Introduction

Have you ever found yourself staring at your computer screen, waiting for your Windows to launch? It can be frustrating to have to wait for several minutes, especially if you need to access an important document or get started with a project. Fortunately, there are some tricks you can use to speed up the startup process and unlock the secret to lightning fast Windows startup.

In this article, we will explore three easy steps to help you achieve faster Windows startup times. These tips are simple and easy to implement, and they can help improve your computer’s overall performance.

Step 1: Reduce the Number of Startup Programs

One of the most common reasons for slow Windows startup is the number of programs that launch automatically when you start your computer. Many applications add themselves to the startup list, meaning they will open when you log on. Unfortunately, this can slow down your computer’s startup time.

To reduce the number of startup programs, you can use the built-in Windows Task Manager. Here’s how:

  1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Click on the Startup tab.
  3. Review the list of programs that are set to launch at startup.
  4. Select the programs you don’t need to run at startup and click on the Disable button.

By disabling unnecessary programs, you can free up system resources and improve your computer’s startup time.

Step 2: Disable Windows Animations

Another way to speed up your Windows startup time is by disabling unnecessary animations. Windows comes with several animation effects that can slow down your computer’s performance. Disabling these animations can help your computer boot up faster and improve your overall user experience.

Here’s how you can disable animations in Windows:

  1. Type “SystemPropertiesPerformance.exe” in the Windows search bar and press Enter.
  2. In the Performance Options window, select the “Adjust for best performance” option.
  3. Uncheck the boxes next to “Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing,” “Animations in the taskbar,” and “Animations in the Start menu.”
  4. Click OK to save your changes.

Disabling animations in Windows can help reduce the amount of time it takes for your computer to start up and create a better user experience.

Step 3: Run a Disk Cleanup and Defragmentation

The final step to improving your Windows startup time is to run a disk cleanup and defragmentation. Over time, your computer’s hard drive can become cluttered with temporary files, unused programs, and other miscellaneous data. This can slow down your computer’s startup time as it takes longer to access the necessary files.

To run a disk cleanup and defragmentation:

  1. Type “Disk Cleanup” in the Windows search bar and press Enter.
  2. Select the drive you want to clean up and click OK.
  3. Review the list of files that can be deleted and select the ones you don’t need. Click OK to delete them.
  4. Type “Defragment and Optimize Drives” in the Windows search bar and click Enter.
  5. Select the drive you want to defragment and click Optimize.

By running a disk cleanup and defragmentation, you can free up space on your hard drive and improve your computer’s performance, including faster startup times.

Conclusion

There you have it — three easy steps to achieve lightning-fast Windows startup times. By reducing the number of startup programs, disabling animations, and running a disk cleanup and defragmentation, you can significantly improve your computer’s performance and create a better user experience. Don’t let slow startup times hold you back any longer. Try these tips today and enjoy a faster, more efficient computer.

At Make Tech Easier, we have been giving tips about how to make Windows startup faster quite a few times like 6 essential tips to speed up Windows 7 and things you can do to make Windows 7 run like a cheetah. In this article, we will be touching the same subject but with a slightly different perspective.

First we will learn how to measure the boot time of Windows so that we can actually sense the speedup in Windows boot time. I will be using Windows 8 for all the tests. Although there are several software to test PC boot time like Soluto, I like to use BootRacer because of its simplicity and efficiency. The latest version of BootRacer adds support for Windows 8. You can also use it on previous versions of Windows as well.

To measure Windows startup time, simply click on the Start button and it will display a message that BootRacer will measure the startup time of Windows on the next startup and offer you to restart Windows now. You can save your work and restart Windows to test it right away.

After the restart process, BootRacer will display a message about how much time it take for complete Windows startup.

My Windows 8 Release Preview took 2 minutes and 41 seconds. BootRacer will also give you a history of your startup times. We will only measure the startup time from BootRacer.

To speed up Windows startup, you can always read the above mentioned articles which will go through the speedup process step by step. After going through the startup items, processes and services, you can download Argus Boot Accelerator which takes care of one thing that Windows lacks, the sequential startup of startup processes and services.

When Windows loads, it will start loading everything in parallel. This usually slows down the whole startup process. A better option would be to delay startup of some processes and services until necessary services are loaded up. This is what Argus Boot Accelerator is for.

Using Argus Boot Accelerator is quite easy. Upon installation, it will automatically start its own startup services so that it can manage the startup items. To manage an item through Argus Boot Accelerator, you will need to drag and drop the items from Unmanaged Startup Items group to Managed Startup Items group. Selecting an item in the managed startup items group will enable all the options for that item at the bottom of the window.

You can delay the item startup, change its priority, change the CPU load it can take and the week days on which this item should be active. You will need to go through each and every item and identify which startup items are taking more resources, delay their startup to run Windows faster.

In Windows 8, it’s quite easy to see the startup impact of each startup item. Just open the Task Manager, go to Startup Tab and see the Startup Impact column adjacent to each startup item.

After cleaning up the startup, you should measure the startup time again to see the difference. Now you should be able to get an idea how much faster your system loads.

Usman is a technology enthusiast and loves tweaking Microsoft products. In addition to MakeTechEasier, he contributes regularly to iTechtics.com.

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