How to make Windows boot faster?

Lysander

Lysander

Lysander

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I'm running Vista at the moment and it normally takes about 8 scrolls of the bar on the boot screen before I get to the Windows desktop.

However, I turned on my gf's laptop the other day... XP took ages to boot. I stopped counting after 43 scrolls! Anyone know how to speed this up?
 
Could also try using Perfectdisk - it's a defrag app which re-arranges boot files at the start of the disk. Usually makes a decent difference to boot times.
 
There are numerous tweaks you can apply but they vary on what you use your PC is used for.

In my experience, shaving a few seconds here and there by disabling unused services only gives you small results. I've always found a big PC detox speeds a computer up far better.

Download and install Crapcleaner.
Run it. You should get rid of a few gigs off rubbish. It'll wipe all your saved passwords in IE and Firefox so make sure you tell it to leave those alone if you want to keep them stored.

Run a thorough virus and spyware scan.

Run a chkdisk and tell it to fix errors if it finds any.

Run a full defrag with a good de-fragging piece of software such as Diskeeper.

Then have a look for some tweaks and apply the ones applicable to you. Remember to not delete or change things unless you know exactly what they are. Services that may appear or sound unimportant can often be what keeps your PC running smoothly. :)
 
In my case it was the mobo's onboard USB that slowed the boot-up.

I bought a USB PCI card and disabled the onboard USB in the bios. Made a hell of a difference.
 
willhub said:
Does O&O Re arrange the boot files to make windows boot faster too?
Click to expand...
Don't think so, its one of the reasons i switched from O&O to PerfrectDisk that and the fact its so much faster and stable
 
sWiZzLe said:
Don't think so, its one of the reasons i switched from O&O to PerfrectDisk that and the fact its so much faster and stable
Click to expand...

Ah right, well I'll give PerfectDisk a whirl, I find O&O too simple and does not give you enough control.

Oh, I see you have to buy it, damn that sucks :(
 
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For vista do not disable Readyboost as it messes up a lot of unrelated stuff like control panel stops working and all the free vista games no longer launch!!
 
Is there some other defrag app or something running in the background in Windows vista even tho I havent set anything? Coz I get into Windows and the HDD light is constantly on for a long time and it sounds like some app is scanning :confused:

Just scanned my storage partition of the HDD with PerfectDisk and that is were most of the pagefile is :confused:
 
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Don't bother trying too hard, you'll never get it as fast as resuming from the S3 suspend state (sleep). MS designed Vista to be used in this way, and this is how I'm using it. Leaving your PC in S3 for one month would cost around 15 pence and you get "boot up" in approx three seconds and pretty much instant shutdown.
 
Robbie G said:
Don't bother trying too hard, you'll never get it as fast as resuming from the S3 suspend state (sleep). MS designed Vista to be used in this way, and this is how I'm using it. Leaving your PC in S3 for one month would cost around 15 pence and you get "boot up" in approx three seconds and pretty much instant shutdown.
Click to expand...

Does it not slow down windows?

How do I shutdown in S3 suspend state?

I did notice I could use a shutdown method when I could turn the PC off at the mains, and when I came back it resumed windows quickly too. I dont get this PerfectDisk, says my drive is in good condition and dont need defragging when there is lots of red blocks everywere.
 
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How to make windows boot quicker :/

Don't turn off you computer :p boot time - none!
Don't watch it as it boots :D boot time - unknown (depends on how long you can bare to be away from you precious computer) ;)
Don't install anything on your computer
Buy a faster computer!
Don't let old people use you computer - they're experts at making computers run slowly :eek: Keep the folks well away from it!

:rolleyes:
 
sWiZzLe said:
How to make windows boot quicker :/

Don't turn off you computer :p boot time - none!
Don't watch it as it boots :D boot time - unknown (depends on how long you can bare to be away from you precious computer) ;)
Don't install anything on your computer
Buy a faster computer!
Don't let old people use you computer - they're experts at making computers run slowly :eek: Keep the folks well away from it!

:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Not turning computer off = $$$ electric bill.
 
Robbie G said:
Don't bother trying too hard, you'll never get it as fast as resuming from the S3 suspend state (sleep). MS designed Vista to be used in this way, and this is how I'm using it. Leaving your PC in S3 for one month would cost around 15 pence and you get "boot up" in approx three seconds and pretty much instant shutdown.
Click to expand...

Yeah and if the power is interrupted you lose everything in the ram. ;)
 
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