Optimizer Documentation

The version number scheme for the Optimizer this time is based on the date of release.  So the initial release v25.11.5.0 broke down shows v25 (year 2025) .11 (month of November) .5 (5th day of the month) and the last digit will always be .0 for the first release of the day, and each subsequent release will increase this by 1.  Therefore, v25.11.5.1 is the second release of November 5th, 2025.

The Windows 11 Optimizer adopts a “modern UI/UX” approach using slider toggle switches, much like the Windows 11 Settings app which the Optimizer mimics in this regard.

The slider toggle switch BOTH performs the action AND indicates the current state of the action, where the left position (black) is off, and the right position (green) is on, or optimized.  The Windows 11 sliders work in the same way, indicating current status, but also the action is enabled or disabled in real time when you click the slider.  Therefore:

• When a slider is in the left position (black) it is indicating the optimization has not been done.
• When a slider is in the right position (green) it is indicating the optimization is already done.
• Clicking the slider from either state performs the action in real time, so clicking it while it is not optimized (left position, black) moves it to the right position, and optimizes in real time.
  • There is NO need to click a button (e.g. Optimize All) after changing the slider toggle, as the optimization occurs in real time.
  • Note the toggle state changes after the optimization has taken place, not immediately.
  • Current versions flash a status window with a message that it is performing the optimization, as some of these will takes several seconds or more to apply in the background.  The new status message exists so you don’t think the slider toggle isn’t working if it doesn’t change immediately.  This feature was not found in the original version Carey had on his introduction show, and at one point he didn’t think it worked until 3-5 seconds later when the toggle changed.

This all works entirely differently than the Windows 10 Optimizer, where check boxes allowed you to select the desired optimization and the Apply button applied those selections.  In the Windows 11 Optimizer, changing the slider toggle switches does NOT select or queue the action to be taken when clicking the “Optimize All” button, instead changing the toggles performs the optimization or undo in real time.  Clicking the “Optimize All” button simply applies all optimizations, saving you from changing any of the sliders individually.

It may be self-explanatory that the “Optimize All” button applies the optimizations corresponding to every slider toggle switch, however you may want to optimize only some of these.

In order to “Optimize Some” you would simply click the slider toggle to the right position (green) state for each optimization you wish to apply, rather than clicking the “Optimize All” button.  As explained above, the slider applies the optimization in real time, so there is no need to click a button after changing the slider toggle to the right position (green) state.  When you click it and it turns green, it is now optimized.

Just like initially applying an optimization, clicking the slider toggle switch while already in the optimized state (right position, green) moves it back to the left position (black) and this will undo the optimization in real time.

Failures when Using the Slider Toggle Switches:  

If you have ever noticed a setting fails to change in the Windows Settings app, the slider doesn’t change, or it may briefly then toggle back to the original state (something I have in fact experienced.)  This is another aspect of the modern UI/UX design and the slider toggle switch, where again the state of the slider should not only perform the action, but also indicate the state of the setting/optimization.

The Optimizer works much the same way here, so if there is a failure, the toggle remains in the original state and fails to change.  After performing any optimization, it double-checks to make sure all went as planned, and only alters the state/appearance of the slider toggle on success.  Should there be a failure to optimize (or undo), current versions will report this with a message prompt after the attempt, so you don’t think clicking the slider toggle did nothing (well, it tried!)

Failures when Using the Optimize All button:

Any specific failures are reported at the end of the Optimize All routine in a single message dialog box that confirms everything is finished.  If the system is restarted, that message dialog box will pop up after the system restart.

There are currently two cases where an option is not recommended and would not be performed by the Optimize All button.  Clicking on these individually should give a message as to why the optimization is not recommended.  These two are:

• Carey would not select the first option “Disable Startup App Delay” when the PC does not have an SSD as it’s primary OS drive.
  • The Optimize All button will skip this feature if it does not detect functionality called TRIM, a required maintenance function enabled by Windows when an SSD is installed.  If TRIM is not detected, a mechanical hard drive is assumed (TRIM is not necessary or possible on a mechanical HDD) and so this feature will be skipped.
• We would also not select “Disable Standby/Sleep” or “Disable Hibernation” on a laptop, which would benefit from these battery saving features not being disabled (aka not Optimized.)
  • The Optimize All button will skip these features if the system has a battery, as a laptop would have.
  • Unfortunately, these will also be skipped if a desktop computer is connected to a UPS/battery backup with a USB data connection, making the battery backup appear in Device Manager as would on a laptop, which changes how Windows and the Optimizer see the computer.  If the computer is merely powered through a battery backup with no USB data connection to the battery, Windows will not detect that battery, and the feature would not be skipped.  Either way, you may of course still manually toggle these options to the optimized state if you so desire.

Uncle Carey’s Windows 11 Optimizer is designed for and tested on Windows 11 only, and will not run or operate on earlier versions of Windows.

For use on Windows 10 (or prior) you should use Uncle Carey’s Windows 10 Optimizer (which will also function on older versions of Windows to some extent, with only the applicable optimizations working, though it is not generally intended for use on previous versions.)

If you do not have it already, the Windows 10 Optimizer is available for purchase here.  Please note that the Windows 11 and Windows 10 Optimizers are separate tools, so purchasing one tool does not give you access to both, for that you would need to purchase both tools.

This can occasionally happen when running the software from inside the .zip file without first extracting the .zip file contents to a regular folder, and as a result the Optimizer is instead running from a user temp folder.  Antivirus software will sometimes flag software as a trojan and block it when it is running from a user temp folder, which occurs when you run it from within a zip without extracting.  Other issues may also occur, and you won’t see the Optimizer running on screen, even though it may be running from the temp folder even if it wasn’t blocked by antivirus software.

As a result, you always want to extract the .zip before running the contents, rather than opening the .zip by double clicking, and just running the Optimizer inside of it by double clicking from there.  Instead, first extract the .zip file to a folder, then run the Optimizer from the extracted folder to avoid these issues.

If the Optimizer isn’t running, simply make sure you’ve extracted the .zip file to a folder first, THEN restart your PC.  The reason is you cannot open more than one copy of the Optimizer at a time (preventing it from tripping over itself if you were to try and use multiple copies simultaneously) and restarting your computer obviously shuts down the copy from the user temp folder.  You could just terminate the process from Task Manager, but a system restart is also easy and recommended.

Disk Cleanup may hang/freeze with no mouse movement:  This is in fact an issue with Disk Cleanup itself.  Simply move the mouse if it appears frozen, and it will resume.

Disk Cleanup appears to run twice simultaneously:  True, however this is intentional.  Disk Cleanup runs in both the user context (for cleaning user specific locations such as user temp folders) as well as the system context (for cleaning system areas, such as Windows Update temp folders) and the locations do not overlap, so this behavior is as intended.  This would be the equivalent of running it manually twice to clean all areas of Windows (one run for cleaning user-specific areas, the second run to clean system areas by clicking the “Clean up System Files” button with the shield on it, which does not touch user-specific areas.)

No issues are known at this time.

Note:  PC Manager is not available for install in some regions outside the US, and the first few versions of the Optimizer did not report the issue.  As of v25.11.19.0 the Optimizer will now offer to automatically and temporarily change region on any non-US system after any installation failure, allowing the installation to proceed as expected.