How to Speed Up Windows Boot Time

One of the questions I am often asked is how to speed up the time it takes Windows to load
or boot. There are a variety of factors (both hardware and software) involved in lowering
the amount of time it takes for Windows to load. I will go over most of these ways in this
page starting with changes in the system BIOS and moving onward from there.

All of these changes are optional, and do not need to be carried out. Instead, they are
offered as suggestions to try to lower the time it takes for Windows to boot. Some of these
changes are very advanced and should only be attempted if you are comfortable with
making the changes and have your data backed up.

System BIOS Changes

One of the first places to help speed boot time in Windows is to make some simple changes
to the system BIOS. The BIOS or Basic Input / Output System is a set of instructions and
commands built into the motherboard that allows the computer to know what type of
hardware is connected and how to communicate with that hardware. You'll first have to
gain access to the BIOS setup screen to make any changes. Do not make changes to the
system settings in the BIOS lightly, one mistake can render the computer unbootable and
cause more problems than it’s worth. For this reason, do not attempt making changes to the
system BIOS unless you are willing to accept the risk along with it. With that said, you'll want
to follow the directions below and make some simple changes to speed up the boot
process.

1) You must start with the computer completely off, not in sleep or hibernation mode. Then
turn the computer on.

2) Enter the system BIOS screen by the manufacturer’s suggestion. Depending on the
computer, this may involve pressing the DEL key, pressing F1, Pressing F10, holding down
CTRL-ALT-S, or a variety of other keystrokes to get to the BIOS screen.

3) Once in the BIOS setup, look for a BOOT menu and select it with your keyboard arrow
keys, Tab, and Enter.

4) In most modern BIOS screens, you'll find an option for Quick Boot. Enable this to skip
memory tests and other minor Power On Self Tests (POST).
5) Find an option for Boot Device Priority next, and change the first boot device to be the
hard drive. Changing this option will speed up the boot process, but it will also not allow the
computer to boot from a floppy disk or CD-ROM. If booting from anything other than the
hard drive is important to you, please skip this step. If later on, you need to boot from a CD-
ROM, simply re-enter the BIOS setup and make the CD-ROM the first boot device

6) Choose the option to Exit and Save Changes and the computer will reboot.

There are other options in the BIOS to speed up boot time such as choosing the exact
settings for your hard drive, and disabling AUTO DETECT of hard drives and other media.
However I am skipping those changes and leaving them for a later discussion.
Changes to Windows Settings
The next group of changes to consider will be to the many Windows settings. We will use a
handy tool called the System Configuration Utility to accomplish most of these changes.
Follow the steps below to open and use this tool.

Startup Tab Changes

1) Click on Start, Run and type MSCONFIG and press Enter.

2) Click on the STARTUP tab in the System Configuration Utility to view all the items that
begin on Startup. An example is shown below.

Each item on the Startup tab that is checked loads immediately after Windows starts. If
there are lots of items here, this will slow down the boot time for Windows considerably.
Each of these items can be toggled on or off simply by using the checkmark box to the left of
the item.

The column directly to right of the checkmark is the Name of the program, while the next
column over is the location on the hard drive or other device of the file. Finally the last
column shows where in the computer the file is started from. This location could be in the
registry as is the case with all the locations that begin with HKLM or HKCU, or it could be in
the Windows Startup folder found under ALL PROGRAMS in Windows XP.

You can examine each of these startup items and uncheck any that are not necessary. How
do you know which ones are not necessary? Well, in most computer configurations, you'll
want drivers running for your graphics or video controller and sound card, and most likely
an antivirus and firewall running. Other startup items are usually extras that could be
eliminated from boot up. To discover what a particular item is used for, jot down the name
for the item and go over to a site called Process Library, type in the name of the process and
click Find. This is a very handy tool for discovering which startup items are truly needed.

When you are done modifying the checkmarks to the Startup tab, click OK and you'll be
asked to rebot the system.

Windows Services Changes

Once the computer is rebooted, click on Start, Run and type MSCONFIG and press Enter
again. This will reopen the System Configuration Utility. Click on the Services tab, then click
on the option at the bottom called "Hide All Microsoft Services" to see what unnecessary
Windows services are running that can be removed. Generally speaking, you want services
related to your video/sound cards and antivirus or firewall programs left running. Other
services may not be essential and can be removed. Remember to only remove unessential
services or you risk experiencing boot problems. Use Google to search for information on
unfamiliar services. Another good resource is Black Viper's Strange Services page.

Hardware Changes to Increase Boot Time

Adding more Memory (RAM)

Other than upgrading the motherboard and CPU, you can generally increase the amount of
RAM in your computer to make it load programs and applications faster and provide a more
enjoyable computing experience. You'll want to check your motherboard to make sure you
have available slots and the maximum amount of RAM you can add to your particular
motherboard.
Replacing your Hard Drive with a Faster RPM Drive

If you have a slower hard drive such as a 5400 RPM or slower, you may want to consider
upgrading to a faster 7200 RPM
hard drive. The difference in RPM speed will generally be quite noticeable.

Changing to Static IP

If your computer is connected to a local area network that you control and you have a DHCP
server enabled on your router, during the boot process the computer queries the network
to valid IP address. You can shave seconds off your boot time by assigning a valid IP address
to your computer instead of using DHCP to assign it. To setup a Static IP for your computer,
follow these directions.

1) Click on Start, Run

2) Type NCPA.CPL and press Enter to open the Network Connection Control Panel
3) Right-click on the Local Area Connection and choose Properties
4) Click on Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties
5) You should see a screen similar to the one below. Fill in your static IP, subnet, default
gateway, and DNS server information and click OK. If you aren't sure of your IP ranges on
your router, consult your router manual or a friend that is more knowledgeable in
networking terminology. Again, this is an optional item and does not necessarily need to be
accomplished. Using DHCP is fine, although you sacrifice a few seconds for an IP to be
assigned to from the network.
Switching from Master/Slave to Cable Select

In a recent article, I talk about how changing the configuration on the hard drive from
Master to Cable Select reduced the boot time on this particular machine by 2 minutes.

Other Windows Performance Tips

Reduce the Number of Fonts installed

Every font that is installed in Windows has to load when Windows starts. The more fonts
you have installed, the slower Windows loads. Although you can safely have around 1000
fonts loaded in Windows, I like to keep my font list closer to 300-500 or fewer if possible.
There are certain fonts that are definitely required by Windows, so be careful in removing
any fonts from your computer unless you know they are not needed. Fonts such as Verdana,
Arial, Trebuchet, Tahoma, Tahoma, Times New Roman, MS Sans Serif, and Courier New
should be left on your system. Follow the directions below to remove extra fonts from
Windows XP.

1) Open My Computer
2) Double-click on Drive C
3) Click on File, New Folder and title it Fonts Backup
4) Double-click on the Windows folder to open it
5) Double-click on the Fonts folder
6) Highlight the fonts you wish to remove, click on Edit and choose COPY
7) Navigate back to the C:\Fonts Backup folder and PASTE these fonts into your backup
folder
8) Return to the Fonts Folder and right-click on any fonts you previously copied to the
backup folder, then choose Delete.

If you accidentally removed a font, simply reverse the procedure by copying and pasting the
font back into the Windows\Fonts folder.

Disk Cleanup, Scandisk, and Defrag

Performing regular hard drive maintenance on your computer every few months will not
only catch problems before they cause serious damage but also make your hard drive run at
its optimal level. Follow these instructions to clean up the drive and defrag it.

1) Open My Computer
2) Right-click on the hard drive usually Drive C
3) Click on the Tools tab
4) Under Error Checking, click on Check Now. Optionally, you may want to check the boxes
to "Automatically Fix File Errors" and "Scan For and Attempt Recovery for Bad Sectors"
5) Next, click on the General tab and click on Disk Cleanup. After the computer calculates
the amount of files to remove, place a checkmark next to the type of files you wish to
remove and click Ok. Read the descriptions for each type of file to determine if you should
delete it.
6) Finally, click on the Tools tab again and under Defragmentation click Defragment Now
7) Click on the hard drive you wish to defrag, click on Analyze and then click on Defragment.
This process may take some time to complete.

Virus/Spyware Scans

Finally, you'll want to complete a thorough virus and spyware scan of your system. I
recommend running an online virus scan first, then a check for spyware. You can click on the
following links to check your system for viruses.

Online Virus Scanners

Trend Micro Housecall

BitDefender Scan Online
Ewido Online Scanner
Jotti's Online Malware Scan
Kaspersky Online Scanner
Panda Activescan
McAfee FreeScan
eTrust Antivirus Web Scanner
Symantec Security Check
Dr.Web Online Check

Trojan Scanner
TrojanScan by WindowsSecurity.com

Spyware Scanners

Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE 1.06

Spybot Search and Destroy 1.4
Microsoft Windows Defender

Using a Different Antivirus, Firewall, or AntiSpyware Program

If your computer is still running slow after changing and checking all of these options, it
might be time to use a different program for antivirus, firewall, or antispyware security. A
blog on the net called The PC Spy has a graph displaying the boot delay time from most of
the popular products on the market including Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro, ZoneAlarm,
and more.

Not surprisingly, Symantec's Internet Security products top the list with a 40+ % boot delay,
followed by Panda Antivirus, and Zone Alarm. So, while these products may help prevent
infections and attacks, they also are contributing greatly to the slowdown your computer is
experiencing. Avast, AVG, NOD32, and others perform much better according to this chart.
Tips or Myths

There are other miscellanous tips on the web that may help speed up the Windows boot
time, but there are also some very controversial ones.

Emptying the Windows Prefetch Folder

The Prefetch folder found at C:\WINDOWS\PREFETCH is often a source of controversy
concerning its effect on boot time. This folder preloads some applications to enable faster
opening of the most used programs. There are tips on the web that point to changing a
registry value or emptying the prefetch folder will improve boot time. From my experience,
deleting the contents of the prefetch folder DOES NOT improve boot time and only slows
the time required to open programs. There is a limit to how many items will be loaded into
the folder so it doesn't get overloaded, so why would anyone empty this folder when its
purpose is to speed up loading of applications. You can read more about the Prefetch Myth
on XP Myths.

Disable the Windows Boot Logo

Many sites recommend disabling the animated Windows boot logo to help speed up the
time it takes to boot. Although it may decrease the time by a couple seconds, the anxiety
caused by facing a blank screen and wondering if Windows has stalled or froze during
bootup outweighs the second or two you may save. Although if you wish to disable the
Windows boot logo, follow these steps:

1) Click on Start, Run and type MSCONFIG and press Enter

2) Click on the BOOT.INI tab
3) Click the NOGUIBOOT checkbox and click OK
4) Reboot the computer

Using BootVis

When Windows XP first came out, Microsoft had a utility called BootVis, which was a
performance tracing tool that Microsoft developed from software developers and system
designers. It was used to identify performance issues while developing new PC products, but
is no longer distributed. Microsoft states on their web page for BootVis

"Please note that Bootvis.exe is not a tool that will improve boot/resume performance for
end users. Contrary to some published reports, Bootvis.exe cannot reduce or alter a
system's boot or resume performance. The boot optimization routines invoked by
Bootvis.exe are built into Windows XP. These routines run automatically at pre-determined
times as part of the normal operation of the operating system."
I personally have tried Bootvis and saw a couple seconds improvement on overall boot time,
but nothing extreme in lowering overall bootup speed.

Conclusion

Although I tried to include as much information as possible in this article, I have

intentionally left some tips, hacks, and changes out. The basic steps in this article should
improve your system boot up time considerably which in turn should give you a happier
computing experience.