Related Here's how I deep clean my Windows PC I spend one day each year to keep my Windows PC running like new.
So to avoid those random headaches, I finally re-enabled the Windows Search service and, safe to say, nothing really slowed down.
But the problem was that I still needed to run old software anytime I was writing about classic Windows apps.
But even with preview builds installed and the Windows Error Reporting service running, my PC still works just fine.
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I’ve always enjoyed tweaking Windows, even if that meant disabling services Microsoft recommends leaving re-enabled. Recently, though, I revisited some of those services and ended up re-enabling them for one reason or another.
After living with them for a week, I realized many of my assumptions were a bit exaggerated. Windows is far more efficient at managing these services, and most of the ones I re-enabled had little to no impact on performance.
Related Here's how I deep clean my Windows PC I spend one day each year to keep my Windows PC running like new.
Windows Search
It wasn’t the performance killer I thought it was
Screenshot by Pankil Shah -- No attribution required
For the longest time, I’ve relied on the Everything app to find files on my PC — and I still do. It’s way faster than Windows Search, and I can even access it from the taskbar. Because of that, the Windows Search service has always felt redundant to me. I figured stopping it would free up resources as Windows would no longer be constantly indexing my files in the background.
But every now and then, I’d run into issues that made me regret that decision. For instance, File Explorer would sometimes fail to find files when I used its built-in search. So to avoid those random headaches, I finally re-enabled the Windows Search service and, safe to say, nothing really slowed down. Out of curiosity, I even monitored the service for a few days via Task Manager, but I rarely saw it using more than 20MB of RAM.
SysMain
The RAM hog that wasn’t
Screenshot by Pankil Shah -- No attribution required
SysMain’s description reads that it’s designed to maintain and improve system performance. It does this by learning your usage habits over time and preloading frequently used apps into memory. I disabled it a few years ago when I switched to a PC with an SSD and 24GB of RAM, and I always assumed it was unnecessary on modern hardware.
But when I re-enabled it for one of my articles and forgot about it for a few weeks, I realized nothing really changed. There wasn’t any major performance improvement, but I didn’t notice any downside either. If anything, it made me realize how smartly Windows manages the RAM. It simply considers free RAM a wasted resource. So instead of letting it sit idle, it uses that memory for Prefetch. And when any of your apps or the system itself needs that RAM, it frees it up instantly. So yes, there’s no real downside to leaving SysMain on.
Program Compatibility Assistant Service
Better to have it and not need it
Screenshot by Pankil Shah -- No attribution required
Program Compatibility Assistant Service was another easy target when I was trimming down Windows services. Since it’s only really necessary for running apps designed for an older version of Windows, I figured I had little use for it. And for the most part, I got away with disabling it.
But the problem was that I still needed to run old software anytime I was writing about classic Windows apps. So, instead of toggling the Program Compatibility Assistant Service on and off constantly, I decided to leave it on. Since then, I haven’t encountered any errors while running old apps, and more importantly, I haven’t noticed any impact on performance.
Of course, if you never run legacy software on your PC, leaving this service disabled is unlikely to cause any issues.
Windows Error Reporting
It’s harmless
Screenshot by Pankil Shah -- No attribution required
I recently joined the Windows Insider Program on my spare laptop, and one of the requirements for receiving preview builds was to keep Windows Error Reporting enabled. It makes sense because the whole purpose of Microsoft letting you run pre-release builds is so they can identify bugs and issues.
But even with preview builds installed and the Windows Error Reporting service running, my PC still works just fine. That said, I still wouldn’t re-enable the Connected User Experience and Telemetry service because of all the data it collects. Windows Error Reporting is different, though. It doesn’t invade my privacy, nor does it affect my PC's performance in any way.
Xbox services
A free Game Pass subscription forced me to bring them back
I’m not much of an Xbox fan and rarely play games on my PC, so services like Xbox Live Auth Manager and Xbox Live Networking Service have always seemed unnecessary. But when my new Lenovo laptop came with a three-month Game Pass subscription, I decided to give it a try. Since the subscription wasn’t tied to a specific device, I ended up using it on my main PC. And to do that peacefully, I also had to re-enable all the Xbox-related services I had once disabled.
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The good news is that absolutely nothing changed from a performance standpoint. I’ve been enjoying Forza Horizon 6 and NBA 2K26 on my PC with all the Xbox services running in the background. I haven't noticed any impact on gaming performance or general system responsiveness. Of course, if you don’t play games on your PC, you can still keep them disabled. But if you’re worried that Xbox services will slow down your system, my experience suggests you have nothing to worry about.
Don’t get me wrong. I still think there’s value in disabling services you don’t benefit from. And I’m definitely not a fan of Windows running ancient services like Fax in 2026. Sure, they may not hurt performance, but that doesn’t make them any useful.
