How To Reduce Windows Boot-up Time

You've done this all before. And got the t-shirt. You have to do something right now on your PC but the screen is blank, meaning it's turned off. You growl. You've got time to brew and drink a cup of coffee whilst Windows decides what it needs to do to get your computer to run. I mean, it's not like it's got other things to do.

Just how do you make your computer boot faster?

It seems like the longer you own your computer, the more time it takes for it to boot up and start running. It's as though no-one at Microsoft thinks you'd ever want to switch your PC off in the first place.

The good news is that there are a few things you can do to speed up the time it takes your computer to boot up.

When it starts, Windows double checks all the programs that run every time you start your PC.Naturally that includes the version of Windows you're running. And all the other things you've asked it to run. Your instant messenger program. Apple's iTunes music program. Anti-virus (this is essential). Maybe anti-spyware software. Skype or another VOIP program. The list goes on. In case anything's changed since you closed your PC, Windows will go off and check all these programs that run when it starts up.

You can find out what all these programs are. But you need to be a bit cautious - whilst you may not recognize a program by name, that doesn't mean you can safely remove it. Some essential Windows services that run in the background have quite obscure names that don't mean anything to you. But removing them, you'll be in trouble. If you're in any doubt about a start-up program, play safe and leave it be. It won't do you any good if you remove a program, only to spend hours (or dollars) fixing the trouble. Unless you're brave, I'd suggest leaving start-up programs to your computer support person.

The next thing you can do is clean up the Windows registry. This is the dark place where Windows stores information about your PC and the programs on it. Most of it is necessary. Trouble is, every time you remove or delete a program it will almost always leave traces of itself in the registry. This causes your PC to slow down. Lots of PC problems have been traced to this old information laying around.

The easiest way to clean the registry is to run a special piece of software called (surprisingly enough) a registry checker. This will scan through the Windows registry, checking for things that shouldn't be there. After the scan, you'll get a simple report and if you're happy to let it, the software will trot off and fix the reported errors. This is simple, quick and effective. Personally, I let Error Sweeper run every night to find and fix registry errors.

Check here for more ways to speed up your Windows boot time.