Let’s start with the modern adage: time you want to waste is not wasted time at all. But of the 86,400 seconds in a day, how many seconds do we involuntarily waste on waiting for Windows to boot?

Slow booting of Windows is something every one of us has experienced at some point in time. The more programs we install on our computers, the longer it takes for our computers to start. And while each of the installed programs might be of some particular use to us, it isn’t necessary to become slave to slow start-ups.

The best way to speed up boot time is to disable programs that have entered your start-up list. The steps to do it are outlined below:

Time is money, they say, but nobody said that to our personal computers. How do you make Windows start quicker?

Windows XP/Vista/7
• Hover your mouse to the Start button click on it and start typing ‘msconfig’ without the quotes:

• Click on Startup tab and a list of all those programs will be displayed that are enabled to run while booting into Windows:

• Enable/Disable, the programs you want and avoid disabling your Antivirus or firewall isn’t recommended:

• A dialog box will be displayed asking you to restart your computer for the changes made to be effective. Click on restart to reboot immediately, or select the ‘Exit without restart’ option to keep on using your computer:

Windows 8/8.1
• Right click on the taskbar and select Task Manager or using this this CTRL + SHIFT + ESC shortcut on your keyboard click on Startup and then ‘More details’ and then using the disable option:

With the above mentioned instructions, you will be able to experience shorter startup times while booting into Windows.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, March 1st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play