Win10 LTSC IoT lag issues. How to resolve?

[DeathAdderSF]

Hello, all.

I recently upgraded to Windows 10 LTSC IoT, and I quite like it so far. The one snag I've run into is that sometimes (read: OFTEN), the computer lags before responding to what I'm trying to do. For example, clicking the Start menu. Or opening a program. Even switching between programs with Alt + Tab tends to lag. Sometimes the delay is just a moment, other times it's 15+ seconds!! It's quite irritating when I'm trying to do some serious work in a hurry. 

This lag issue never happened before I did the upgrade. When I started to notice the lag, I deleted compattelrunner.exe to make sure it wasn't sucking up resources, but the lag problem persists. I'm not sure what sort of things I can try to resolve this issue, but I'd sure as heck welcome some suggestions!

Thanks in advance to anyone who cares to share some tips.

[NotHereToPlayGames]

I can help with that.  
I use Win 10 LTSC 2021 and it has been a GODSEND over XP (which I only finally ditched roughly a year ago [maybe two, but definitly not more).
Even on a ten year old Dell Latitude E5470 with "only" an i5-6300U at 2.4 GHz and only 4GB RAM.
I have to admit that I don't know the difference between mine and your "IoT" and whether or not there is more than a "2021" version.

I *prefer* to use WINREDUCER EX-100 and cut MOST of the bloat *directly out of the install ISO* BEFORE ever installing and NONE of it ever lands on my hard drive !!!

But...  That approach has seemed too "complex" for the average MSFN user.
That is not an indictment, just been down this road before and no "interest" was ever garnered from the MSFN Community.

 

So here's what I'll do.  I obtained this ISO from MSFN way back when I was still on XP:  en-us_windows_10_iot_enterprise_ltsc_2021_x64_dvd_257ad90f
That may not be the most recent, it's just the one that I have (my company IT shares these with me, I do not have the download link).

I'll install into a VirtualBox VM and walk through how I debloat an "already installed" Win10.
Again, that's not my PREFERRED route, but it is still effective (and even a WinReducer EX-100 approach still needs SOME of this still done after install).

Will keep you posted...

[NotHereToPlayGames]

Correction.  I will NOT be able to help.  I cannot EDIT posts and I have to WAIT 10/15/20 minutes between posts.  F Dat!

[NotHereToPlayGames]

Okay, seems okay now.  I kept getting "forbidden" notices when trying to add replies or edit an old reply when a new reply was "forbidden".

[NotHereToPlayGames]

This will have to wait !!!  I have no d@mn clue why I keep landing on a "forbidden" page when trying to post.

 

Edited June 6 by NotHereToPlayGames

[DeathAdderSF]

OK... 

So, if there's anyone here with any ideas about the lag issues I'm having with Win10 LTSC IoT, I'd appreciate if you could share them.

[NotHereToPlayGames]

I guess we should start with whether we are looking at a "full debloat" or just a "single process trackdown" to fix your lag issues.
I've never experienced the type of lag you are talking about - but, I have also *never* used any version of Windows "as is".

edit1:  below screencap IS an "as is" install of Win10 LTSC 2021  --  en-us_windows_10_iot_enterprise_ltsc_2021_x64_dvd_257ad90f.iso
edit2:  below screencap is a NEVER-UPDATED install of Win10 LTSC 2021
edit3:  below screencap has NEVER accessed the internet for ANY "bs" types of Windows Updates  --  I *fully and wholly*  **DISABLE** any-and-all "updates" on my OS's

1) Can you share a screencap of your Task Manager's Performance tab for the computer's first full minute of full startup (not return from sleep or hibernate)?
2) Is your lag only when accessing a NETWORK resource?
3) Is your lag only when accessing an EXTERNAL drive?
4) Is your lag purely a WINDOWS issue or does it only occur when you have NON-WINDOWS programs running?

 

Edited June 6 by NotHereToPlayGames

[NotHereToPlayGames]

Just for comparative reference, the above is LTSC 2021 *as is* (not tweaked or debloated, default install, no updates).

The below is LTSC 2019 *tweaked and debloated*, no updates.

[NotHereToPlayGames]

And this is Win *ELEVEN* 21H2.  Tweaked and debloated.

Again, purely as comparative reference.

[NotHereToPlayGames]

Point being, just from the sake of running a tweaked and debloated Win *TEN*, your process count should be between 37 and 53.

Anything higher than that is just a bunch of "crap" wasting resources and bogging down your system.

[superleiw]

What did you upgrade from and how much free space do you have left on your drive?

If you are using an SSD or NVMe drive, try manually trimming it.

 

A good start would also be to disable the Search Indexer service and the Sysmain service and see if that already helps.

 

 

[NotHereToPlayGames]

Agreed!

And I'd need more info (questions already asked) to offer more suggestions.

Things like "timestamp telemetry" can lag network folders, but you haven't told us if this is network only.

Any and all services with the purpose of "diagnostics" that run in the background 24/7 is just "crap".

Sure, if you "like them" or THINK they actually do any good at "diagnosing" issues, then use them ONLY when you have "issues".

But in my experience, they never do any d@mn bit of "diagnostics" and should be trashed and disabled!

Rely on "good" forums to assist with real debugging and diagnosing (MSFN may not qualify, too many of the GOOD members have been "silenced" by the BAD that run amuck/amok with "fake likes").

et cetera...

[DeathAdderSF]

On 6/6/2026 at 6:26 PM, superleiw said:

What did you upgrade from and how much free space do you have left on your drive?

If you are using an SSD or NVMe drive, try manually trimming it.

 

A good start would also be to disable the Search Indexer service and the Sysmain service and see if that already helps.

 

 

 

Upgraded from 10586. 3TB space free.

SSD manually trimmed, no difference.

Search Indexer and Sysmain were already disabled.

Any of y'all have an up-to-date list for LTSC IoT of "useless" services that may be disabled?

[DeathAdderSF]

On 6/6/2026 at 3:56 AM, NotHereToPlayGames said:

I guess we should start with whether we are looking at a "full debloat" or just a "single process trackdown" to fix your lag issues.
I've never experienced the type of lag you are talking about - but, I have also *never* used any version of Windows "as is".

edit1:  below screencap IS an "as is" install of Win10 LTSC 2021  --  en-us_windows_10_iot_enterprise_ltsc_2021_x64_dvd_257ad90f.iso
edit2:  below screencap is a NEVER-UPDATED install of Win10 LTSC 2021
edit3:  below screencap has NEVER accessed the internet for ANY "bs" types of Windows Updates  --  I *fully and wholly*  **DISABLE** any-and-all "updates" on my OS's

1) Can you share a screencap of your Task Manager's Performance tab for the computer's first full minute of full startup (not return from sleep or hibernate)?
2) Is your lag only when accessing a NETWORK resource?
3) Is your lag only when accessing an EXTERNAL drive?
4) Is your lag purely a WINDOWS issue or does it only occur when you have NON-WINDOWS programs running?

 

1). Will share tomorrow.

2-3). No, it's just a general lag; doesn't matter what I'm doing or how I'm doing it, the lag just randomly pops up when it feels like it -- which is far too often for my sanity.

4). Not 100% sure what you mean by "non-Windows," but the lag isn't selective; it'll happen when just trying to open up the C drive and view files, for example.

As I said, this is all new, post-LTSC IoT upgrade. Machine was running perfectly smooth before. I figured LTSC IoT would actually improve performance, not bottleneck the hell out of it.