Different computers have varied startup time—some boot faster while some are a little bit slower—depending on the operating system, CPU and hardware. But as your computer begins to handle different operations and add more programs, startup time tends to get slower. This article intends to answer the question on how to speed up Windows XP startup, which will also touch other issues affecting your startup.

Change Startup Programs

There are many operations happening to make your computer up and running. Some of these operations have nothing to do with you are have no use to your daily computing, but start automatically when you start your Windows. {What you should do is to eliminate these files. Click Start, choose Run, and type “msconfig”; will appear a new window will pop up which contain check boxes; go to Startup}. {This will give you the list of programs that start automatically when the computer is turned on}. {Uncheck the programs that you wish to disable and click “apply”}. {Restart your computer to complete the process}. {Remember: Do not uncheck programs if you don’t know their function; make sure to uncheck files that you know will have no detrimental effect to your computer operations}.

Remove Unused Programs

When you use your computer for quite some time, there may be several programs that are installed in your computer that you no longer use. These programs are not only consuming disk space, but also CPU, particularly if these programs start automatically upon startup. {What you should do is to remove these programs}. {To do this, go to Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel; click the files you wish to uninstall}. This step will remove unused programs completely from your computer.

Upgrade Your Hardware

Installing additional memory and upgrading to a faster hard drive affect computer speed in startup while computing, and shutdown. Check your motherboard to see what and how much upgrade you can do. Changing to faster hd, say 5400 RPM to 7200 RPM will definitely be a noticeable difference.

Clean and Repair Your Windows Registry

The computer’s Windows registry primarily the reason why computer startup slows down. Your Windows registry holds the bunch of “entries” that are saved over time from different software programs even if these programs have been uninstalled or deleted. {You can clean the registry manually, but it is not suggested especially if you don’t have any idea on what should be deleted—you may even cause irreparable damage in your system}. What you should do is to get a registry cleaner, a software that scans your computer for files or entries that are invalid and empty, then the registry removes or repairs these entries. In general, the registry can significantly speed up Windows XP startup.