One thing that most people can agree upon is that Windows XP and Vista take a while to boot up. And Windows takes a while to boot up for some silly reasons. Just why would I want all of my instant messengers to start with my computer when I don't use them very much?
So I have come up with a couple nice ways to speed up your startup! Remember to make a Restore Point and backup everything you change!My favorite way to make your startup quicker is making prefetch boot only. To do this, download this registry tweak
(if you download the registry tweak, just double click on the prefetch2.reg file and click yes on the import thing) or click start >> run >> regedit (or in Vista start >> Programs >> Accessories >> Run) and hit enter.
Then navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerMemory ManagementPrefetchParameters and double left click on Enable Prefetcher. You will now see a little window with some options and a box for a number (that has 3 in it), change the 3 to 2 and exit Regedit.
Then go to your C:WINDOWSPrefetch folder and copy every thing in there and make a backup somewhere on your computer. After you make the backup delete everything in that folder. After that restart, the first couple startups after that one will take longer than before because Windows essentially must “relearn” everything about what you want to startup (you won't have to specify anything again), but after that your startups will be considerably faster!
Another way to help your startup speed is to run msconfig which is the System Config Utility. Run it via the Run program (Start >> Run >> msconfig - in XP or - Start >> Programs >> Accessories >> Run >> msconfig - in Vista). Then click on the Startup tab, you can uncheck anything you do not want to start up BUT BE CAREFUL do not uncheck anything with Microsoft in its name or file location (like Windows XP/Vista Operating System!!!).
But it would be safe to uncheck something like jusched.exe (the Sun Java Update Scheduler), QTTask.exe (The QuickTime Taskbar Tray Icon, if you uncheck this you can still play .MOV files), ctfmon.exe (The program that supports Speech Recognition and that annoying Language Bar). If you want to see if a file can be unchecked go to exelib.com
and search for the name of the EXE file.
Turning off startup sounds (which I personally find annoying) will speed up your startup by about 1 second, but 1 is better than none. To do this goto Start >> Control Panel >> Sounds and Audio Devices >> Sounds then scroll down to “Start Windows” highlight it, and then in the choice box below select “None”. You could also do this with Windows Log-on and any other one that you see fit.
Another good way to save yourself about 5-7 seconds of your boot time is to change your boot order. It is normally CD Drive 1 > CD Drive 2 (if you have one) > Floppy Drive (if you have one) > USB Drives > Hardrive. Change it so that your Hardrive is first, then everything else (or in any order you want). To do this you must enter your BIOS (normally pressing DEL, F12, F10 or something. Your startup screen will tell you how.) and entering the advanced BIOS or Boot Order settings page.
You can find a good number of more tips Here
