Windows settings
How to stop background apps in Windows to reclaim CPU and RAM
Reviewed July 2026
Background apps spend CPU, RAM, disk and network even when you aren't using them. Here are the three places they live — Store permissions, startup programs and running processes — how to close them safely, and most importantly which services you should NOT touch. No invented numbers.
Step by step
01 What “stopping background apps” means in Windows
To stop background apps in Windows is to keep programs you aren't using from spending CPU, RAM, disk and network while you do something else. They live in three different places: the Microsoft Store's “background apps” permissions, the startup programs that launch with Windows, and the processes and services already running right now. We'll walk through all three, from the safest changes to the ones worth treating with more care.
02 Measure first: open Task Manager
Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager and go to the Processes tab. Click the CPU and Memory columns to sort high-to-low. Note which apps sit at the top while the PC is idle. This gives you a real baseline so you cut what actually costs resources instead of closing things at random. Killing invisible processes that use almost nothing won't give you more FPS.
03 Turn off background-app permissions (the safest win)
Go to Settings → Apps → Installed apps. For each Store app, open the menu (⋯) → Advanced options → “Background apps permissions” and choose “Never”. This only affects Microsoft Store apps (Mail, Photos, Xbox, etc.) and is fully reversible. It's the most harmless setting: the app still works, it just stops updating and notifying while closed.
04 Prune your startup programs
In Task Manager → Startup apps tab (or Settings → Apps → Startup). There you see everything that launches with Windows and its “Startup impact”. Disable game launchers, chat apps, printer/scanner utilities and update “assistants” you don't need running all the time. Disabling here uninstalls nothing — next time you want the program, you just open it yourself. This is usually what most relieves boot time and idle RAM.
05 Close what's running right now
Back on the Processes tab, if an app you aren't using is eating CPU or RAM (a launcher, a browser with many tabs, a capture tool), select it and “End task”. Where possible, close the app's window instead of killing the process so it saves your work. This is a temporary relief: it'll come back on next boot unless you also remove it from startup.
06 Services: which ones to leave alone
Plenty of guides tell you to disable Windows services (services.msc) for performance. Be very careful here. Some services are load-bearing — they hold the system up: Windows Update, Windows Defender / security, audio (Audiosrv), networking, Plug and Play, Task Scheduler and your graphics card's services. Disabling them can break sound, networking, security updates, or stop the PC from booting cleanly. The gain from touching services is usually tiny and the risk is high — for most people it isn't worth it.
07 Browser helpers and the system tray
Some of the most repeated processes are browser “helpers” (Chrome/Edge run a process per tab and per extension) and the system-tray icons in the bottom-right. Close tabs you aren't using, review your extensions, and in the tray right-click icons you don't need always-on to quit them or disable their auto-start. Turn on “Sleeping tabs” in Edge, or use a tab manager if you keep many open.
08 Verify the result and revert if needed
Reopen Task Manager with the PC idle and compare RAM and CPU use against your baseline from step 2. You should see fewer active processes and more free memory. If something stopped working (no audio, a printer won't run, an app won't update), everything in this guide is reversible: re-enable the startup item, background permission or service you changed. There's nothing to reinstall.
09 Where Neon fits (honest)
None of this needs an app — the manual steps above work on their own. What Neon does is measure the real numbers (which processes and services actually use CPU/RAM on your machine) and suggest safe, reversible shutdowns, logging every change so you can undo it with one click. Neon never forces hardware or disables critical services on its own, and it doesn't invent improvement percentages. If you'd rather do it by hand, this guide already has you covered.
The three layers, at a glance
| Where | What it controls | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Background permissions | Microsoft Store apps | Very low |
| Startup programs | What launches with Windows | Low |
| Running processes | What's running right now | Low (temporary) |
| Services (services.msc) | System components | High — careful |
Safe vs. load-bearing
The rule of thumb: background permissions and startup programs are safe to change and reversible. System services are almost never worth the risk.
- Safe to turn off: game launchers, chat apps, update “assistants”, printer utilities, cloud sync tools you don't always use.
- Leave alone: Windows Update, Defender/security, audio, networking, Plug and Play, Task Scheduler and your GPU's services.
- Ending a process by hand is a temporary relief; removing it from startup is what makes it stick.
- When in doubt, don't disable: the gain from cutting a system service is usually tiny and the risk of breaking something is real.
Where Neon helps
Everything in this guide can be done by hand without installing anything. What Neon adds is measuring the real numbers and suggesting safe shutdowns — it never touches critical services on its own or invents improvements.
- Measures real per-process CPU and RAM use, so you know what actually weighs instead of closing blindly.
- Suggests disabling only safe startup items and background permissions, and leaves critical services untouched.
- Logs every change so you can undo it with one click. Always reversible; it never forces your hardware.
Want the targeted steps? See how to disable startup programs and how to free up RAM in Windows.