Making Windows XP Start 60% Faster
Whenever you start your computer, you are faced with a few moments of thumb
twiddling while Windows XP
boots and prompts you to log on. Although you should expect to wait for a few
moments, sometimes
Windows XP seems to boot rather slowly. In fact, you may notice that over a period
of time the PC that
used to roar to life seems a bit sluggish instead. Fortunately, you can perform
several techniques
that help Windows XP get the bootup speed you want. This chapter explores how to
put these techniques
to work.
Stopping Unneeded Startup Services
Along with the core operating system and programs that Windows XP runs when it
starts, there is also a
host of services involved. Many of these services are necessary for Windows XP to
operate correctly.
However, many of them are for features in Windows XP that you may not use at all.
You can peruse the
services and disable any service that you do not want to run. The fewer services
that run, the more
quickly Windows XP will boot.
Caution:
Exercise caution when stopping services. If you do not know what a service does or
are unsure of the
ramifications of stopping the service, leave it alone. Some services are critical
to Windows XP's
operations, so make sure you understand what the service is before you disable it.
To reduce the number of services that start on bootup, you can access two
different areas of Windows XP.
The first is the System Configuration Utility. The Services tab shows you the
services that start when
the computer boots.
You can stop a service from starting by simply clearing the check box next to the
service and clicking
OK. However, before you do so, there is another way to disable services that you
may prefer because the
interface gives you more information about the service in question.
Open Control Panel/Administrative ToolsServices or else select Start/Run, type
services.msc, and click
OK. Either way, you see the Services console.
I prefer to use the Services console instead of the System Configuration Utility
because it describes
what the service does. Additionally, you can double-click a service and examine
its properties.
Notice the Startup Type column in Figure 4-2. This information lists whether the
service is automatic
or manual. Manual services are only started in Windows XP when you start a process
that requires the
service. Some other process may require the service that has a "dependency"
relationship with it; in
this case, the dependency service will start, as well. Because these services do
not start automatically
when you boot Windows XP, you do not need to do anything with manual services.
However, all services listed as automatic start when Windows XP boots. These are
the services that
increase boot time. As I have mentioned, many of them are necessary and important,
so you should not
stop automatic services from booting unless you are sure of the ramifications. You
can get this
information by looking at the Description column. Here's a quick look at common
services you may want
to live without:
Automatic Updates: This service enables Windows XP to check the Web automatically
for updates. If you
don't want to use Automatic Updates, you can disable the service. You can always
check for updates
manually at the Windows Update Web site.
Computer Browser: If your computer is not on a network, you don't need this
service. If you are on a
network, leave it alone.
DHCP Client: If you are not on a network, you do not need this service. If you are
on a small workgroup,
you can still increase boot time by configuring manual IP addresses (which I
explore later in this
chapter).
DNS Client: If you are not on a network, you do not need this service. If you are,
leave it alone.
Error Reporting and Event Log: You don't have to use these services but they can
be very helpful, so I
would leave them configured as automatic.
Fax: If you don't use your computer for fax services, you can disable this one.
Help and Support: If you never use the Windows XP Help and Support Center (found
on the Start menu), you
can disable this service.
IMAPI CD-Burning COM: This service enables you to burn CDs on your computer. If
you never burn CDs, you
can disable the service.
Indexing Service: Your computer keeps an index of files but if you rarely search
for files, the service
is just a resource hog. You can stop it and turn the service to manual.
Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing: If you do not use these features,
you can disable them.
Infrared Monitor: If you do not use infrared devices, you can disable this
service.
Messenger: This service sends alert messages on a local area network (it is not
the same as Windows
Messenger). If you are not on a network, you can disable this service.
Print Spooler: If you do not do any printing from the computer, you can disable
this service. If you
print, make sure you leave it as automatic.
Remote Registry: This service allows remote users to modify the Registry on your
computer. If you are
not on a network, you can disable this service.
System Restore Service: This service allows you to use System Restore. If you have
turned off System
Restore anyway, you do not need to turn off the service. If you do, you turn off
System Restore.
Themes: If you do not use themes, you can disable this service.
Windows Image Acquisition: If you do not use scanners or digital cameras, you can
disable this service.
Wireless Zero Configuration: If do not use wireless networking devices, you can
disable this service.
You may have a number of other automatic services, depending on software and other
configurations on your
computer. So it's a good idea to look through the services and learn more about
them. If you double-click
a service, a Properties dialog box appears
Notice that on the General tab, you see a Startup Type drop-down menu. If you want
to change an automatic
service to manual, select Manual here and click OK. As a general rule, don't
disable a service unless you
are sure you will never use it. However, manual configuration allows the service
to be started when you
find it necessary, thus speeding up your boot time.
However, before you change a service to manual, look at the Dependencies tab (see
Figure 4-4). This tab
shows you which other services depend upon the service you are considering
changing.
Keep in mind that services are necessary for the vast functionality you get with
Windows XP. Change only
those services that you understand and do not use. How you use your Windows XP
computer should be the
best guide in terms of optional startup services.
Tip:
The Indexing service and the System Restore service take up a lot of disk space
and system resources
across the board. You can live without the Indexing service but I suggest that you
keep using System
Restore. It works great when you are in a bind and this is one case where the loss
of speed may not be
worth the ramifications of not using System Restore.
Speed Tips and Tricks for Windows XP Startup
Aside from startup programs, services, and the Prefetch folder, there are a number
of other startup
procedures and issues you can modify to help Windows XP start faster. The
following sections explore
those tips and tricks.
Manual IP Addressing on Small Office/Home Networks
Windows XP is configured to help you take care of networking. It uses the TCP/IP
protocol for networking
in workgroups, or what you might call small office or home networks that do not
use a dedicated server.
The problem is that automatic IP addressing can be slow. When your computer boots,
it has to query the
network to see what IP addresses are already in use and then assign itself one.
If you want to speed up the boot time a bit, consider manually assigning IP
addresses to all computers on the network. This way, the network computers do not
have to worry about locating an automatic IP address. Because one is manually
configured, the operating system doesn't have to spend time solving this problem.
This isn't a networking book, however, so I won't delve into the implications of
using a manual IP address, but if you are using a computer that functions as a
host computer to the Internet (using Internet Connection Sharing [ICS]), you can
get into connectivity problems if you change the configuration of the IP address.
However, you can still work around this problem by starting with the ICS host
computer.
Select Start/Connect To/Show All Connections. Right-click your network adapter
card and click Properties. On the General tab, select TCP/IP in the list of
services and click the Properties button.
In the TCP/IP properties, you can see if you use an automatic or manual IP
address. In the example in Figure 4-5, I have configured a manual IP address of
90.0.0.1 and a default subnet mask. The other computers on my office network each
use a different IP address in the same class, such as 90.0.0.2, 90.0.0.3,
90.0.0.4, and so on. This way, each computer has a permanent IP address, which
helps increase boot time. Note that if you change the IP addresses of your
computers, they must all use the same subnet mask. A default subject mask of
255.255.255.0 will keep you in good shape.
Make sure you understand the implications of changing IP addresses on your
network. If you have no networking experience at all, you may be wiser to leave
the automatic IP addressing as is and try to gain some speed using the additional
suggestions in this chapter.
Disabling Recent Documents History
Windows XP includes a feature that keeps track of all recent documents you have
opened or used. The idea is that you can select Start/Recent Documents History and
quickly reopen any document you have recently used. I use many documents each day
and never use the feature myself. In my opinion, I can keep up with what I want to
use without Windows XP doing it for me.
The bad thing about Recent Documents History is that Windows XP has to calculate
what should be put there each time you boot Windows, which can slow things down.
So, if you never use the Recent Documents History, it's a good idea to disable it.
Here's how:
1. Open the Registry Editor (select Start/Run, type regedit, and click OK).
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Mcft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
3. Create a NoRecentDocsHistory D_WORD key. Double-click the value to open it once
it is created.
4. Set the Data Value to 1 to enable the restriction.
5. Click OK and close the Registry Editor. You'll need to restart the computer for
the change to take effect.
Disabling the Boot Logo
You can remove the boot logo that appears when you start Windows XP. This little
tweak probably shaves only a few seconds off your boot time but seconds count if
you are serious about trying to get Windows XP up and running as quickly as
possible. The only negative is that if you remove the boot logo, you will also not
see any boot messages, such as check disk. (But if you are not having problems
with your computer, this isn't such a big deal.)
To remove the boot logo, follow these steps:
1. Select Start/Run, type msconfig, and click OK.
2. In the System Configuration Utility, click the BOOT.INI tab.
3. On the BOOT.INI tab, click the NOGUIBOOT check box option. Click OK.
Removing Unwanted Fonts
One trick that increases your boot time a bit is to lose any fonts in the Fonts
folder in Control Panel that you never use. The more fonts you have, the more
processing Windows XP has to do to prep all of those fonts for use. You must be a
bit careful here to not remove fonts that you might want, but there is a good
chance that you can live without many of them. For instance, you may have foreign
language fonts and other symbol fonts (such as Wingdings) that you never use.
To delete unneeded fonts, follow these steps:
1. Open the Fonts folder in Control Panel.
2. Select Edit/Select All and then Edit/Copy.
3. Create a new folder on your desktop, open it, and select Edit/Paste.
4. In this new folder, delete any of the fonts you do not want.
5. Return to the Fonts folder in Control Panel. Right-click the selected fonts and
click Delete.
6. Go back to your new desktop folder and click Edit/Select All.
7. Return to your Fonts folder and click Edit/Paste. You now have only the desired
fonts in the Fonts folder.
Tip:
You can directly delete fonts from the Fonts folder without creating the secondary
folder. However, I recommend the preceding steps to help ensure that you do not
make a mistake in the deletion process.
Stopping Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop Sharing
In Windows XP Professional, you have two remote networking features called Remote
Assistance and Remote Desktop Sharing. These remote networking features are very
helpful in a variety of situations but if you don't use them, it is good idea to
disable them to save boot time. You can always enable them later if you want to
use them.
Note:
If you are interested in using Remote Desktop or Remote Assistance, see my book
Windows XP for Power Users: Power Pack published by John Wiley & Sons.
1. Open the Start menu, right-click My Computer, and choose Properties.
2. Click the Remote Tab.
3. Clear both check boxes to disable Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop.
Speeding Up the Dual-Boot Timeout
If you dual-boot your computer with Windows XP and another operating system, you
see an operating system selection menu on startup. If you typically boot into
Windows XP and not the other operating system, you can speed up the dual-boot
timeout value so that you do not wait so long for the boot process to select your
default operating system and continue with the boot process. The default timeout
value is 30 seconds but you can change this setting to 10. This gives you enough
time to select the alternate operating system if you want but also speeds up the
boot process. You can skip this section if you do not use a dual-boot
configuration.
Follow these steps:
1. Locate the boot.ini file on your computer. It is a hidden file by default; mine
is located in C:\boot.ini.
2. Open the file with Notepad (which is what opens it by default).
3. Change the Timeout value to 10 (see Figure 4-11).
4. Select File/Save and close Notepad.
Speeding Up Your PPPoE Connection
If you use a Point-to-Point Protocol connection over Ethernet (PPPoE), you may
notice a delay in using the PPPoE connection after startup. By default, there is a
120 second delay but you can stop this behavior by manually configuring an IP
address for the network adapter card. If you do not use a PPPoE connection, you
can skip this section.
1. Select Start/Connect to/Show All Connections.
2. Open the TCP/IP properties for your LAN network interface card.
3. Manually set the IP address on the TCP/IP properties to an appropriate IP
address and subnet mask for your network.
Reducing the Wait Time
When you start to shut down Windows XP, it has to quit, or "kill," any live
applications or processes that are currently running. So close all applications
first. However, some applications and processes are always running in the
background. You can reduce the amount of time that Windows XP waits for those
applications and processes to close before Windows XP kills them. Edit three
different Registry settings to change this:
1. Open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. Select
WaitToKillAppTimeout and set the value to 1000.
3. Select the HungAppTimeout value and set it to 1000 as well.
4. Navigate to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop. Set the
WaitToKillAppTimeout and set the value to 1000. Select the HungAppTimeout \newline
value and set it to 1000 as well.
5. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control. Select the
WaitToKillServiceTimeout value and set it to 1000.
6. Close the Registry Editor.
Automatically Killing Tasks on Shutdown
You know the drill. You start to shut down the computer, you wait a few moments,
and then you see a dialog box asking if you want to kill an application or service
that is running. Instead of prompting you, you can make Windows XP take care of
the kill task automatically. Here's how:
1. Open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop.
3. Highlight the value AutoEndTasks and change the value to 1.
4. Close the Registry Editor.
Well thats about it... when you done all the steps you machine most run
faster...without ANY errors!
