The biggest changes I notice
in boot times comes when I eliminate programs from the startup process. Some programs stuff icons directly into the
startup folder. They then automatically
launch every time Windows boots.
Microsoft Office and Real Audio are both guilty of this
crime.
Some
applications offer a “load on startup” feature. Try to shut off these “quick launch” or startup features in each
of the programs’ settings. Sometimes
you can even do it by right-clicking on the icon in the system tray. This will keep them from running in the
background and will only run when you need them.
If you
cant turn off a program that starts on boot any other way, you can generally
shut the door on it in MSConfig. Launch
Start/Run and type in MSConfig. Click
the startup tab and you’ll see a checkbox list of all the applications
that start with Windows. Uncheck the
box next to the program you don’t want to start. Only uncheck what you are sure of!
Hint:
I usually put a shortcut for each of my favorite apps in the Quick Launch
section of the taskbar. It puts the
applications a single click away, but doesn’t take up system resources or add
time to my startup.
Desktop users will love this one: Win98 checks for a floppy
every time it boots. Laptop users might
find that useful.
Open up System in the Control Panel. Click on the Performance tab, then the File
Systems button, then Floppy Disk.
Uncheck the box next to “Search for new floppy disks drives each time
your computer starts”.
Does
your system count its memory when it boots?
Chances are you can shut that down.
It was a valuable feature in the early and flakier days of memory, but
you should be fine without it today.
Look in you BIOS and uncheck this feature.
Do
you boot form the C drive? If not,
setting your system to boot form the C drive first will save you a few
tricks. That way your system doesn’t
check for a bootable floppy or CD-ROM.
Finally,
some BIOS’s offer a special setting called “quick start,” “quick boot,” or some
similar idea. Try turning it on or off
and see if you cant save a little more time.
I
hate to say it, but the latest motherboards and processors boot faster, and if
you really want speed upgrade to 800 MHz or higher.
Many
virus utilities offer real-time scanning for viruses. The scanner loads at startup, and can really kill performance
because it must scan every program file being loaded into memory.
If
you’re willing to get by with a bit less virus protection, you can speed up
boot times by turning off real-time scanning.
Instead, schedule a task to run a standard virus scan at least once a
day. Not only will this shorten boot
times, but it’ll make your system faster fro any access.
Hint: If unchecked, virus scan
programs often repeatedly reinsert themselves in MSConfig. It’s a feature, not a bug. You need to shut them down in the
application itself.