How to make your computer start up and log in faster

After repairing computers for years I've found that everyone has the same problem slowing down their computer. That's why I'm writing this article. These are some extremely simple steps you can take to significantly improve your startup and log in time in Windows. I believe these steps work for Windows 98-Vista but I'm not 100% sure.

Things You'll Need

• Your computer
• an internet connection (somewhat optional)

Instructions

1. Start up your computer and log in with the account that you usually use. Then go to start and click on Run. Type msconfig in the box and press ok. This will open the System Configuration Utility. It controls how your system starts up and what happens at login time. 99% of computers I've seen have had unnecessary programs and services starting up that don't need to be running until you actually intend to use them. Luckily they're easy to disable.

2. 

   Don't touch anything on the first 4 tabs, especially the General tab. They contain extremely sensitive and important settings. I'll start with the services tab because it's next in order though I should mention that you'll get the least improvement from removing items in this section.
   First and foremost, check the "Hide All Microsoft Services" checkbox at the bottom. There are almost no Microsoft services that should be disabled.
   Take a look at the attached screenshot for this step. You'll see that there is a service name and a Manufacturer name listed for every entry. Most of the time the manufacturer is blank unfortunately. When you uncheck an entry, it disables the service and prevents it from starting the next time you restart your computer. The less that starts up, the faster it goes.
   Do note that if you disable certain services, it may stop the associated software from being able to start up at all. So be careful and only disable things that you recognize and are sure you don't use.
   In the attached example, I left Adobe Version Cue CS3 checked because it is used in Adobe products I use all the time. All my antivirus processes from Avast Antivirus need to be left running. Anything related to McAfee, Norton, Trend Micro, or any other antivirus or firewall software needs to be left running. I'm not sure exactly what FLEXNet Licensing is but I remember that I need it running. I really don't need the Google Updater service running because I like my current version of the Google toolbar and will probably find out from other sources if they release an update for it. The next 2 need to be left alone. You can see that InCD is a service for Nero. It allows you to burn files instantly to a CD as if it were a hard drive. I don't use that feature ever so I disabled both services related to it. And I don't own an iPod so I don't need Apple's stupid iPod service running.
   So go through your list and only uncheck things that you are 100% sure you don't need. If you don't know what something is, type the service name into a search engine and you'll almost definitely find what the service does. If you're still unsure, leave it enabled.

3. 

   Now that we've tackled services, we can move on to programs. There's really no big difference between a service and a program other than the fact that services are meant to run invisibly in the background. Click on the Startup tab to view a list of programs that run when you log in.
   See the attached screenshot for this step to see an example of a startup list. It has a name for the program, a command which is almost always the path to the program it launches, and a location where the startup command exists.
   Like with services, if you don't know what a program is you can search for it on the internet to learn more about it. Or you can look at the path for some clues. For example, the first entry "qttask" isn't very descriptive. But you see it launches from the QuickTime folder so it's related to Quicktime software. This particular entry is completely unnecessary. You only need Quicktime running when you want to play a Quicktime video. Unfortunately if you uncheck it, the next time you open Quicktime, it will put that entry back and enable it.
   The next entry has a very cryptic name but a google search reveals that nvmctray.dll is related to my Nvidia Graphics card. I do use the features it provides so I left it enabled.
   You'll notice that some entries are blank. The majority of blank entries are either glitches, viruses, or blank entried left behind my software that was uninstalled a long time ago. Either way, all blank entries should be unchecked.
   Ntune is a program that keeps my graphics card running the best so I left that checked. QuickTV receives signals from a remote control for my TV Tuner card so I need that to run for the remote to work.
   ICQLite is an instant messaging program and doesn't need to be running at startup. The same goes for any entries related to AIM, YIM, Live Messenger, or pretty much any other IM program. Why waste 20 extra seconds while logging in to launch a messenger program when you could just open it whenever you actually want to chat?
   So go through the list and disable all programs that you don't want to immediately be running as soon as you log in.

4. Now click ok and you'll get a notification that you should restart your computer. So click the restart button and the next time your computer restarts and logs in, it should be significantly faster if you disabled several resource intensive services and programs.

Tips & Warnings

• Certain programs may keep re-adding their entries to the startup list. If this is the case, you may be able to find an option within the program itself for "start this program when windows starts." Uncheck it to stop it from auto-starting permanently.

• Do not disable any entries if you're not completely sure what they are