2 min to read
Do You Need to Restart After Applying Tweaks
Some tweaks work immediately and some only take effect after a restart. If you measure before restarting, you will often conclude nothing happened.
Which ones need one
- Processor tweaks that change scheduling and power states
- Graphics tweaks that change how the card signals the system
- Network adapter changes
- Polling rate changes for mice, keyboards and controllers
- Anything that disables a Windows service
Which ones do not
- Customization, taskbar and theme changes
- Cleanup
- RIP Mode, which is temporary by design
- Most per game presets
The app tells you
Where a restart is needed, the tweak says so when you apply it. You do not have to remember this list.
A sensible routine
1
Make a restore point
2
Apply a group of related tweaks, for example everything on the CPU page
3
Restart
4
Test, then move to the next group
Doing it in groups means that if something goes wrong you know roughly where to look, instead of having changed forty things at once.
Signing out instead
A few changes only need you to sign out and back in rather than a full restart. Where that is enough, the app says so.
If nothing changed after restarting
Check the tweak still shows as active. If it does not, something is reverting it, which is a separate problem.
Related: Tweaks revert after restart, A safe first run.