by Generally, the startup delay is defined as the process of system that takes a lot of time while starting the computer. The startup delay can happen while CPU is booting or at the time of Windows screen appears to be able to start using your system.
There could be many reasons for the startup delays and it could be less memory space available on C or D drive. Somebody has installed lot of programs and all this programs get listed in already long list of programs, which can make the computer slow at startup. This problem of startup delays can be quite frustrating at times when you want to quickly get logged on to your system for some urgent email, to catch up with friends over the chat, etc.
There is a list of things which needs your attention as rule of thumb to expedite your startup without much fuss.
MSCONFIG Utility
This utility is available for Windows XP. It helps to reduce the number of programs from the startup list. In the startup->Run type msconfig.exe and hit OK. It will display system configuration screen on that click on the startup tab, which will display the list of programs that are pinned to Startup. You can select the ones, which you want to have at the time of windows startup and deselect the remaining ones. Once completed, the system will ask you to restart the computer for the settings to be updated. This process will reduce the start up time.
CCleaner Utility
This is a utility available over the internet, which helps to configure the startup program as per the requirement. It is easy to use utility as msconfig. Ccleaner will help to remove programs from startup, which you do not want to run while the system boots.
Soluto Utility
This is also most widely used utility to understand the processes that delay the startup. Install this software, which is a free ware. This utility will show you the boot time for your PC and you can configure the processes that takes more time to speed up the starting process. It is easy to use and no technical knowledge is required for the same.
Apart from the utilities there are few basic things that can be done to prevent the startup delay:
- Use lesser amount of fonts. Uninstall those, which you do not use regularly
- Use Antivirus which does not consume lot of processing space. Antivirus are mainly responsible for system delays and it is one of the most important program that you would always want to run during the startup.
- In case, you are connected to a network that you control and you have DHCP server enabled on the router then the server will search for valid IP while starting. Here one can assign a valid IP to the server instead of having DHCP to do that. It saves time.
- Regularly run a scan disk and defragmentation on your hard disk to identify bad sectors on hard disk. This will not only keep your hard disk free of errors, but also help you to identify any root cause startup delay
- There are numerous other methods, but these are the vital one’s, which once adhered to will surely reduce the startup delay by almost 50% to 60%.
