Speeding Up Your Computer’s Start Up
Contributed by Jay Schroyer
If you’re using an older computer with less RAM than you’d prefer, you may find that it takes several minutes for your computer to start up. After it loads Windows®, your computer then begins to pre-load a set list of programs using the available RAM on your computer. By pre-loading these programs, it gives the computer a sort of “head start” if you choose to activate these particular programs. If you’re also running an anti-virus program on your computer (which I strongly suggest) it may take a moment or two also for this program to check the system and let you know that everything is safe and operational.
You could always buy more RAM for your computer if you have the room to expand, but there may be a way for you to increase the speed of your startup with absolutely no cost to you. If you’re in the habit of starting your computer and finding something else to do for ten minutes before you can even start to access any data on your computer, it may make sense to take a look at just what your computer is pre-loading.
Many programs are vital to the operation of the machine and there’s just nothing you can do about loading these programs. If they are causing the lag in performance, you may want to look into getting a faster machine or expanding your RAM. But do you always need QuickTime®, RealPlayer®, Windows Media Player, iTunes®, and many other unnecessary programs loading when you start up your machine? Ask yourself how often you use these programs and if it’s worth having them pre-loaded each time you boot up. If the answer is no, then you may be able to save yourself some time by editing that start up list that your computer consults each time it’s turned on.
This operation will have you altering your computers configuration slightly, but don’t worry about messing anything up too badly. You’re going to be learning some very basic computer upkeep. You’re only going to tell your computer that there are a few programs that you don’t want loaded upon start up. This doesn’t mean you can’t use these programs after startup. You can access them just like you normally would, but you may find that they take slightly longer to load as they have not been pre-loaded at startup. It’s a trade-off: a slightly faster startup in exchange for slightly longer program load times.
You can begin by going to your “Start” menu and choosing the “Run” option. This will take you to a prompt at which you can enter “msconfig” and then enter. The System Configuration Utility window will suddenly pop up and you’ll find yourself faced with half a dozen tabs that bear titles like “General,” “System INI,” and “Win INI.” You will choose the last one, “Startup.”
Just as its name implies, this is the tab that contains all of the programs that will be pre-loaded during startup. You’ll see that there is a smaller window that you can scroll through that contains all of the programs that are loaded during startup. Next to the name of each program is a check box. If the box is checked, this program is set to load and vice versa.
There are two buttons at the bottom of the window: “Enable All” and “Disable All.” I would not recommend using these buttons as you may disable some programs that don’t need to be pre-loaded, but you will also most certainly disable programs that absolutely need to pre-load during startup.
Look for the names of some of the programs I’ve already mentioned: QuickTime, Windows Media Player, Real Player, iTunes, and Instant Messenger. You may even see programs that you have installed on your computer at some time like your internet provider’s proprietary program or another internet music program that you may have downloaded at some time.
When you’ve unchecked (or checked) the desired programs, hit the “Okay” button and the window will close. You will need to restart your computer for your changes to take affect, but keep an eye on the speed of your reboot. This will give you a pretty good idea of whether or not your changes had any affect on the startup performance of your machine.
It should help somewhat since you will be freeing up some RAM that would normally be dedicated to pre-loading these seldom used programs. Unfortunately, you may also receive an error message after making changes like this and if that is the case, you may have to go back to the list and figure out which program or programs you unchecked that should be checked.
As I stated before, there are just some programs you can’t avoid at startup and these are vital to the machines operation.
If these changes don’t really seem to affect your computer, you can search around for a free online Windows or pc tutorial that can help you configure your machine to give you the best startup performance.
Unfortunately, you may have outgrown your machine with the applications that you want to perform with your current computer and it may be in your best interest to buy a more advanced machine. But a few minutes taking a look at your computers startup configuration may help save you a few minutes each time it starts up.
Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation, registered in the U.S. and/or other countries.
iTunes and QuickTime are trademarks of Apple Computers, Inc., registered in the U.S. and/or other countries.
RealPlayer is a trademark of RealNetworks, Inc. registered in the U.S. and/or other countries.
About the Author:
Jay Schroyer has worked in the client and customer service end of business for over five years in retail, advertising, and printing. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English writing and communication.
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