Table of Contents
A lot of people complain that Windows 11/10 takes too long to start up. With better memory and hardware resource management, Windows 11 is said to be faster and more efficient than Windows 10. Yet, slow startup problems still exist in all versions of the most popular operating systems.
It’s frustrating to wait for a slow computer to start up, but you can change a few things to speed things up. Windows 11 is the operating system from Microsoft that comes after Windows 10. It has many new features and improvements over Windows 10. Windows 11 has more demanding system requirements than older operating systems.
So, to make sure your PC works well with Windows 11, you need to make sure it meets the basic system requirements. We mentioned below are the ways to fix ‘Slow Startup’ Issue on Windows 11/10. You can also go to the official Microsoft support site for more information about this error.
Ways To Fix ‘Slow Startup’ Issue on Windows 11/10
Delete WDI directory files
- Press the Windows + E keys to open This PC (File Explorer).
- Now, head over to the C: drive where you’ve installed the Windows 11 OS. [If you’ve installed the OS on another drive partition then head over there]
- Then open the Windows folder > Search for the System32 folder and open it.
- Next, open the WDI folder > If prompted by the system, then click on Continue to open it.
- Then press the Ctrl + A keys to select all files inside the folder. [Once selected, ensure to copy and paste these files to another drive as a backup, if anything goes wrong]
- Press the Delete key or right-click on it and select Delete from the context menu. [If you don’t find the WDI folder, then type wdi from the System32 folder]
- If you’re unable to delete the LogFiles folder then make sure to open it and if prompted again then click on Continue > Now, select all files and delete them.
- Go back to the previous page and now delete the LogFiles folder.
- Once done, make sure to close the window, and restart your computer to check the boot time.
Update Graphics Drivers

If the graphics card driver on your Windows PC is out of date, it can also cause problems with the game, like lag or crashes. Follow the steps below to make sure your GPU drivers are up-to-date if you’re still having problems.
- Press Windows + X keys to open the Quick Start Menu.
- Now, click on Device Manager from the list > Double-click on Display adapters.
- Right-click on the dedicated graphics card that you’re using.
- Next, select Update driver > Choose to Search automatically for drivers.
- If there is an update available, it’ll automatically download & install the latest version.
- Once done, restart the system to apply changes immediately.
Update Your Windows OS Build
If your Windows OS build hasn’t been updated in a while, there’s a good chance that the old Windows OS build is causing performance problems, which is why the startup time has also grown. In another way, it’s better to keep your Windows OS build up to date to improve the system’s performance and stability.
- Press Windows + I keys to open Windows Settings.
- Click on System from the bottom of the left pane.
- Now, click on Check for updates > If there is an update available, it’ll automatically start downloading and install the update.
- It may take some time to complete the installation process.
- Finally, restart your computer to change effects quickly.
Disable Startup Programs
It has been tried and tested that having a lot of unnecessary startup apps or programmes can slow down the time it takes for Windows to load. So, it’s highly recommended to turn off any apps or services that aren’t needed at startup to speed up the whole process.
- Press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open Task Manager.
- Now, go to the Startup tab > Click on the individual app/service that you want to close.
- Then click on the Disable button.
Delete Temporary Files
Well, as the name suggests, temporary files are created automatically by the Windows system in the memory while a task is being done. This is done so that when the same task is done again, it goes more smoothly and quickly. But older temporary files or ones that are broken can cause problems with how the system works and how it boots up.
- Just press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
- Now, type %temp% and hit Enter to open the Temp folder from C: drive where Windows is installed.
- Then press the Ctrl + A keys to select all temp files > Press the Delete key to initiate the removal process.
- If it prompts then click on the ‘Do this for all current items’ and select the Continue button.
- Let the process complete and if some temp files aren’t deleting then skip those items.
- Once done, make sure to restart your computer to check the boot time.
Run Windows Update Troubleshooter
If you’re still having trouble with Windows 11’s slow startup, run Windows Update Troubleshooter to see if there’s something wrong with the update. To do so:
- Press Windows + I keys to open Windows Settings.
- Click on System from the bottom of the left pane.
- Now, click on Troubleshoot from the right pane.
- Click on Other troubleshooters > Click on the Run button next to Windows Update.
- Let the system run diagnostics and check several things on the computer on its own. If a problem is found, make sure to look up the right way to fix it online and do it.
FAQ
Why does Windows 11 load so slow?
There may be a lot of junk files or temporary files on your system. It’s easy to forget that they could take up a lot of space on your hard drive. But if there are too many junk files, they could cause Windows 11 to run slowly. So you can get rid of them and speed up your system.
Why does my PC take too long to boot?
There may be temporary files on your computer that you no longer need. These files and programmes take up space on your computer and run in the background every time you start it up. They might be the reason why your PC takes longer to start up. So, if you want to clean your computer thoroughly, find these temporary files and delete them.
Should I disable fast startup Windows 11?
As was said above, if you want your Windows 11 computer to start up faster, you should keep the Fast Startup feature turned on. But if this makes other programmes or the dual-boot process hard to use, you should turn it off right away.