How to Speed Up Windows Vista Boot Time

In this article, I suggest three methods to speed up Window boot time: Change System BIOS, Change Windows Settings and Change Hardware.

Change System BIOS

Some simple changes to the system BIOS will help speed boot time in Windows Vista.
The BIOS is a set of instructions and commands built into the motherboard that allows the computer to know what type of hardware is connected and how to communicate.
With that hardware. Please follow the directions below and make some simple changes to speed up boot process.

1) Start with the computer completely off, not in sleep or hibernation mode. Then turn the computer on.
2) Enter the system BIOS screen by the manufacturers suggestion. Depending on the computer, this may involve pressing the DEL key, pressing F1, Pressing F10, holding down CTRL-ALT-S, or a variety of other keystrokes to get to the BIOS screen.
3) Once in the BIOS setup, look for a BOOT menu and select it, and Enter.
4) In most modern BIOS screens, you’ll find an option for Quick Boot. Enable this to skip memory tests and other minor Power On Self Tests (POST).
5) Find an option for Boot Device Priority next, and change the first boot device to be the hard drive. Changing this option will speed up the boot process, but it will also not allow the computer to boot from a floppy disk or CD-ROM. If booting from anything other than the hard drive is important to you, please skip this step. If later on, you need to boot from a CD-ROM, simply re-enter the BIOS setup and make the CD-ROM the first boot device.
6) Choose the option to Exit and Save Changes and the computer will reboot.

There are other options in the BIOS to speed up boot time such as choosing the exact settings for your hard drive, and disabling AUTO DETECT of hard drives and other media.

Change Windows Settings

We will use a handy tool called the System Configuration Utility to accomplish most of Windows settings changes. Follow the steps below.

Startup Tab Changes1) Click on Start, Run and type MSCONFIG and press Enter2) Click on the STARTUP tab in the System Configuration Utility to view all the items that begin on Startup. An example is shown below.

Each item on the Startup tab loads immediately after Windows starts. If there are lots of items here, this will slow down the boot time for Windows considerably. You can examine each of these startup items and uncheck any that are not necessary.

When you are done modifying the checkmarks to the Startup tab, click OK and you’ll be asked to reboot the system.

Windows Services ChangesOnce the computer is rebooted, click on Start, Run and type MSCONFIG and press Enter again. This will reopen the System Configuration Utility. Click on the Services tab, then click on the option at the bottom called “Hide All Microsoft Services” to see what unnecessary Windows services are running that can be removed. Use Google to search for information on unfamiliar services.

Change Hardware

Adding more Memory (RAM)Other than upgrading the motherboard and CPU, you can increase the amount of RAM in your computer.

Replacing your Hard Drive with a Faster RPM DriveIf you have a slower hard drive such as a 5400 RPM or slower, you may want to consider upgrading to a faster 7200 RPM hard drive.Changing to Static IP1) Click on Start, Run2) Type NCPA.CPL and press Enter to open the Network Connection Control Panel3)  Right-click on the Local Area Connection and choose Properties4)  Click on Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties5) Fill in your static IP, subnet, default gateway, and DNS server information and click OK.If you aren’t sure of your IP ranges on your router, consult your router manual or a friend. Again, this is an optional item and does not necessarily need to be accomplished.