speed up Windows toggle all the sliders off. To complete the process, head back out to the main “Settings” menu. Under “Privacy Settings,” you’ll find “Speech” and “Inking and typing personalization.” Turn both of these off to cut down the amount of data Cortana gathers from your typical PC usage. You can also block all apps from accessing your camera and microphone GENERAL on the “Privacy” page. DISABLE STARTUP APPS We’ve all been there, booting up our TIPS FOR PC to get a quick task completed, 03 only to be waylaid by Spotify, Steam, Uplay, and Discord introducing WINDOWS themselves like the worst barbershop quartet of all time. Windows has you covered, though—the Keeping Windows up “Startup” page under “App Settings” lets you view 10 to date can feel like a which apps are set to start up immediately (albeit rather Sisyphean task in the background) when you log into Windows, and at times. also which ones have a higher impact on your boot KEEP WINDOWS FULLY times. Toggle off any of these that you want to open UP TO DATE manually, such as Spotify or OneDrive, and your Ah, the Windows Update. Truly the system should start up faster. 01 modern-day raven, rap-tap-tapping on Edgar Allen Poe’s operating DISABLE BACKGROUND APPS system with menacing intent. Taking control of your This one comes down to preference, updates is objective number one for anyone trying and isn’t so necessary on more to optimize their PC, so jump into “Update Settings” 04 powerful systems with plenty of and remember to smash that “Check For Updates” memory and high-speed storage. button. You can turn on auto-updates, too, under Under “Privacy Settings,” you can individually select “Advanced options,” but if you have a metered which apps you want to run in the background, and connection, we advise against this, and instead disable the rest. There’s a ton of tools included with recommend manual updates. You can also pause Windows 10 that you might use sometimes, but don’t all updates for up to two weeks; useful if you want to ever want running in the background. Windows try something in a specific version of Windows 10. News? Disabled. Voice Recorder? Deactivated. Xbox Console Companion? Begone! SHUT CORTANA UP Get her out! For the vast majority of UNINSTALL UNWANTED users, Cortana is little more than APPLICATIONS 02 a frustration baked into the core Speaking of stuff included with of Windows 10. Annoying pop-ups, 05 Windows 10, there’s plenty of constant data-gathering, and forced Bing search bloatware you can just get rid of. The (come on, Microsoft…) make Cortana the least most obvious contender is of course Candy Crush, helpful voice assistant in the biz, but fortunately, but if you take a trip into “App Settings” and scroll shutting her down is reasonably straightforward. through the “Apps & features” list, you may find a Find the Cortana page under “Settings,” then surprising amount of software you never use, and We’re sure a select few of our readers find Cortana helpful. We do not. Keep your background apps to the bare minimum whenever possible. © MICROSOFT 26 MAXIMUMPC APR 2020 maximumpc.com LAPTOP TIPS If something isn’t working, check all of your drivers are up to date in the Device Manager. Switching to Power Saver plan can be useful for prolonging battery life. never intend to use. Click on a program to view Check Your action.” Just toggle off the slider options, and uninstall it from there. If you’re unsure Power Plan marked “Get tips, tricks, and what a piece of software does, always look it up 08 It’s worth taking a suggestions as you use Windows.” online before removing it. peek at your power plans in the Control Panel on a Manage Your UPDATE DEVICE DRIVERS laptop, found under “Hardware Temperatures Better Updating your drivers is often a and Sound.” If it’s a powerhouse 10 As we said earlier, handy fix for something not working laptop that you’re essentially it’s a good idea to use 06 with a PC, but it’s a good idea to using plugged-in as a desktop third-party software, such as keep your device drivers up to replacement, slap that high HardwareMonitor, to keep an eye date whenever possible. To check for updates, performance plan on and call on your system temperatures. right-click the “Home” button and select “Device it a day; otherwise, you’ll want This is even more critical with Manager,” then right-click the device you want to to take a trip into the advanced laptops, where keeping your CPU update the drivers on. You can also scan for new power plan settings. The default cool is an even more difficult hardware here; if you change something about your balanced plan is usually a good endeavor. If you’re regularly using physical setup, you might need to relocate it within call, but even then you might want demanding software on your the Device Manager in order to update the drivers to make some adjustments; like laptop—3D rendering tools, for and ensure everything is working properly. disabling certain ports while the example—then heat spikes are monitor is asleep, for example. inevitable, but there are a few LOG IN FASTER things you can do to alleviate the The Windows 10 lock screen is a Disable Tips temperature load on your poor pointless innovation. Having to Windows 10 wants laptop. The general optimization 07 swipe up or hit the spacebar before 09 to be helpful, but tips elsewhere in this article are a logging in slows things down a bit, like a bumbling good start, but making sure you’re and using a conventional password is slower, too. manservant, sometimes that help positioning your laptop right is First up, assign a PIN rather than a password for is actually less than helpful. By important, too. Don’t actually logging in; four digits and no need to hit Enter, default, Windows 10 scans your put it on your lap, for starters. either. If your system supports it, Windows Hello system periodically to give you Ensure that all the air vents are is pretty speedy, too. You can even remove the lock (usually unwanted) advice, and clear, and only use it on hard, flat screen altogether, going straight to the login screen this can have a small impact on surfaces. If you have problems upon boot. Annoyingly, how you do this is different mobile processor performance, with temperature, consider using for Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro. For particularly in cheaper laptops. something to prop your laptop Windows 10 Home edition, you need to run regedit You can turn it off in System up, creating more empty space from the “Run” prompt, make your way to “HKEY_ Settings, under “Notifications and beneath it for better airflow. LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Policies > Microsoft” and right-click “Windows,” select “New > Key” and call it “Personalization.” Once created, CREATE A RESTORE POINT AND right-click this key and add a new “DWORD (32-bit) RESTORE YOUR SYSTEM Value,” with a name of “NoLockScreen.” Double If all hope is lost, returning to an click this and set the “Value” to 1. For Win 10 Pro, 11 earlier save point is the best course hit Win-R, type “gpedit” and hit Enter. Double-click of action. This advice holds true “Administrative Templates,” double-click “Control for both videogames and Windows 10, although Panel,” click “Personalization,” then double-click hopefully you’ll never have to use it. In the Control “Do not display the lock screen,” and click “Enabled.” Panel, go through “Security and System > System Click “Apply,” and then “OK.” Job done. > System Protection,” and you’ll open up the maximumpc.com APR 2020 MAXIMUMPC 27 speed up Windows window for system restore options. You can hit the big “System Restore” button to revert your version of Windows to a saved restore point; your PC should regularly create these by default, but it saves over the previous one when it does so. Hit “Configure” and you can tweak your restore settings, or create new restore points. This isn’t something you need to do too often, but it’s worth having restore points for each of your drives, just in case a new software or OS update causes problems. TRACK CPU USAGE AT ALL TIMES There’s a handy function Task Manager has hidden in its box of 12 tricks. When the Task Manager window is open, you should see a tiny square icon with a grid pattern in the bottom-right corner of your screen, in the notification area. It Task Manager has always err on the side of caution when it comes to may be hidden in the expanded menu; just click the evolved over the downloading new programs. arrow and drag it on to the taskbar if needed. That years, becoming a icon is a microcosm of your CPU usage, showing a powerful system- USE TASK MANAGER BETTER tiny graph that indicates how much of your CPU is monitoring tool. Making the best use of Task Manager currently being utilized, and placing your mouse is key to mastering control over over it shows exact percentages. To keep it present 14 Windows 10. First up, access it faster when Task Manager isn’t open, select “Hide when by right-clicking the “Home” button minimized” from the Task Manager’s “Options” and selecting it; no need to Ctrl-Alt-Del here. drop-down menu, then minimize the window.