I have a lot of Windows machines in rotation, most running Windows 10 or Windows 11, and it feels like I’m always fixing something. One PC is low on storage, another is dragging at startup, and somewhere in the house a network connection has decided today is the day it stops cooperating. After years of bouncing between Settings panels, Control Panel relics, and half-buried system menus, I got tired of troubleshooting the slow way.
That’s what pushed me toward PowerShell, not because I wanted to become a scripting expert, but because I wanted faster answers. The commands below are the ones I actually use, the practical, copy-and-paste kind that help me see what’s going on and fix it without digging through five layers of Windows. They save me time, cut down on guesswork, and make routine maintenance less tedious.
Stop guessing: Find the biggest storage hogs fast
See which folders are actually filling your drive
Running out of storage is one of those slow-burn problems that suddenly becomes urgent. This just happened on my Surface tablet. I could’ve opened Settings > System > Storage and clicked through each category, then drilled into Apps, then manually sorted by size, then gone hunting for oversized folders in File Explorer. That works, and it’s the official route. But it’s also slow, and it doesn’t always make it obvious where you’ll reclaim the most space.
Instead, I opened PowerShell and asked Windows directly which folders were actually taking up room. Open Start, type PowerShell, right-click it, and choose Run as administrator. Then run this command, replacing the path with the drive or folder you want to analyze, like C:\Users\YourName:
Get-ChildItem "C:\Users\YourName" -Directory | ForEach-Object {
$size = (Get-ChildItem $_.FullName -Recurse -File -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Measure-Object Length -Sum).Sum
[PSCustomObject]@{
Folder = $_.FullName
SizeGB = [math]::Round($size / 1GB, 2)
}
} | Sort-Object SizeGB -Descending
It takes a minute to process (longer if you scan your entire C: drive), but when it’s done you get a clean, sorted list of the largest folders in that location. Start broad, then drill down into whatever rises to the top.
On my Surface, it immediately showed me where I’d get the biggest win instead of wasting time uninstalling small apps one by one. No bouncing between menus, no trial and error. Just a clear answer about what’s actually eating your storage so you can fix the right thing first.
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When your PC is full of apps you don’t use
List what’s installed so you can remove the right things
Over time, Windows machines accumulate apps the way my garage collects random boxes. Some you installed on purpose. Others showed up bundled with something else, or came preloaded and never got touched. You can head to Settings > Apps > Installed apps and sort by size or install date, which works fine. But if you’re trying to get a quick, sortable list you can scan in seconds, PowerShell is faster.
To see what’s installed, I’ll run:
Get-AppxPackage | Select-Object Name, PackageFullName
That gives you a clean list of Microsoft Store apps tied to your user account. This is mainly for Microsoft Store apps and built-in packages, not every traditional desktop program. Traditional desktop apps still need to be removed through Settings or Programs and Features, so this won’t replace that entirely.
If I’m targeting something specific, I’ll filter it:
Get-AppxPackage *MicrosoftTeams*
And if I’m sure I want to remove it:
Get-AppxPackage *MicrosoftTeams* | Remove-AppxPackage
This is where you slow down and read carefully. Don’t blindly remove anything you don’t recognize. Some built-in apps look obscure but are tied to system features. If you’re unsure, search the package name first. Used thoughtfully, this is much faster than clicking through menus one by one, especially on a machine that’s been around a while. Just treat it like a scalpel, not a broom.
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What to do when Windows breaks your internet connection
Reset your network stack and start fresh in minutes
This is my go-to fix when Windows networking goes sideways. You know what I mean, pages half-load, downloads stall, and one PC connects fine while another insists there’s “no internet” even though everything else in the house is working. I recently wrote about ways to improve your network speeds, and that’s where I’d start if things just feel slow. But sometimes the problem isn’t your router or your ISP. It’s Windows itself, and the network stack just needs to be reset.
You can do this the long way through Settings > Network & Internet > Advanced network settings > Network reset, but that forces a full adapter reinstall and a reboot. If I just want to clear things out and start fresh, I open PowerShell as administrator and run:
ipconfig /flushdns
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset
After that, restart your PC. These commands clear the DNS cache, reset the Winsock catalog, and rebuild the TCP/IP stack. It sounds dramatic, but it’s a safe, built-in reset that fixes a surprising number of connectivity issues. When Windows is the thing acting up, this is often faster than digging through adapter properties and toggling random checkboxes hoping something sticks.
What’s actually slowing down your PC
Surface the processes consuming the most CPU and memory
When a PC “feels slow,” that description doesn’t help much. Slow how? High CPU usage? A background process chewing through memory? Ten apps launching at startup that you forgot were even installed? Windows won’t necessarily tell you which one is the real problem. You can open Task Manager with Ctrl + Shift + Esc and sort by CPU or Memory to see what’s spiking in real time, and the Startup tab gives you a basic “impact” rating. That’s useful, but I usually want something more direct and sortable.
In PowerShell, I’ll run:
Get-Process | Sort-Object CPU -Descending | Select-Object -First 10
That shows the top processes by total CPU time, which is often a quick way to spot heavy hitters. If I’m more concerned about memory, I’ll switch it to:
Get-Process | Sort-Object WorkingSet -Descending | Select-Object -First 10
Now I’m not clicking blindly. I’m looking at a clear, ranked list of what’s consuming resources. It turns a vague “my PC feels slow” complaint into something specific I can act on, whether that’s closing a runaway app, uninstalling something unnecessary, or digging deeper into what’s launching in the background.
A faster way to fix common Windows problems
PowerShell isn’t magic, and it’s not a replacement for learning how Windows actually works. What it is, though, is leverage. Instead of clicking through five menus to get one answer, you can run a single command and see exactly what’s going on. That shift alone changes how you interact with your PC. You stop poking around blindly and start getting direct, useful feedback straight away.
You don’t need to become a scripting expert to benefit from that. Even keeping a short list of reliable, copy-and-paste commands in a notes app puts you ahead of most users. The next time your storage fills up, your internet acts up, or your system feels slow, you won’t be guessing. You’ll have tools built into Windows that let you check, fix, and move on. And that’s really the goal: fewer headaches, less friction, and more control over the machine you use every day.
