Six Essential Steps to Diagnosing and Curing a Slow Startup

Posted 02/10/2009 at 1:00pm | by Josh Kampschmidt

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So your computer is taking too long to boot, after being bogged down by dozens of startup applications you’ve downloaded over the years. You might want to just format, but that’s the coward’s way out. If you spend a little time tuning up your boot applications you may avoid the time it takes to wipe and restore your system altogether. Don’t give in to clutterware -- follow our guide to the essential methods of troubleshooting your PC’s start up sequence and freeing Windows of unnecessary resource hogs.

Check Startup programs with msconfig

One of the greatest utilities included with all modern versions of Windows is the Microsoft Configuration Editor. To launch the editor, click the Windows Key and R; in the box that pops up, type msconfig.

Click on the Startup tab. You will get a list of all the programs that are starting up when your computer boots.

Look through the list of startup programs. Find any programs that you do not want to start up and uncheck them. Popular culprits include nagging auto-update tools from Microsoft, Adoble, and Apple. System tray utilities, like Nvidia control panel, are also often booted from this list. Narrow this list down until it only includes essential startup programs, like anti-virus software and hardware drivers.

Click on Apply and then click Ok. You will receive a message requesting you to restart, do so now. If your computer boots fast, no further action is required.

Check Startup services with msconfig

Msconfig also does a good job at managing system services at boot up. Most of the services included in the list are Microsoft services that you do not want to disable. Even though this might speed up your computer, it would disable key services that your computer needs to run properly.

Open msconfig again as you did in the previous step and click on the Services tab. You will get a huge list of services. You do not want to disable all of these services. Instead, check the box that says "Hide All Microsoft Services".

You should now have a smaller list of services. Click the Disable All button followed by the Apply button. Then, comb through the list and enable the services that are essential to your boot, such as anti-virus, video and network services. Restart your computer. Come back to this guide after the reboot.

Weed out Culprits with Autoruns

Autoruns is an excellent program that shows exactly what is running on your computer at boot.

You can download Autoruns from the Microsoft TechNet website.

Extract the files to your Desktop. Double-click on the Autoruns application file. Read through the EULA agreement that appears and click Agree.

When the program opens, you will see a window with a bunch of different tabs. This shows everything that is starting at boot on your computer.

Under the Everything tab, which the program should have defaulted to, look through the entire list. You can safely ignore any of the Microsoft services. If you find one that you do not recognize, research the filename or service name.

Uncheck any of the entries that you do not want to start at boot and then close the program. Restart your computer. Come back to this guide if your computer still boots slower than expected.

Next: Cleaning up your Registry and using Event Viewer.

Clean up the Registry

Normally, registry entries do not affect the speed of the startup process. But if your registry isn’t organized to operate efficiently, it can cause slowdowns in your normal PC operation.

We are going to use Comodo Registry Cleaner to fix the registry.

Download the Comodo Registry Cleaner from the following link. Save the file to your Desktop.

Install the Comodo like any other program, and make sure to keep the default settings.

Click the Scan My Registry button and wait for the results. Click the Clean Registry button.

Restart your computer after the scan is completed.

Troubleshoot with Event Viewer

One of the best troubleshooting programs available is Event Viewer. This program keeps track of all errors that occur on your system.

Click the Windows Key and hit the R key. In the Run box, type eventvwr.msc

Expand the Windows Logs section of Event Viewer and click on Application.

This area will show you all the errors that your system has generated. Scroll through the list and look for red X's.
If you want more information on the error, double-click it.

The tricky part is figuring out what causes the error. If the error points to a device driver, one of your devices might be malfunctioning. If it points to a program, one of your programs might be malfunctioning. Research all the errors on Google that have occurred in the past day.

Check your Hardware

If your computer is still not starting up as fast as you would like, there are some possible causes.

• Your computer needs a RAM or processor upgrade. More RAM and a better processor will help Windows boot faster.
• Your computer is infected with malware. See our guide on removing malware.
• One of your hardware devices is failing.

If the third cause seems likely, you might have some hardware that is getting ready to fail. The most likely hardware would be your RAM and hard drive. Both are easy to check.

Download the Ultimate Boot CD. Burn the ISO to a blank, writeable CD using IMGBurn or your favorite burning software.

Restart your computer and boot from the CD you just created. Run Memtest86+. Let it complete a full pass. If any errors are detected, you have RAM problems.

If the RAM comes back clean, run your hard drive manufacturer's diagnostic software on the hard drive. If it comes back with a problem, you have a hard drive problem.

Your computer should now be faster than when you first started. If your computer is not as fast as you would like, it may be time for an upgrade or just may be time for a clean install of Windows. If it has been a few years since your last format and reinstall, then it might be time to start fresh with a clean install of Windows.