Fast-loading Windows 7 Created 13 years ago2011-03-15 18:02:53 UTC by Captain Terror

I just reinstalled windows on it's own partition, and i'm wondering, short of installing a SSD, what things i can do to make it boot up as fast as possible.

I've obviously severely limited my startup programs, and i even use a startup delayer to space out the startup items i do have, so they're not all trying to load at once.

Looking for any tips you all have for making your Win7 boot up superfast. I'm researching now on the subject too, and i'll post any solutions that seem to work well. (i'm finding the hardest thing about it is weeding through all the bullshit sites to find true info)

Maybe we can make a little contest out of it, to see who has the fastest, non-SSD boot?

Defragment your HDD regularly.
Also, the fastest way to boot windows is in safe mode.

Oh, forgot to mention my current times:

Time-to-password prompt:...........45s
Total-Time-to-desktop loaded:....1'09"s

I mark the end of total-time-to-desktop as the time the little swirly thing on your screen stops turning round and round. =)

My XP boots in 12 seconds. Beat that SSD punk.

Stand by wake up (click to chose user screen) - 3 sec
Stand by enter - 1 sec

my xp requires nearly 10 minutes to load.. and afterwards i have to close processes in order to access anything..

..come to think of it, my server '08 takes about 10 minutes to load as well. :/

Well dudes, disable all un needed stuff. I disabled system restore, lots of services and on start up only selected programs are allowed to load with windows.

I disabled system restore

Awful mistake that cost me the reinstallation of Windows on 31st December.
Of course, I'm not much of a boot-speed enthusiast. As long as my pc runs smoothly afterwards, there's no reason to take unnecessary risks.

The thing is to install a fresh install, get it secured with avast, zone alarm and install all fixes and stuff.

Disable indexing services (for faster search), system restore, shut down not required start up programs and get something like tune up to run every month.

I do this from 2008. Windows runs like a crazy african-american in a space shuttle. Really.

Everything is opening instantly after i click. Opera in less than a sec, games also, its just insanely fast.

Also lower responce time, wait time, etc.

Preliminary results:

-removed unnecessary startup items (obv)
-changed power settngs from balnced to high peformance
-disabled system restore

Time-to-password prompt:...........42s (45s)
Total-Time-to-desktop loaded:......53s (1'09"s)

still to try:
-disable indexing services
-enable quick-boot from bios
-edit boot priority
-more?

Stojke, what is it with you and random racism?

@ Crollo

Where i live, racism is used for every day jokes.

@ Captain T

I dont know how windows 7 works when it comes to tweaking, but i know there are a lot of ways you can configure it.

A quick google search came up with:

http://www.computingunleashed.com/speed-up-windows-7-ultimate-guide-to.html

http://www.winvistaclub.com/t1.html

http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-speed-up-windows-7-boot/

Try em out
Dont forget to read carefully, because when it comes to registry 1 small error can cost you your windows

It's interesting what are you doing here guys, but you know why would it be impractical for me?
Shutting down 'unncecesarry' services could only mean that I'd have to manually do myself something later.
And when you start using more programs, it's really difficult to keep a computer fast. It's about automation vs speed.

Btw, I use iObit SmartDefrag every 2-3 weeks and Advanced System Care(well, not that it is advanced but.. it does the job) once a week.
AlsobAvast, Comodo, Skype, Yahoo, Steam and other few things start with Windows. Excluding them from the startup list is not an option.

And Stojke, how the fuck did you manage 12 seconds on your XP I don't know... You either have an SSD and a very powerful pc, or you use XP for notepad.exe.

[EDIT] Wait, you're not using Sleep(Hibernation), are you?

Nope, no hibernation

I do have a high end PC, but this windows is tweaked to perfection.

On startup i have: Avast, Zone alarm, Tune UP utilities, Unlocker, Hamachi and Magic Disc.

My PC doesnt even have Fast boot enabled. It flies past Post screen in less than a second and goes to booting.

Shutting down unnecessary services is a good thing, because the indexing service is just there so you could have faster file search. From my experience differences in file search speeds are not even noticable.

Also lowering wait times is a good idea too, for instance, windows XP waits 20 seconds for other apps and than procedes to shut down. If you lower that time to like 2 seconds, it will not have to wait for anything and will shut down in a few seconds.

Also i have disabled hibernation cause i dont use it.

--

I wish i had an SSD xD
I have a WD HDD Blue series
I use my PC for games, programs, everything. Its extremely fast (lol bragging).

Or...

Get a RevoDrive;

my Boot; 36s
From Password(after boot); not even 8s to load everything, (I've added photoshop and Autodesks Maya in the startup programs as well)

If i had the money id gladly get a revo drive.

Also turns out Quick boot was on on my machine, disabling it made the boot time 30 seconds (after post screen)

Don't know what the fascination with fast booting is, I turn my computer on, go and get a drink and whatnot, and by the time I'm back, it's ready! Who cares about an extra 5 seconds?

I am able to begin using my computer the way i want to faster than the person with a slower boot.

Packing up my computer today Moving to British Columbia

Watch out not to shake the HDD too much xD

Stojke, what is it with you and random racism?

Space shuttles are generally white. You can't see the black paint very well in outer-space.

(sry, couldn't resist)

You can't see the black paint very well in outer-space.

Does that mean black people are space ninjas?

Is the above interrogation classified as "racist"?

I think if you had left out the word 'ninjas' you would have been alright.

...black people are space?

On the contrary. Black people are dark matter.

Oh I crack myself up.

Must.. resist.. referencing.. Futurama.

Unbreakable: very impressive speed.. i didn't even know those existed, pretty neat! =)

Stojke: i agree, i have no use for hibernation nor system restore.. Are there any serious potential problems that could arise using fastboot as far as you know?

You must secure your system and run regular system maintenance. Also, since you now do not have system restore points, you can not restore data if something corrupts it, so you must be careful with registry editing and installing stuff.

You should also download Tune UP utilities and scan your windows, it will fix all known errors in it. And dont forget to defrag your system every month or so.