Windows 11 Services I Disabled for Gaming (What I Actually Turned Off)
Windows runs a lot of services in the background.
Most of them aren’t a problem… until they are.
Small CPU spikes, background checks, random activity, all of it adds up and can affect how games feel.
I went through the services list and disabled everything I don’t use.
Not expecting huge FPS gains, but aiming for a cleaner, more stable system.
Before you start
Open Services:
Search → Services → open it
For each service:
- Right click → Properties
- Click Stop (if running)
- Set Startup type → Disabled
Services I disabled
This is the full list I turned off:
- ActiveX Installer
- BitLocker Drive Encryption Service
- Cellular Time
- Certificate Propagation
- Cloud Backup and Restore Service
- Connected Devices Platform Service
- Connected User Experiences and Telemetry
- Contact Data
- Downloaded Maps Manager
- Geolocation Service
- Microsoft Windows SMS Router Service
- Netlogon
- Parental Controls
- Payments and NFC/SE Manager
- Phone Service
- Print Device Configuration Service
- Print Spooler
- PrintNotify
- PrintScanBrokerService
- Quality Windows Audio Video Experience
- Radio Management Service
- Remote Access Auto Connection Manager
- Remote Access Connection Manager
- Remote Desktop Configuration
- Remote Desktop Services
- Remote Desktop Services UserMode Port Redirector
- Remote Registry
- Retail Demo Service
- Secondary Logon
- Sensor Data Service
- Sensor Monitoring Service
- Sensor Service
- Server
- Shared PC Account Manager
- Smart Card
- Smart Card Device Enumeration Service
- Smart Card Removal Policy
- TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
- Telephony
- Virtual Disk
- Volume Shadow Copy
- WalletService
- Windows Backup
- Windows Biometric Service
- Windows Camera Frame Server
- Windows Camera Frame Server Monitor
- Windows Connect Now - Config Registrar
- Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)
- Windows Insider Service
- Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service
- Windows Mobile Hotspot Service
- Windows Remote Management (WS-Management)
- Windows Search
- Work Folders
- WWAN AutoConfig
Important notes
Also:
- If you use printers → don’t disable print services
- If you use Bluetooth/audio devices → keep related services
- If you mount ISO files → keep Virtual Disk on Manual
What actually changed
No big FPS jump.
But:
- less random background activity
- more consistent frametime
- cleaner system overall
This works best when combined with other tweaks.
👉 If you haven’t done it yet, check the full Windows optimization guide here
👉 Also worth doing: NVIDIA clean driver install (huge difference for some systems)
What I wouldn’t do
- disabling everything blindly
- removing core services without understanding
- copying random “ultimate tweak lists”
Most instability comes from overdoing tweaks.
At the end...
This is not about making your PC faster.
It’s about making it more consistent.
That’s what actually improves how games feel.