Tips/Tricks/Reccommendations to Decrease Start-up Time?

C

cpu1

New Member
Hi everyone. I'm looking to learn all the things I can do to decrease the time from when I push the power button to when I can actually use my computer.

How I measure this is the time from when I push the power button to when the desktop shows up and when FireFox opens (I have to click the icon.) Right now, I'm at avg. 55 sec. for desktop to show-up and another 35 sec. after that for FF to launch. This is a total of avg 90 sec. from power button push to internet connectivity.

I've read where folks can get launches in half this time. I'd love to be able to do this, but any significant improvement is welcome. I know my time is not THAT BAD, but it's kind of become a challenge to see how fast I can get it.

So far, I've downloaded and ran CCleaner several times and Defragmentation with the Windows utility and then 2 more times with Defraggler (I heard it works better than the stock program in Windows). The results have made the overall window-opening, etc, faster, but not the start-up :confused:.

What else do you recommend? Feel free to post your own speed, preferably measured the same way I measure mine (to keep things in the same perspective).

I'm running Windows Vista, 32-bit, 360GB harddrive, 3GB ram, 2Ghz processor.

I also have a BootSkin, which is a picture that displays in place of the windows loading bar, and an animated 3D desktop background.

Sorry for the long-winded post and thanks for your help with my goal. :D
 
Just so we know what processes are running at bootup do this.

Download the HijackThis installer from here.
Run the installer and choose Install, indicating that you accept the licence agreement. The installer will place a shortcut on your desktop and launch HijackThis.

Click Do a system scan and save a logfile

Most of what HijackThis lists will be harmless or even essential, don't fix anything yet.

Post the logfile that HijackThis produces.
 
being a laptop, you probably have a 5.400 RPM hard drive. that will limit your startup time bigtime. You can increase your boot cores to help if you have a multicore processor. to do this go to your start menu, click on the search at the bottom, type in msconfig and hit enter. when the box comes up, click on the boot tab, then on the advanced box. there will be a drop down box that says boot cores. select the max # that you have.
theres more here (http://www.computerforum.com/188636-how-speed-up-windows.html)
 
One way to shorten boot time (as well as general overall performance) would be to switch your HDD to an SSD.
 
Here is the log file:

################
Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.4
Scan saved at 9:52:01 AM, on 4/28/2011
Platform: Windows Vista SP2 (WinNT 6.00.1906)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v9.00 (9.00.8112.16421)
Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:
C:\Windows\system32\Dwm.exe
C:\Windows\Explorer.EXE
C:\Windows\system32\taskeng.exe
C:\Program Files\Synaptics\SynTP\SynTPEnh.exe
C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Quick Launch Buttons\QLBCTRL.exe
C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Wireless Assistant\HPWAMain.exe
C:\Windows\System32\hkcmd.exe
C:\Windows\System32\igfxpers.exe
C:\Windows\system32\igfxsrvc.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe
C:\Program Files\HP\HP Software Update\hpwuschd2.exe
C:\Windows\ehome\ehtray.exe
C:\Windows\ehome\ehmsas.exe
C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP wireless Assistant\WiFiMsg.EXE
C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\Shared\HpqToaster.exe
C:\Program Files\Synaptics\SynTP\SynTPHelper.exe
C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HiJackThis\HiJackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://ie.redirect.hp.com/svs/rdr?TYPE=3&tp=iehome&locale=en_us&c=91&bd=Pavilion&pf=cnnb
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://ie.redirect.hp.com/svs/rdr?TYPE=3&tp=iehome&locale=en_us&c=91&bd=Pavilion&pf=cnnb
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://ie.redirect.hp.com/svs/rdr?TYPE=3&tp=iehome&locale=en_us&c=91&bd=Pavilion&pf=cnnb
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
O1 - Hosts: ::1 localhost
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHelperStub - {18DF081C-E8AD-4283-A596-FA578C2EBDC3} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll
O2 - BHO: IEVkbdBHO - {59273AB4-E7D3-40F9-A1A8-6FA9CCA1862C} - C:\Program Files\Kaspersky Lab\Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010\ievkbd.dll
O2 - BHO: Easy Photo Print - {9421DD08-935F-4701-A9CA-22DF90AC4EA6} - C:\Program Files\Epson Software\Easy Photo Print\EPTBL.dll
O2 - BHO: SkypeIEPluginBHO - {AE805869-2E5C-4ED4-8F7B-F1F7851A4497} - C:\Program Files\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\skypeieplugin.dll
O2 - BHO: Microsoft Live Search Toolbar Helper - {d2ce3e00-f94a-4740-988e-03dc2f38c34f} - c:\Program Files\MSN\Toolbar\3.0.0541.0\msneshellx.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: link filter bho - {E33CF602-D945-461A-83F0-819F76A199F8} - C:\Program Files\Kaspersky Lab\Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010\klwtbbho.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Microsoft Live Search Toolbar - {1E61ED7C-7CB8-49d6-B9E9-AB4C880C8414} - c:\Program Files\MSN\Toolbar\3.0.0541.0\msneshellx.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Easy Photo Print - {9421DD08-935F-4701-A9CA-22DF90AC4EA6} - C:\Program Files\Epson Software\Easy Photo Print\EPTBL.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SynTPEnh] C:\Program Files\Synaptics\SynTP\SynTPEnh.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [QlbCtrl.exe] C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Quick Launch Buttons\QlbCtrl.exe /Start
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [hpWirelessAssistant] C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Wireless Assistant\HPWAMain.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVP] "C:\Program Files\Kaspersky Lab\Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010\avp.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe Reader Speed Launcher] "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe ARM] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARM.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [IgfxTray] C:\Windows\system32\igfxtray.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HotKeysCmds] C:\Windows\system32\hkcmd.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Persistence] C:\Windows\system32\igfxpers.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HP Software Update] C:\Program Files\Hp\HP Software Update\HPWuSchd2.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ehTray.exe] C:\Windows\ehome\ehTray.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [EPSON NX410 Series] C:\Windows\system32\spool\DRIVERS\W32X86\3\E_FATIFCA.EXE /FU "C:\Windows\TEMP\E_S8707.tmp" /EF "HKCU"
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Google Update] "C:\Users\joe\AppData\Local\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe" /c
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [WindowsWelcomeCenter] rundll32.exe oobefldr.dll,ShowWelcomeCenter (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\Office12\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: Send to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\Office12\ONBttnIE.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: S&end to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\Office12\ONBttnIE.dll
O9 - Extra button: &Virtual keyboard - {4248FE82-7FCB-46AC-B270-339F08212110} - C:\Program Files\Kaspersky Lab\Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010\klwtbbho.dll
O9 - Extra button: Skype Plug-In - {898EA8C8-E7FF-479B-8935-AEC46303B9E5} - C:\Program Files\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\skypeieplugin.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Skype Plug-In - {898EA8C8-E7FF-479B-8935-AEC46303B9E5} - C:\Program Files\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\skypeieplugin.dll
O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\Office12\REFIEBAR.DLL
O9 - Extra button: URLs c&heck - {CCF151D8-D089-449F-A5A4-D9909053F20F} - C:\Program Files\Kaspersky Lab\Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010\klwtbbho.dll
O11 - Options group: [ACCELERATED_GRAPHICS] Accelerated graphics
O16 - DPF: {E2883E8F-472F-4FB0-9522-AC9BF37916A7} - http://platformdl.adobe.com/NOS/getPlusPlus/1.6/gp.cab
O18 - Protocol: skype-ie-addon-data - {91774881-D725-4E58-B298-07617B9B86A8} - C:\Program Files\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\skypeieplugin.dll
O18 - Protocol: skype4com - {FFC8B962-9B40-4DFF-9458-1830C7DD7F5D} - C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\Skype\SKYPE4~1.DLL
O20 - AppInit_DLLs: C:\PROGRA~1\KASPER~1\KASPER~1\mzvkbd3.dll
O22 - SharedTaskScheduler: Component Categories cache daemon - {8C7461EF-2B13-11d2-BE35-3078302C2030} - C:\Windows\system32\browseui.dll
O22 - SharedTaskScheduler: Windows DreamScene - {E31004D1-A431-41B8-826F-E902F9D95C81} - C:\Windows\System32\DreamScene.dll
O22 - SharedTaskScheduler: Deskscapes - {EC654325-1273-C2A9-2B7C-45D29BCE68FB} - C:\Program Files\Stardock\Object Desktop\DeskScapes\deskscapes.dll
O22 - SharedTaskScheduler: Stardock Vista ControlPanel Extension - {EC654325-1273-C2A9-2B7C-45D29BCE68FD} - C:\Program Files\Stardock\Object Desktop\DeskScapes\DesktopControlPanel.dll
O22 - SharedTaskScheduler: StardockDreamController - {EC654325-1273-C2A9-2B7C-45D29BCE68FF} - C:\Program Files\Stardock\Object Desktop\DeskScapes\DreamControl.dll
O23 - Service: Apple Mobile Device - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\bin\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
O23 - Service: Kaspersky Anti-Virus (AVP) - Kaspersky Lab - C:\Program Files\Kaspersky Lab\Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010\avp.exe
O23 - Service: Bonjour Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe
O23 - Service: Com4QLBEx - Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. - C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Quick Launch Buttons\Com4QLBEx.exe
O23 - Service: EPSON V5 Service4(01) (EPSON_EB_RPCV4_01) - SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION - C:\ProgramData\EPSON\EPW!3 SSRP\E_S40ST7.EXE
O23 - Service: EPSON V3 Service4(01) (EPSON_PM_RPCV4_01) - SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION - C:\ProgramData\EPSON\EPW!3 SSRP\E_S40RP7.EXE
O23 - Service: GameConsoleService - WildTangent, Inc. - C:\Program Files\HP Games\My HP Game Console\GameConsoleService.exe
O23 - Service: HP Health Check Service - Hewlett-Packard - c:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Health Check\hphc_service.exe
O23 - Service: hpqwmiex - Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. - C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\Shared\hpqwmiex.exe
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\1050\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: iPod Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: LightScribeService Direct Disc Labeling Service (LightScribeService) - Hewlett-Packard Company - C:\Program Files\Common Files\LightScribe\LSSrvc.exe
O23 - Service: Recovery Service for Windows - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\SMINST\BLService.exe
O23 - Service: Cyberlink RichVideo Service(CRVS) (RichVideo) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\CyberLink\Shared files\RichVideo.exe
O23 - Service: XAudioService - Conexant Systems, Inc. - C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\xaudio.exe

--
End of file - 9051 bytes
##############


Wolfeking: How do I know what RPM my harddrive is? Also, my computer has an Intel Pentium Dual-Core processor. Will I still be able to do the boot core option you suggest with this?

Thanks for your help everyone!
 
A really good starting point would be to ditch the Vista and get Windows 7 64 bit, then many slow starts will be history.:)
 
is your 2GHz processor single core or dual core or quad core? also yes the HD will slow down the boot time signifacintly. i also got SSD and have to wait like 15 sec at max compare to my sisters min or two min boot up time.

also what programs you are being turned on at start up is really limiting as you are not using most of them and you don't need others. (example you do need virus scan software but don't need power dvd's color improvement as you might not be using it to watch dvd all the time at start up) those programs depends on you i would suggest getting good advice on it before changing them though.
 
I'm running a Pentium Dual-core processor. Also, I'm not sure if unnecessary programs are really the culprit.

Take a look at this: http://img836.imageshack.us/i/bootysis.jpg/

This is what soluto found and it shows that the majority of the start-up time is taken up by the antivirus and Windows programs that it seems to consider necessary.

What do you think?

Also, the 2 min time posted by the software is not copletley realistic. Like I said in my opening post, the real-life time is about 1.4 min.
 
cabinfever1977 said:
use a stock boot screen and ditch the animated wallpaper
Click to expand...


Actually, I did try both, but I didn't notice much of a difference. About 5 sec or so.

So far, I've selected the system to use both cores on boot up and load the harddrive first.

My time from power button push to desktop is about 50 sec. from there, it's about 30 sec more for firefox to load. However, I just disabled automatic update-checking for FF, Addons, and Seach Engines within FF and it seems to start faster now. Haven't timed it yet.

I'm beginning to wonder, is this about the best I can get with a 2+ year old system and no ssd?

Thanks for all of your help and suggestions everyone.
 
Rerun hijackthis and place checks next to these entries.

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe Reader Speed Launcher] "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\Reader_sl.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe ARM] "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARM.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HP Software Update] C:\Program Files\Hp\HP Software Update\HPWuSchd2.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Google Update] "C:\Users\joe\AppData\Local\Google\Update\GoogleUp date.exe" /c

Then click on fix checked.

Vista can get pretty slow after a while. If this machine is 2 years old and hasn't had a fresh install of windows done since then its time. You may also want to think about upgrading to windows 7.
 
I'm running a 5400 RPM harddrive and so far I've set it to load the harddrive first on start-up, boot with 2 cores (my max), defragged my boot files, and removed all of the start-up items shown by soluto to be unnecessary (wall, almost all of them).

My time from when I push the power button to when my desktop APPEARS is avg 53 sec.


I'm going to run the HijackThis again with the recommended checks and see how it goes.

Thanks for the advice all.:)
 
Any special desktop picture or animated desktop will cause it load slower as well. Is this a custom built pc or is it store bought?
 
I tweaked it a few more times. I set the "time to display list of operating systems" to 5 sec. (not sure if this means anything since I'm not running dual operating sytems) and then I set it to boot using "max memory" under the boot tab in MSconfig and I set the "Timeout" to 5 sec. Also, I got rid of the HijackThis entries indicated.

I'm up to my best time so far : 50 sec from power button push for desktop to appear and about another 15 to 20 sec. for Firefox to launch. If I remove the bootskin, this brings desktop time to 47 and FF launch to under a minuet all together.

I'm running a store-bought set-up. No hardware is custom and my laptop is 2 years old. How do you think I'm doing so far?

Thanks for all of help everyone!
 
I think thats about as fast as you will get with a laptop and hard disk drive. My Vista setup is 35 seconds to desktop and 8 sec to get chrome up. So you've got about the same performance with your specs compared.
 
wolfeking said:
I think thats about as fast as you will get with a laptop and hard disk drive. My Vista setup is 35 seconds to desktop and 8 sec to get chrome up. So you've got about the same performance with your specs compared.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback. I'm glad to hear that some of the tweaks I did have worked.

OK, more questions:D. I just tried a program called Autoruns, but I'm kind of confused by it.

There are a dozen tabs, but I'm not sure if everything under the "EVERYTHING" tab is really affecting my start-up. When I look At my "LOGON" tab, it more accurately resembles what my startup msconfig looks like.

Here are some of the things listed in the "everything tab." Note that there is A LOT more than this.

autorun1.jpg


autorun2.jpg

autorun3.jpg



Here is what the logon tab shows:

logonly.jpg


For my purposes, should I only be concerned with the logon tab?

Thanks for the help.
 
yes, for your purposes, you will need to focus on the logon tab. Of what I can read there, all of them are necessary, but someone else can double check that.
 
Thanks for letting me know. I'm probably going to just uninstall autoruns since it seems like it's a little too advanced for me.

I downloaded Revo uninstaller and when I click on the "autorun manager", it shows the same programs the are shown in the "log on" tab of the Autoruns program. So this backs up what you're saying.

Thanks for the advice.
 
I think I've done all I can to speed up my boot-time, which stands at about 52 sec., apart from investing in an SSD. Thanks a lot for all of your help everyone!
 
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