary startup programs to free up RAM
This is honestly one of the fastest ways to free up some RAM on Windows 11 if your system feels sluggish. I’ve noticed that after installing a bunch of apps, a lot of them sneak into the startup list — even things you don’t really need right away. When these apps launch automatically, they just eat up memory, which can slow things down quite a bit.
To clear this out, you can press Ctrl + Shift + Escape to open Task Manager. Yeah, it’s not always obvious where these startup items hide—at least on my machine, sometimes the menu options are a little buried. Once in Task Manager, head over to the Startup tab on the left. Here, you’ll see a list of apps set to run when your PC boots. Many will be marked as Enabled. Right-click on the ones you don’t recognize or know are not essential, then pick Disable.
Of course, you gotta be cautious. You don’t want to disable anything that’s crucial for system stability or security. For example, some entries might look strange, like OneDrive.exe or Updater.exe. If it’s not obvious what an app does, a quick Google search helps. Just disable the ones you’re pretty sure are safe—things like third-party updaters or background utilities that aren’t core OS components.
This honestly isn’t that complicated but does require some awareness. The goal isn’t to disable every app, just the ones that load unnecessary stuff into memory before you even do anything. Disabling things like streaming app updater utilities or minor background tools can really free up RAM. Just a heads-up, don’t disable anything that seems linked to your hardware drivers or antivirus tools without a bit of research first.
Managing background apps to keep RAM free
Another part of the puzzle is background apps you probably don’t even notice. These can silently drain RAM over time, especially if you leave a bunch of tabs or apps open for days. Most people forget that apps like mail clients, cloud storage syncers, or even some utility programs keep running in the background, sometimes unnecessarily.
To manage this, press Windows key + I to open Settings. Yeah, sometimes I forget the combo, so it takes a second. Then go to Apps and look for sections like Installed Apps or Apps & Features. From there, for each app, click the three dots or options icon and choose Advanced Options (not all apps have this, but most do). Inside that menu, look for Let this app run in the background. It might be a toggle or dropdown—set that to Never if you’re sure you don’t want that app consuming RAM in the background.
Some apps have their own settings within the app itself, so it’s a good idea to double-check those. Just don’t turn off everything, especially apps involved with system security or hardware management — for example, your antivirus or graphics driver utilities tend to need to run constantly. Focusing on less critical apps like streaming downloads or minor utilities can make a real difference, though. It might take a few minutes to go through everything if you have a lot installed, but trust me, it’s worth it when your system is feeling sluggish.
Keeping an eye on which processes are eating RAM
Once you’ve cleaned up startup items and background apps, it helps to monitor which processes are actually using the most memory in real time. Again, Ctrl + Shift + Escape opens Task Manager, and from the Processes tab, you’ll see a list of everything running. Look at the Memory column—it shows which processes are hogging RAM at the moment. You might find some odd processes or things you don’t recognize, especially after installing new apps or updates.
If a process is taking up a ton of RAM and you know it’s not critical (like a browser tab or background utility), right-click and choose End Task. Just warn yourself—don’t end system processes or anything that keeps your OS stable, that could crash Windows or cause instability. It’s a good quick fix when things are crawling, but not a permanent solution. Sometimes, processes restart automatically or you might see some apps were still running in the background even after you’ve closed them.
To be safe, double-check what the process is before ending it. A quick Google search on the process name can tell you if it’s essential or just bloat. Sometimes, malware disguises itself using similar names, so it’s worth being cautious, especially if you see something weird or new that oddly starts chewing up RAM.
Honestly, it took me a while to get the hang of balancing what to kill and what to leave. Monitoring RAM over a few hours, especially after I installed new apps or updates, really caught my eye on what was unnecessary. Hope this helps — it took me way too long to figure out the right mix of disabling and killing processes. Anyway, hope this saves someone else a weekend of frustration!