Similarly, many processes also run during the system boot. Moreover, other factors also come into the equation for the booting speeds of computers. If you are tired of waiting for your computer to boot up, you can make it quicker by making some adjustments to the software and its hardware. Below we have listed several things you can do to reduce the PC startup time significantly.
Speed Up Windows Startup Time
Enable Fast Startup
Fast Startup is a Windows feature that controls the behavior of shutdown and startup processes. Fast Startup enables Windows to reload necessary components of the operating system while keeping others in the memory resulting in faster boot times.
Speed Up Windows Startup Time Enable Fast Startup Disable Apps from Auto Startup Install Windows Updates After Active Hours Use OneDrive Files On-Demand Disable Search Indexing of Selective Directories Set Fastboot to Minimal from UEFI Settings Remove Hard Drives from Boot List Mark Partitions as Inactive Upgrade to SSD Computer Boot Still Slow Scan for Malware Update/Reinstall Drivers Repair Windows System Files Closing Thoughts
Fast Startup is enabled by default on Windows computers as long as it supports hibernation. In case you have turned it off, you can enable it using the following steps and speed up your boot time.
Disable Apps from Auto Startup
Some applications are programmed to run automatically as soon as you sign in to your account, consuming more system resources and slowing down the computer. Some of these apps might even be bloatware. You can disable the applications from automatically starting up that you do not use or do not need right away and improve boot speed. Here’s how: The apps that are disabled will now no longer run automatically, resulting in lesser processing and improved boot speed. However, you can still run them manually when required.
Install Windows Updates After Active Hours
The Windows operating system is designed to automatically register the time when you are using your computer. It then uses this information to try and install Windows updates in the background when you are not using the computer. This saves you from network and computer lag since the update installation can cause significant resource utilization. If you find that your computer’s boot time is delayed because it was finalizing a Windows update, and you see the screen saying “Getting Windows ready,” then you can adjust your active hours manually to install Windows updates when it is idle. Note: The updates are only installed outside of active hours when it is idle. This means that it needs to be powered on and have an active internet connection after the active hours. Here are the steps to adjusting your active hours manually:
Use OneDrive Files On-Demand
OneDrive is now integrated into Windows 11 and Windows 10, which is why the local OneDrive folder is not in continuous synchronization with the cloud, causing resource utilization and delayed startup times.
In Windows 11: Settings app » Windows update » Advanced options » Active hours In Windows 10: Settings app » Update & Security » Change active hours
You can change this syncing pattern and only sync the files as you need them through the “File on-demand” feature of OneDrive. This will allow you to use OneDrive with bare-minimum resource consumption. Although the feature is enabled by default, in case you have disabled it, here are the steps to enable it: Another way to adjust OneDrive settings to increase boot speed is to disable synchronization entirely. However, that negates the whole purpose of OneDrive, which is why we do not suggest it.
Disable Search Indexing of Selective Directories
In Windows, indexing is the process of storing file data, such as its content, metadata, dates associated, etc., so that the operating system can perform a “lookup” when the user performs a search. Indexing is running on your computer all the time and consumes significant system resources. We do not recommend that you stop indexing, since you will no longer be able to search for items/apps. However, you can remove certain directories from being indexed so the process doesn’t take that long and finishes its job quickly. You can use the given steps below to remove certain locations and directories from being indexed. This can include locations that you do not usually search for. These steps will reduce the indexing footprint, consuming fewer system resources, which in turn will increase the boot time.
Set Fastboot to Minimal from UEFI Settings
If your PC has UEFI, then it will most likely have the “Fastboot” feature. Fastboot allows you to speed up your system’s boot time by nearly 5 seconds by skipping over the splash screen at the start of the system boot. By default, Fastboot is configured to “Thorough,” which results in complete hardware and configuration initialization during the boot. However, setting it to “Minimal” will skip over the initialization part during the boot. Here is how you can set Fastboot to minimal and significantly increase the boot time: You will now notice how quickly the Windows boots up.
Remove Hard Drives from Boot List
This method is for people with more than one hard drive/SSD on their computers. If you have 2 or more hard drives connected to your PC, internally or externally, then it is likely that the non-OS hard drive is also a part of the boot list. A boot list contains the possible sources from where an operating system can be fetched and booted. Since the other hard drive(s) are also a part of the boot list, they will be automatically searched for possible operating systems, which of course, will take time and add to the overall boot delay. Thus, you must remove the non-OS hard drive(s) from the boot list to improve the boot speed. Here is how it can be done: Not all computers have the option to exclude boot devices from the list. If you cannot find an option to do so, then alternatively, you can move the non-OS hard drive(s) toward the end of the boot list so that the system finds an OS to boot from before scanning them.
Mark Partitions as Inactive
If you have multiple partitions/volumes on your computer (which normally everyone does), you must mark the non-OS partitions as inactive. If they are set to active, then the system will search them for possible operating systems to boot from during the boot process, resulting in a delayed boot time. We suggest that you mark the other nonOS volumes as “inactive” using these steps:
Upgrade to SSD
Solid State Drives (SSDs) are much faster than conventional hard drives. If you have a regular hard drive installed on your PC, it is time to upgrade to an SSD. This upgrade will cost you, but make a significant improvement on not only the boot time but the overall speed of your computer. Note: If the option is not available, it means that it is already set as inactive. To learn about how the SSD is different from a hard drive, refer to this detailed post. Check whether you currently have SSD or HDD installed. Applying all of these tweaks and upgrades will ensure that your PC now boots up faster. However, if you are still experiencing laggy and slow bootup, it can be because of different reasons.
Computer Boot Still Slow
if you find that even after performing all of the above solutions the boot time has seen no significant improvements, then it can be because of one of the following reasons:
Malware is affecting your system’s performanceCorrupted/Outdated system driversCorrupted system files
If these are the cases, here are the solutions to mitigate the issues.
Scan for Malware
It may be possible that a potential virus is affecting your system’s boot process. Therefore, it is recommended that you perform a deep system scan and get rid of any trojan horses or malware. Here is a list of the top antivirus software to use to perform the scan. In case you are proceeding to purchase antivirus software, here are the 17 aspects you should always consider. You can also use the built-in Windows Defender in Windows to scan your computer for malware. If you want to, open the Windows Security page in the Settings app, and then click Virus & Threat Protection. Next, click the Quick Scan button to perform a scan. Alternatively, you can also click Scan options below it to select a deep scan of your OS.
Update/Reinstall Drivers
Corrupted or outdated computer drivers can also cause a slow system boot. We suggest that you update your system drivers either automatically or manually. If an update isn’t available, then we suggest that you reinstall it.
Repair Windows System Files
In case any system files are corrupted on your computer, they can affect your PC’s performance, including the bootup time. If you find that your boot time is still slow, you can run the System File Checker (SFC) scan to attempt and repair any broken/corrupted files.
Closing Thoughts
Apart from the solutions discussed above, some other factors also affect how your system performs. For example, your computer might take long to boot if it hasn’t been shut down or rebooted in ages. Moreover, if the operating system volume is full up to its neck, then it will definitely impact your PC’s performance. That said, we suggest that you restart your computer from time to time for maintenance purposes and that you take good care of it, both in terms of hardware (so it doesn’t overheat) and in terms of software (not poking around the critical system files).
