PC Boot Time Slow in Windows 10 and 11? Speed Up Booting Now!

Why is PC boot slow?

A slow startup in Windows 10 or 11 can be frustrating, especially when you need your computer ready quickly. In most cases, the problem comes from a few common issues. These include too many programs running at startup, outdated drivers, malware infections, an old hard drive, or not enough free disk space. Understanding the main causes can help you take the right steps to speed up your boot time.

Cause	Description
Too many startup programs	Programs set to run at startup slow down the boot process.
Outdated or corrupted drivers	Stops hardware and Windows from booting efficiently.
Malware or virus infection	Malware and viruses use system resources, slowing startup and adding delays.
Old or slow hard drive	Takes longer to load files needed for Windows.
Insufficient disk space	Limited free space makes Windows run slower during startup.

Now, you know the main reasons your PC starts slowly, let’s go through the most effective methods to fix the problem and make Windows boot faster.

How to fix computer slow to boot issue?

What to do if your PC boot time slow or even encounter sudden PC very slow startup in Windows 11 and 10? The 5 fixes in this section will help you effectively fix the issue.

Fix 1.  Disable fast startup

For many Windows 10 and 11 users, the Fast Startup feature can actually slow down the boot process instead of making it faster. If your computer takes too long to start, turning off Fast Startup might help. Disabling this feature is quick and could improve your startup speed. Here’s how you can do it:

Step 1. Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog. Type powercfg.cpl in the box and press Enter.

Step 2. In the Power Options window, click Choose what the power buttons do.

Step 3. Within the array of options presented, locate and uncheck the checkbox labeled "Turn on fast startup (recommended)".

Fix 2. Disable unnecessary startup programs

Having too many programs start automatically can make Windows 10 take a long time to boot. To fix this, follow these simple steps to turn off unwanted startup apps.

Step 1. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete together and choose Task Manager from the menu.

Step 2. In the Task Manager window, click the Startup tab to see all programs that run when your PC starts.

Step 3. Find the program you want to stop from starting automatically and right-click it.

Step 4. Select Disable from the menu. This will prevent the program from running at startup and help speed up your boot time.

Fix 3. Ensure enough disk space for startup booting

The system drive, usually the C drive, affects how fast your computer works, especially when Windows 11 starts. If this drive is low on space, it can slow down your boot time and other tasks. Cleaning up the C drive regularly can help your PC start faster.

AOMEI Partition Assistant makes this easy. It offers tools that help free up space without uninstalling important programs or constantly deleting junk files. Features like Allocate Free Space, APP Mover, Merge Partitions, and Delete Large Files can all help improve your computer’s speed.

Here we take “Allocate Free Space” as an example to present how to increase C drive space to make Windows 10 and 11 fast boot.

Step 1. Install and open AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. The condition of the disk will be displayed on the interface. Right-click the drive D or other partitions you want to allocate and choose "Allocate Free Space".

Step 2. You can specify the free space to allocate and choose the target partition you want to extend.

Step 3. Back to the main interface and click “Apply” to execute the operation.

Fix 4. Scan virus or malware on your PC

Viruses and malware can make your Windows 10 or 11 start very slowly. These harmful programs run in the background without you knowing, using up important system resources like CPU and memory. This extra load makes your computer take longer to boot. Some malware also adds itself to startup programs, which further delays the process. You can use a reliable PC cleaner for removing malware or Windows built-in tools. Here is how to use it in Windows 10 to scan your PC.

Step 1. Press "Windows + I" at the same time to open Settings window and click "Update & Security".

Step 2. Select "Windows Security" on the left panel and choose "Open Windows Security".

Step 3. In Windows Security window, go to "Virus & threat protection" > "Scan options".

Step 4. Select "Microsoft Defender Offline scan", and then click "Scan now".

The Microsoft Defender Offline scan takes about 15 minutes to run, and then your PC will restart.

Fix 5. Replace your old and outdated disk

Replacing an old hard drive can solve slow boot issues in Windows 10 and 11. If your PC remains slow, replacing your HDD with an SSD or upgrading an old disk to a more advanced SSD can speed up startup, file access, and overall performance.

AOMEI Partition Assistant helps you clone your current drive to an SSD with two options: “Clone Disk Quickly” copies only used data, while “Sector-by-Sector Clone” copies everything. Choose the quick clone if your SSD is smaller but still larger than the used space.

Faster SSDs like M.2 NVMe models improve boot times by quickly loading system files into memory. If you’re concerned about data loss or complexity, this software also makes migrating your OS or cloning drives simple and safe.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant, click "Clone" in the main interface and select "Clone Disk".

Step 2. Choose the hard disk that you need to clone as the source disk and click "Next".

Step 3. Select the destination disk to store the data on the source disk, and then click "Next".

Step 4. Then, you can check the source and destination disk in the next window or change to “Sector to Sector clone”, and click the "Confirm" button to continue if there is no problem.

Here, you can also click the "Settings" button to adjust the partition size on the destination disk or tick "4k alignment" to improve the reading and writing speed of SSD if the target disk is an SSD drive.

Step 5. At last, click "Apply" and "Proceed" in the main interface to start cloning the hard drive.

Conclusion

Slow PC boot in Windows 10 and 11 is usually caused by common issues like too many startup programs, outdated drivers, malware, old hard drives, or low disk space. By addressing these problems such as disabling fast startup, removing unnecessary startup apps, freeing up disk space, scanning for viruses, and upgrading to an SSD. You can improve your computer’s boot speed and overall performance with the powerful tool like AOMEI Partition Assistant.