How to stop background processes in Windows 11/10

When you start your computer, Windows loads all device drivers, services, and startup applications. These services include both Microsoft and third-party services. All of these startup applications and services run in the background. Microsoft services are essential for the proper functioning of your system. Hence, they are an integral part of your system. But third-party services are not an integral part of your system. Therefore, you can enable or disable them according to your requirements. All of these services and running applications use some system resources. These services are also called background processes. Too many background processes consume a lot of system resources. Because of this, you may experience performance issues with your system. In this article, we will talk about how to manage too many background processes in Windows 11/10.

How to stop background processes in Windows 11/10

You can manage too many background processes in Windows 11/10 in any of the following ways. But before we continue, let’s see how to view background processes and running apps in Windows 11/10.

To view background processes and startup, do the following:

1. Press Win + R to launch “Run” and type taskmgr. Click OK. This will launch the task manager. Alternatively, you can also use ctrl + Shift + Esc for the same.
2. Choose Processes and scroll down to view all third-party background and Windows processes.
3. Press startup to see which startup applications are enabled and disabled on your system.

Let’s see how you can manage too many background processes in Windows 11/10.

1. Kill Background Processes Using Task Manager
2. Disable autoloading apps
3. Use Service Control to disable unwanted background services.
4. Use MSConfig to disable third party services

Let’s look at all these methods in detail.

1]Kill background processes using Task Manager

The first way is to disable unnecessary background services and applications using the Task Manager. This action will also free up your computer’s RAM. The following steps will help you end the background service using Task Manager. But before proceeding, make sure that the service you are about to end is not a Windows service, as stopping Windows services will make your system unstable and you may encounter errors.

1. Open task manager.
2. Choose Processes.
3. Right click background service you want to complete and choose end task.

The above steps will end the selected background process. Stop only third-party services. For example, the Adobe Acrobat Update Service is clearly not a Microsoft service. Therefore, you can terminate it. You will see this service in Task Manager if you have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your system.

2]Disable autostart apps

Startups are applications that automatically start when the system starts. These programs run in the background and consume system resources. If these applications do not need to be launched every time the system starts, you can disable them to conserve system resources. Task Manager allows you to manage the applications that you run. The following steps will help you with this:

1. Open task manager.
2. Switch to startup. There you will see all running applications.
3. Right click startup you want to disable and select disable.

Thus, you can manage the applications that are launched in the Windows settings. You can control which programs are started using the Task Manager, WMIC, MSCONFIG, GPEDIT, or the Task Scheduler.

The above steps will disable auto-start apps and prevent them from auto-launching the next time the system starts.

3]Use the Service Management app to disable background services.

The Service Manager allows you to manage all Microsoft and third party services. When you open this application, you will see a list of all services (running and stopped). You can start stopped services and vice versa. If a third-party service is consuming more system resources, you can prevent it from running in the background the next time you start your system using service management.

If you don’t know what a particular service does on your system, you can read its description by opening its properties. The description of a service can let you know if it is an important part of your system or not. For example, in the screenshot above, you can read the description of the Adobe Acrobat Update Service. It is clearly stated that this service keeps Adobe Acrobat Reader up to date. Therefore, disabling this service will not affect your system. Instead, it will stop automatic updates for Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Disable only those third-party services that you don’t need. Do not disable any Microsoft services. If you are unsure about a particular service, it is best to DO NOT DISABLE it, but instead set it to MANUAL or leave it as it is.

What does automatic (start on trigger) and manual (start on trigger) mean for Windows services?

The following steps will help you disable third-party background services using the Service Control app:

1. Open Run (Ctrl + R) and enter services.msc. Click OK. This will open Services Management .
2. Now right click service you want to disable and select properties.
3. Choose Disabled in startup type.
4. Click apply and then click OK.

After completing the above steps, the next time you start the system, these specific services will not start automatically.

4]Use MSConfig to disable third party services.

MSConfig or System Configuration is a utility that helps users troubleshoot Windows startup problems. You can also use MSConfig to manage startup services. The above methods will help you manage running applications and background services. But you can only use these methods if you know which services are Microsoft services and which are third-party services. MSConfig has an option with which you can hide all Microsoft services. So you can easily identify and disable all third party services with just one click.

The following instructions will help you use MSConfig to disable third party services.

1. Open Run and type msconfig. Click OK. This will launch the system setup utility.
2. Choose services.
3. By default, it shows all Microsoft and third-party services. To view only third-party services, select Hide all Microsoft services .
4. Uncheck the boxes for the services you want to disable.
5. Click apply and then click OK.

The above steps will disable the selected third party services. The next time you start the system, these services will not start automatically. If you would like to enable disabled services in the future, you can do so using the Service Control application or MSConfig.

Beginner Tips for Optimizing Windows for Better Performance

How to stop unnecessary background processes in Windows 11?

You can turn off unnecessary background processes in Windows 11 using the Service Control app, Task Manager, or MSConfig. The MSConfig or System Configuration utility allows you to stop multiple background processes or services at the same time. In this article, we have explained various ways to stop unnecessary background processes in Windows 11/10.

How to find out what apps are running in the background in Windows 11?

Applications that start up on their own and run in the background on a Windows computer are called startup applications. Task Manager shows you what apps are running in the background in Windows 11. Open Task Manager and navigate to the Startup section. There you will see all running applications. You can now manage these apps by turning them off or on.

I hope you enjoyed this article and you can learn more about how to stop background processes in Windows 11/10. If I missed something, please share your opinion in the comments section below. subscribe to useguide.net newsletter for some cool tricks and tips.