Disable Windows Efficiency Mode - Win11

Owned by Coreen Stalnaker
Last updated: May 01, 2024
5 min read

A new Windows 11 update “Feature” has begun throttling all browsers including Google Chrome called “Windows Efficiency Mode”. To Disable it ALL Shortcuts for Chrome will need to be updated. If not updated, every shortcut will open in Efficiency Mode. This includes shortcuts Quick Launch, Desktop Shortcuts, and Start Menu.

If you are experiencing Tab/Browser Crashes, or Frozen / Unresponsive Pages in TLDCRM, it’s likely Windows Efficiency Mode trying to Save the planet by reducing your power usage While Crippling your Computer in the interim.

How can I tell Windows Efficiency Mode is Running?

  1. Right-click the Start menu and select Task Manager.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Menu that appears when you right click on the Start menu shows Task Manager at the top and Taskbar Settings blow it.
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  1. Task Manager, locate the Google Chrome process, selecting the arrow next to it to view the various chrome.exe processes in the list.

  2. You should see Efficiency Mode listed in the Status tab for any processes that have the feature enabled. If any of the chrome.exe processes have this label in this column, it means that efficiency mode is enabled for this process and is active overall for Google Chrome.

You will also see a green leaf icon next to processes that have the feature enabled.

How to Permanently Disable Efficiency Mode for Chrome

Unfortunately Microsoft has given NO OPTION TO DISABLE EFFICIENCY MODE GLOBALLY on your entire PC. You can only disable this mode on apps that support disabling it, and it is not simple.

To disable Windows Efficiency mode in Google Chrome, follow these steps.

  1. Close ALL Chrome windows ensuring that no chrome.exe processes are running in Task Manager.

  2. Next, open the Start menu, locate Google Chrome, right-click the app, and press Open File Location.

  1. Next, right-click the Google Chrome shortcut in the File Explorer window that opens and select Properties.

  2. In the Properties window, press the Shortcut tab at the top.

  1. In the Target field, at the end of the existing text, add a space and enter this stream of text in total: --disable-features=UseEcoQoSForBackgroundProcess, making sure there is no quotation mark after the command.

  1. Click OK to save the changes and close the Properties window.

You’re not Done Yet!

Do you sometimes Open Chrome from the Taskbar, or press the windows Key and Load it From the Start Menu? You need to repeat the same process above, but you ALSO have to go find the Shortcuts to update.

You can find these locations by opening your File Explorer in Windows and in the URL Bar in File Explorer paste the following Locations and find anything related to Google Chrome and Update the Shortcuts the same way you did above by adding the --disable-features=UseEcoQoSForBackgroundProcess flag to every shortcut

Quick Launch Shortcuts

%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

--disable-features=UseEcoQoSForBackgroundProcess

Task Bar Shortcuts

%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar

--disable-features=UseEcoQoSForBackgroundProcess

“Chrome Shortcut Apps”

%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\ImplicitAppShortcuts

--disable-features=UseEcoQoSForBackgroundProcess

These will be in weirdly named Folders, you need to check Each Folder.

Each Folder might Have a Chrome Link, or another app. You only need to worry about the Chrome Links.

Desktop

Find Any Chrome Icon on your Desktop and update all of them. Updating one does NOT update All of them! If you have Multiple Chrome Profile Shortcuts ALL must be updated!

Start Menu

Anything in Start Menu by pressing the Start button and searching for Chrome. You can right click the icon that shows up here.

Verify!

Finally, Open your Task Manager and make sure there aren’t any Green Leaves on any of the Chrome Processes or Sub-processes. If there are no Leaves, then you are good to go!

Wait! There is more! Bonus! Turn Off Chrome Memory Saver!

  1. Chrome itself ALSO has a Memory Saver Mode which can cause problems with pages and tabs. For an extra step let’s go through disabling this as well.

  2. In Chrome go to More Tools -> Performance

  1. You will see 2 settings. Memory Saver and Preload Links, they will be on by Default.

Turn Memory Saver Off

Optional: Allow tldcrm.com to bypass Memory Saver

If you want to keep Memory Saver on but want better performance on TLDCRM, you can just Manually Add tldcrm.com into the memory saver active list.

Uninstall McAffee Anti-Virus and McAffee Web Advisor

We have a theory that something has changed with Chrome and McAffee Web Advisor / McAffee Anti-virus interactions along with Windows Efficiency Mode.

Since there seems to be a correlation between Efficiency mode and McAffee we strongly recommend it is uninstalled.

  1. Press Start.

  2. Search for Add / Remove Programs and Open it.

  1. Type “Mc” in the search.

  1. Uninstall McAffee Web Advisor.

  2. Uninstall McAffee. Make sure to choose the checkboxes to remove all app settings.