Let’s be honest, waiting for Windows to boot up is painful. We’ve all been there, sitting at the login screen with nothing to watch but a cursor blinking back at us. If you’re sick of watching your computer sit idle while it loads programs and updates before finally letting you in, know that you can make your Windows PC boot faster!
In this blog post, we will talk about 8 ways to make Windows boot faster so that next time you hit that power button on your keyboard or laptop, it will feel like seconds before you’re looking at the desktop wallpaper. This is a guide for those who want to increase their efficiency and decrease their frustration with slow boot times!
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Turn on Fast Startup
Windows 11 comes with an in-built feature that quickly reboots your system upon shutdown. The Fast Startup feature is not new in Windows 11. The feature was first introduced in Windows 10. However, it does not work after a restart.
To turn on Fast Startup on Windows 11, follow these steps:
- On the Windows 11 search bar, type Control Panel and click on its icon to launch.
- Click on System and Security.
- On the next window, under Power Options, click on Change what the power buttons do.
- Next, click on the Change settings that are currently unavailable. You will be able to do that only if you are logged in with an Administrator account.
- Under Shutdown settings, check the Turn on fast startup (recommended) option to enable it.
- Click Save changes button.
Check for useless programs that startup with Windows
One of the main reasons Windows boot times are slow is because there are a lot of programs that startup with it automatically. You can check which programs are starting up with Windows by going to the Task Manager.
- Right-click on the Start button and select Task Manager.
- Switch to the Startup tab. You’ll see a list of all the programs running on your computer.
- If there’s a program you don’t need or use or whose Startup Impact is high, select it and click on Disable.
- This will prevent that program from loading when you start up your computer, which will make Windows boot faster.
Disable unnecessary Services in Windows
There are also some services in Windows that you may not need or use. To disable them, follow these steps:
- Go to the Control Panel and select System and Security.
- Next, click on Windows Tools at the bottom.
- On the next window, click on the Services option.
- Here, you’ll see a list of all the services in Windows.
- If there’s a service, you don’t need or use, right-click on it and select Stop.
Defragment your hard drive (only HDDs)
Another reason your computer may be slow to boot is that your hard drive is fragmented. When files are saved and deleted from your hard drive, they can become scattered around the disk instead of being stored in one neat location. This makes it take longer for your computer to find the files it needs to load and start up Windows.
- To defragment your hard drive, go to the Control Panel and select System and Security.
- Click on Windows Tools and select Defragment and Optimize Drives.
- Choose the drive you want to defrag and click on Optimize.
- Defragmenting your hard drive will make it faster to find the files it needs, which will make Windows boot faster.
Remove unnecessary programs from the startup folder
In addition to the programs that start up automatically with Windows, there are also programs that startup when you log in to your computer. These programs are stored in the startup folder, which is located at C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.
If there’s a program you don’t need or use, delete it from the startup folder. This will prevent that program from starting up when you log in to your computer, which will also make Windows boot faster.
PS: To reach the AppData folder you need to enable View Hidden Items.
Use a Startup Manager
There are also programs that can help you manage the programs that startup with Windows. These programs are called startup managers. One of the most popular startup managers is CCleaner, which is available for free download. When you start up your computer, CCleaner will show you a list of all the programs that are starting up with Windows. You can then disable the programs you don’t need or want to start up with Windows.
Use a Faster Boot Disc
If all else fails, you can try using a faster boot disc to start up your computer. This is a disk that contains a version of Linux or Windows that starts up faster than the regular version of Windows. There are several different types of boot discs available, so you can choose the one that is best for you.
Use SSD Drives
Finally, another way to make your computer boot faster is to use Solid State Drives (SSDs). These are much faster than traditional hard drives because they store information on memory chips instead of spinning disks. This makes them boot up your computer much faster. You can also install just Windows and heavy applications on an SSD drive if you don’t want to spend much.
Bottom Line
Windows has come a long way in terms of booting up quickly. However, If you’re still struggling with slow performance, applying these 8 methods might make windows boot faster. There are some pretty cool options for improving the speed of your machine and it’s worth giving them all a try!
Peter is an Electrical Engineer whose primary interest is tinkering with his computer. He is passionate about Windows 10 Platform and enjoys writing tips and tutorials about it.
