So you've run disk defragmenter, deleted programs and run disk cleanup too, yet still you only see a minor improvement in your machine's boot-up time.
As time goes you accumulate updates and install new software. Many of these programs/updates take the liberty to plonk themselves on your list of startup programs, meaning that your PC runs these programs every time you switch it on, whether you use them or not. I found the HTC Sync software for my phone doing this for instance. Even worse was that it never opened up in a window, so I had no idea it was taking up system resources - it was just quietly running in the background after I installed it.
That wasn't the only thing. I found that Adobe Acrobat, CS5 and Google updates (see below) were all running on start up. Unfortunately many programs you install run on startup by default until you deactivate them. Periodically then you need to manually toggle which programs you want to run at startup.
[Disclaimer: Tech buffs or programmers may find this obvious, but this is for the remaining 99.9% of PC users who don't have degrees in computer science.]
Step #1:
Click the
Start button. In the input box where it says
Search programs and files, type in
msconfig.exe
A shortcut for msconfig.exe should appear at the top of the start menu as you type (highlighted in blue). Click this shortcut.
Note: For Windows XP and older simply click Start, then click Run. In the dialog box type in msconfig.exe and click Run.
