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Optimize System Startup

One of the ironies of the modern age is that as computer hardware gets faster and faster, the startup time seems to get slower and slower. Actually, Windows XP has made some improvements in the right direction, but the bootup of any version of Windows will seem slower than molasses to those of us who grew up on DOS. And anyone too young to remember DOS will probably ask, "What's molasses?" However, both generations would probably agree it would be nice if there were actions under our control to speed things up, and there are.

The BIOS has options that can speed up or slow down the boot process, so get into your CMOS setup and look for things you can enable or disable. Things to enable include Quick Boot and Quick Memory Check. On the other hand, you want to disable the splash screen, floppy disk seek and the Plug and Play OS. While you are in the CMOS setup, you can also set the order in which the BIOS looks for an operating system. If you always boot from the C drive, don't have it wasting time looking first to the floppy, then the CD-ROM drive and finally the C drive, which is the default order in most systems. Your most noticeable improvement will probably come from removing programs in your Windows StartUp folder. Many programs will automatically place a utility or some part of the program in StartUp, and each and every one of these routines then has to start up every time you boot to Windows. Not only does this add an annoying delay to the bootup, each of these programs uses system resources at a critical time and can actually crash your system and prevent bootup altogether if the list gets too long.

In most versions of Windows you can find these programs at Start-Programs-Startup. Look over the list and find the ones you don't use constantly. Right-click a program if you want to remove it from the folder, and from the menu that pops up, select Delete. This does not delete the program, only the shortcut to it in the Startup folder. Continue until the only programs left are those you really want every time you boot up.

Certain programs will still load during a Windows boot even if they are not listed in the Startup folder, and you will know because you can see their icons in the System Tray. Some common examples are RealAudio, MSN Messenger, QuickTime and many anti-virus and firewall programs. You probably want to leave the anti-virus and firewalls, but for any programs that you don't want starting up every time, you will need to change that program 's settings or configuration. Exactly how to do this will vary from one to the next, but can often be accessed by right-clicking the program's icon.

If you've tried Steps 3 and 4 and a program continues to load, it 's time for more drastic action, MSCONFIG! This is Microsoft's configuration manager starting with Windows 98, and it gives the user more power for diagnosing and setting system preferences. Click Start-Run, type MSCONFIG in the box, then click OK. Choose the Startup tab and you will see a list of the programs that initialize whenever Windows starts up. Anything you uncheck will no longer start up with Windows; beginning with the next time you boot the system.

Defragment your hard drive. Theoretically your operating system shouldn't fragment, but just the same this usually seems to help. And it will speed up the rest of your operations even if it doesn't change the booting up time. If you are also cleaning up the disk and deleting unwanted programs and files, do that before you defragment. Our last tip is to remove excess fonts. Having 200 fonts active on your system might seem like an abundance of creative opportunities, but the fact is that every one of those fonts must be loaded during bootup, which takes time and resources. If you are honest with yourself, you've probably never used at least 80% of them, have you? You can remove fonts by deleting them from your Fonts folder or by opening Fonts in the Control Panel. You can always reinstall a font from the CD where you got it in the first place. And if you don't have the source file anymore, rather than deleting it from the Fonts folder, just move the file for that font to another folder. It will be readily available to reinstall but it won't have to load up every time.

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Disclaimer - The Micro 2000 Tech Tip is a free service providing information only. While we use reasonable care to see that this information is correct, we do not guarantee it for accuracy, completeness or fitness for a particular purpose. Micro 2000, Inc. shall not be liable for damages of any kind in connection with the use or misuse of this information.