Beyond the big-ticket performance settings, Windows has a handful of smaller extras — the startup sound, apps refreshing content in the background, and live tiles updating on the Start menu — that individually seem minor but together add a steady trickle of background activity and distraction. Turning them off makes for a calmer, marginally leaner desktop.
Key takeaway: Disabling the startup sound, restricting background app permissions, and turning off live tile updates are quick wins that reduce background activity without affecting how your apps actually work.
Turning off the startup sound
- Right-click the speaker icon in the system tray and choose Sounds (or search "Change system sounds" in the Start menu).
- In the Sounds tab, untick "Play Windows Startup sound."
- Click Apply, then OK.
Restricting background app permissions
Many Store apps are allowed to refresh their content and send notifications even while you're not using them. Trimming this list stops apps you rarely open from working in the background unnecessarily.
- Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
- Click an app, then look for "Advanced options" if shown, and switch background permissions to "Never" or "Power optimised" for anything you don't need running in the background.
- Alternatively, on Windows 11, go to Settings > Apps > Advanced app settings to review general background app behaviour system-wide.
- Repeat for any apps you notice frequently in Task Manager's background processes list.
Turning off live tiles (Windows 10) or Start menu suggestions (Windows 11)
- On Windows 10, right-click a live tile on the Start menu and choose "Turn live tile off" for each one showing constantly updating content, such as News or Weather.
- On Windows 11, go to Settings > Personalisation > Start and turn off "Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more."
- Also turn off "Show account-related notifications" in the same section if you'd prefer a quieter Start menu.
Tip: These changes are more about a calmer, distraction-free desktop than a dramatic speed boost, but they're genuinely free to apply and take only a few minutes altogether.
Before you start: Restricting background permissions for an app you rely on for notifications, such as an email or messaging app, may delay how quickly you receive alerts from it.
Why these small settings are worth bothering with
None of the adjustments in this guide will transform a genuinely struggling PC on their own — for that, you'll want the more substantial changes covered elsewhere on this site, such as trimming startup programs or clearing out storage. What these smaller visual and background tweaks offer instead is a cumulative, low-effort improvement, and importantly, none of them carry any real downside or risk. Each one takes only a minute or two to apply, none require restarting your PC, and all can be reversed instantly if you change your mind.
Think of this guide as good housekeeping rather than a dramatic fix: worth doing once you've already tackled the bigger wins, as a way of squeezing out the last bit of unnecessary background noise from a system that's otherwise already running well.
Frequently asked questions
- Does turning off live tiles delete the app?
- No, it simply stops the tile from updating its content automatically. The app remains fully installed and works exactly the same when opened.
- Will disabling background permissions break notifications entirely?
- Not usually — most apps can still show notifications with reduced background permissions, though updates may arrive slightly less instantly rather than in true real time.
- Is the startup sound using meaningful resources?
- Its actual performance impact is negligible; this change is mainly about a quieter, more minimal boot experience rather than a real speed gain.