Netbook Network

Keeping boot time short and sweet is something that makes accessing your computer more convenient, regardless of your purpose. Some operating systems such as ASUS’ ExpressGate OS are designed to launch as quickly as possible, but Windows will take its merry time to load things up if you’re not too smart about it. The key focus here is disabling as many startup items as possible, including some services, in order to get the fastest boot possible on your machine.

When we talk abuot launching into Windows faster, we don’t mean how long it takes to get from a black screen to the login screen – we mean how long it takes to get to the desktop. The time it takes to get to the login screen depends on your computer hardware and the integrity of your Windows installation. If you believe your Windows installation is broken or too slow, we recommend trying out our Ultimate Guide to Cleaning Windows.

We’ve poked at removing startup items in order to boot faster, and we’d like to go more in depth on what you should do. Now there are two things that Windows launches during boot: services, and applications. I like to remove applications first because it’s less risky than blindly removing services from startup.

Launch msconfig.exe via either the Run… box or through the Start menu search. You’ll run into a window that looks a little like this. Don’t worry if your startup selection is different from the one in the photo.

Now jump over to the Startup tab. This is where all your applications that run during startup are listed. The length of the list usually depends on how many applications you’ve installed and how long you’ve had your computer. You can see the name of the application, the path, and the ability to check off or un-check an item on the list.

There’s actually quite a variety of items you can find here. Typically listed are program updaters, graphic device drivers, antivirus, and other applications that seem fit to launch on startup in order to make things more convenient for you.

What you’ll want to get rid of is basically things you don’t need. Programs that you can update manually and you don’t use often shouldn’t have an updater start up with Windows. Applications that you can wait an extra second or two to launch don’t require a startup entry either. To be honest, the only thing you really need for your startup applications is your anti-virus, maybe an updater for an often-used program (such as Chrome, in which new updates patch security vulnerabilities), and nothing else.

Speaking of anti-virus software, it turns out that launching them will increase your boot time the most out of just about any application out there. I used to use Kaspersky Internet Security before until I realized it practically doubled my boot times. No more, now that I have Microsoft Security Essentials, which I’ve found to be pretty lightweight. It’s also free to try and use, so if you think your anti-virus is slowing you down, give Microsoft Security Essentials a shot.

Next step: Services. These are the extra little features that Windows packs with it, such as Bluetooth support, Homegroups, Remote Assistance, and other things. Even though the System Configuration tool has a tab dedicated for services during startup, we’re actually not going to use it because that means disabling services completely – and you don’t want that to happen.

Instead, launch the Services application by simply searching for it in the Start menu.

A window will pop up with every single service for Windows available listed out for you. AskVG has a list of services that you can switch off without blowing up your computer. To prevent a service from starting with Windows, right click on it, press Properties, and set the Startup type to Manual. Don’t set it to Disabled, because that means Windows won’t be able to start it on its own.

That’s just about it! Don’t forget that you might have put applications in your Startup folder (found in the Start Menu) that will also launch during startup.