Learn How to Speed Up Your Computer's Start Time



When your computer takes forever to start up it can drive you crazy. Technically, the start time of a computer is measured from when you press the "start" or "power" button to the moment you can click on a program and open it up. If your computer is loading slowly then you're probably just sitting there, looking at a desktop that you can't click on.

Now that computer's have GUIs (Graphical User Interface) it can take even longer to load your computer from start up. This is because all the lovely aesthetics, like desktop backgrounds and icons, require added resources.

Contrary to popular myth, your computer's slow startup is not due to its age. Computers don't age like we do. Even if you've had your computer for several years there is no reason why it should be starting slowly, unless you've overloaded it. It's just that a GUI system tries to open several applicationsn first, before it lets you start working. So you have to wait for it to finish these tasks before you can proceed with your work.

Often, your Windows Database is overloaded and bogged down with information. This large database is crucial to the operation of your PC. It stores such information as which hardware and software are installed and user profiles and settings. When your computer is slow to load, it's probably trying to deal with all of the information that you have stored on it. You could use a third-party PC cleaning and optimization product to remove unnecessary information and correct errors in the database.

One of the most effective ways to deal with a slow computer is to limit the amount of unnecessary information that you have stored on it. It's especially beneficial to decrease the number of programs that are configured to automatically run at startup.

Before you start to get rid of these applications or reconfigure them, it would be wise to save a backup version of them. If anything goes wrong during the removal process you want to be able to get these files back. You should also run a virus scan before backing up your files. There's no sense backing up a virus!

Instead of backing up your files you can also employ the "System Restore" utility:

  1. Open up "My Computer"
  2. In the "Context" menu choose "Properties" and then "System Restore"
  3. Just complete the steps as prompted
  4. You will be notified when the process is complete

Remove programs from the Windows Startup

There are various ways to limit the programs that launch at Startup. Some PC optimization tools also include a "manage startup items" feature to make this easy. However, the manual processes to do this are listed below. To eliminate unnecessary programs and applications, complete these steps:

  1. Open the "Start" menu and select "Run"
  2. A text box will appear. Type in "MSCONFIG" and then hit "Ok"
  3. Select the "System Configuration Utility" and then press the "Startup" tab
  4. Double check that everything in the Startup menu is required by the Operating System
  5. Any unnecessary items should be deselected
  6. Hit "Ok" and reboot

You should also deactivate any unnecessary functions or applications that are set to load automatically at startup.

You can also increase your startup speed by checking the items WIN.INI. Here's how:

  1. Open the "Start" menu and select "Run"
  2. A text box will appear. Type in win.ini and then hit "Ok"
  3. Remove any items that include LOAD= or RUN=.
  4. Reboot the computer
 

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