How To Reduce Windows Boot-up Time

You've done this all before. And got the t-shirt. You have something that you urgently need to do on your computer but the screen is blank, meaning it's turned off. You growl. You're in for a long wait whilst Windows decides what it needs to do to get your computer to run. If you didn't know better, you'd think it had never done this before.

So how can you make your Windows PC boot up quicker?

It seems like the older your PC is, the longer it takes for it to boot up. It's as though no-one at Microsoft thinks you'd ever want to switch your PC off in the first place.

Fortunately, there are some things you can do to reduce the time it takes your computer to run through its boot sequence.

When it starts, Windows double checks all the programs that run every time you start your PC. All the essential stuff like Windows itself. Plus all the other software that absolutely must run on your system. Your instant messenger program. Apple's iTunes music program. Your anti-virus software. Maybe a spyware checker. Skype or another VOIP program. The list goes on. Every time Windows boots up, it checks each and every one of these start-up programs.

It is possible to discover what 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 of the services that run behind the scenes have names you wouldn't begin to guess at. But if you remove them, could make your PC unbootable. 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 to look at is the Windows registry. This is the dark place where Windows stores information about your PC and the programs on it. A lot of this is either needed or at least useful. But removing or upgrading programs can leave debris in the registry. Over time, this will mean your computer slows down while it checks all this out of date stuff. Occasionally it could even crash your computer altogether.

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 probably the simplest thing you can do to speed up your PC. 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.