When you first buy a computer and go through the initial set-up, when you restart the computer, it will boot up faster than you imagine. Over time, depending on the applications you install and other factors, that boot time will begin to get longer and longer. For some users, it becomes too slow, and there are a few steps anyone can take to speed up their boot time.

The first thing you can check is to see how many programs are booting up on their own at start up. There are two ways to do this. You can see what programs are in the Startup menu, delete them and make sure the Preferences settings in each program keeps them from booting up. This will cut down on the time it takes for Windows to boot, and it is the simplest way to speed things up.

If other programs are still booting up, go to the Start menu and then open up the Run function. Type in MSCONFIG and click on the startup option. This will list all the programs and processes that boot up every time you start up your computer. You can determine which ones you want to run and which ones you do not; if there are processes you are not familiar with, do some research and find out what they do. If you shut off a certain process, it may conflict with a program that you need to run, such as anti-virus software or networking hardware.

If your computer is still running slow when booting, make sure you run a full adware and spyware scan. This will often eliminate processes hidden in the background full of tracking information that will slow down your boot time along with response time. Running a virus scan, too, will be beneficial in the long run to boot time as well.

When making any changes to speed up boot time, make sure you know what you are doing and what you are changing. Set up system restore points, if you can or have someone more experienced help walk you through the steps. If you do not take the time to do so, and you make the wrong change, you may do more damage than good.