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bhalicki's avatar
bhalicki
Helper V
1 year ago
Solved

PowerBi Desktop Performance Issues

Hi all,   Back in either May or June 2025 I upgraded to the latest version of PowerBi Desktop to resolve some other issues.  Since upgrading, the UI seems extremely sluggish.  On a newly rebuilt PC...
Need Help
  • rohit1991's avatar
    rohit1991
    1 year ago

    Hi bhalicki 

    Power BI Desktop has felt a lot heavier for me and my team lately, especially after the recent updates. It’s frustrating when you’ve got a good machine and it’s still crawling! Here’s my “battle-tested” list of fixes and tips that have actually made a difference for us:

     

    1. Check the “Enhanced Metadata” setting: Go to Options > Preview features and turn OFF anything related to enhanced metadata. This one setting alone has rescued a few of my .pbix files from lag city.

     

    2. Trim your data as early as possible: In Power Query, do your filtering and column reduction at the very first step. Less data in = less RAM and faster everything.

     

    3. Try switching to SQL authentication: If you’re on Windows Auth and things are slow to connect, test SQL Auth as a quick experiment. Sometimes it’s just an odd domain delay or Kerberos weirdness.

    4. Shut down other resource hogs: Sounds obvious, but close Teams, Outlook, Chrome tabs, and anything else chewing up memory.

    5. Use Performance Analyzer: Turn this on (under the View tab) and see if it’s a particular visual or query that’s slow. Sometimes it’s just one measure or step bogging everything down.

     

    6. Try the previous Power BI version: Download last month’s Power BI Desktop and open your report there. If it’s noticeably faster, you might have hit a bug in the latest update worth reporting.

    7. Clear out temp Power BI folders: Delete everything inside C:\Users\[YourUser]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Power BI Desktop\AnalysisServicesWorkspaces and restart Power BI Desktop.

     

     

    This version of Power BI is a bit temperamental, but these steps have helped me squeeze decent performance out of it. If all else fails, shout here and I can help dig in deeper (happy to look at a sample PBIX if you want!).

     

jaineshp's avatar
jaineshp
Memorable Member
1 year ago

Hi bhalicki ,

Hey Ben,

Totally get where you're coming from on the Power BI Desktop sluggishness. You're definitely not alone – a few others have hit similar snags, especially with on-prem SQL Server connections after the recent May/June updates.

Good news is, we've seen a few things help in the wild. Here are some solutions and workarounds worth trying:

 

Tackling Power BI Desktop Sluggishness

  • 1. Ditch Enhanced Metadata Preview (If It's Still On): Sometimes, lingering preview features can really drag things down. Pop into File > Options and settings > Options > Preview features and uncheck Enhanced metadata format. Give Power BI Desktop a quick restart afterward. If it's already off, you're golden, just move on.

  • 2. Go Native with SQL Queries: If you're currently pulling data from SQL Server by dragging tables in the Navigator pane, try switching to a native SQL query instead. It's often much faster and helps avoid metadata bloat. You can do this via Home > Get Data > SQL Server > Advanced Options > SQL statement. For example: SELECT * FROM dbo.YourTable WHERE [Date] >= '2025-01-01'.

  • 3. Quick Security & Connectivity Check: Slowness with local SQL Server connections can sometimes point to authentication hiccups. If you're using Windows Authentication, temporarily trying a SQL login can help rule out Kerberos or double-hop issues. Also, make sure your antivirus isn't playing interference during the connection handshake.

  • 4. Use Diagnostics to Pinpoint the Problem: Fire up Performance Analyzer (it's under the View tab in Power BI Desktop) or SQL Profiler. These tools can really help you see exactly where the delay is happening – is it during the connection, fetching metadata, or during query evaluation?

  • 5. Consider a Temporary Rollback: If this is really blocking your production work, rolling back to a stable April 2025 build might be a good temporary fix. You can find archived installers for Power BI Desktop online.

  • 6. General Performance Tweaks: A few minor adjustments can sometimes make a difference:

    • Turn off Auto detect new relationships in Options > Data Load.

    • Set Background Data to OFF under Data Load.

    • Reduce the number of preview rows for transformations in Power Query.

Let us know if you want to dig into any of these, especially the diagnostics. Happy to help further!

Best Regards,
Jainesh Poojara | Power BI Developer