[TIP] Windows Automatic Maintenance

What Does Windows Automatic Maintenance Do?

Microsoft introduced the Windows Update feature 20 years ago, with the aim of automatically patching software bugs and keeping the operating system secure. But there are many other maintenance tasks required to keep a computer running smoothly. One example is the automatic defragmenting of hard drives that was added in the Windows Vista release.

Beginning with Windows 7, a set of system maintenance features was built into Windows to take care of other important tasks, such as cleaning up unnecessary files, fixing broken shortcuts, and running diagnostic tests on memory and hard drives. In Windows 8 and 10, the Automatic Maintenance feature was introduced, offering additional system optimization tasks and finer control over the maintenance process.

It’s important to know the distinction Windows makes between optimization and updates. Optimization is the running of tasks such as defragmentation and junk file cleanup, security and malware scans, and diagnostics. Updates are tasks that check for newer versions of software and install them when they are found.

Optimization runs for a maximum of one hour per day. Any running optimization tasks are stopped at the end of that hour, and restarted during the next scheduled Automatic Maintenance session; tasks that were not run due to lack of time will be run after the restarted tasks complete. The only exception is tasks deemed critical; those will always run to completion even if the hour has run out.

If your PC is powered off or you are actively working on it, optimization tasks will be postponed until a time when they can be run without impacting system performance or energy efficiency. Updates are not so polite; they will download and install even outside the scheduled maintenance hour. Of course, the PC must be powered on for updates to work.

Scheduling Automatic Maintenance

You can run all of the Automatic Maintenance tasks at any time, or pick a time at which to run them automatically. Here is how to do that on WIndows 10:

Open Control Panel.

• Click on System and Security.


• Click on Security and Maintenance.


• Expand the Maintenance section to reveal its options. “Start maintenance” will launch the tasks assigned to Automatic Maintenance immediately.


• Click the Change maintenance settings link.

In the middle of that page is the Run maintenance tasks daily at drop-down menu; use it to set the hour of the day you want Automated Maintenance to start. The default is 2:00 AM. If you are in the habit of letting your PC go to “sleep” after several minutes of inactivity, you should check the box that says, “Allow scheduled maintenance to wake up my computer at the scheduled time.” Otherwise, Automatic Maintenance may never run.

If you're still running Windows 7, the only thing you can do is turn System Maintenance on or off. To do so, open Control Panel, then Select “View by: Small icons”. Open Action Center and click the down-arrow next to Maintenance to expand it. Scroll down and click the “Change troubleshooting settings” link.

Many third-party software developers include a utility program to check for and install updates as they are released. In Windows 10, third-party apps can add tasks to Automatic Maintenance to apply updates. But this is not a universal custom so you cannot depend on Automatic Maintenance to keep all your software up to date.

What About Third-Party Optimizers?

Microsoft is a tight-lipped about the complete list of optimization tasks that are performed by the Automatic Maintenance feature. I think it's safe to say that not much of consequence is happening aside from security scans, defragging, and cleanup of junk files. So there is still a place for third-party optimizers which replace or supplement the maintenance and optimization tasks built into Windows.

I've written about Privazer, describing it as "a hard drive clean-up utility on steroids." Privazer is a freebie that removes traces of activity that could compromise your privacy, such as web browsing history, saved passwords, and cookies. It will also get rid of duplicate and temporary files, and scrubs your Windows registry.

More recently, I did a test and review of PC Matic and found that it includes many diagnostic, maintenance and optimization features that can significantly improve performance. PC Matic's features include driver updates, registry cleaning, SSD optimization, broadband optimization, scanning for and updating outdated software, removing unnecessary startup tasks, download acceleration, and various diagnostic reports. PC Matic isn't free, but the $50 license can be used on up to 5 computers.

Do you let Windows manage everything, or do you use a third-party application to enhance the security and performance of your computer? Your thoughts on this topic are welcome. Post your comment or question below...