My Computer Takes 4 Minutes+ to Boot, I Hate It! (1 Viewer)

[Arthur S]

I have a 2 year old Dell 4400, 1.4 P3, 128 RAM, Windows XP. I try to keep my startup menu as short as possible.

My General System Configuration Utility has Selective Startup checked.

Process System Ini File Checked

Process Win INI File Checked

Load System services checked

Right now, Load Startup Items has a green box

Use Original Boot Ini has a dot

My Startup Menu has

ccApp
SND Mon
gcasServ
qttask
WKDetect

Any suggestions on how to cut the boot time in half?

Thanks

 

[Christ Reynolds]

have you tried uninstalling pc-cillin?

CJ

 

[Arthur S]

Since I had just had bought Norton AV, I didn't bother to get PC-cillin.

Thanks

 

[chris_everett]

Uninstall any software you don't need, and run a spyware check on your system.

 

[Will_B]

And if nothing works, use Hibernate rather than Off (hold the shift key down when your Off options are onscreen and the leftmost option which usually says Sleep will change to Hibernate) so you dont have to go through the startup routine much. I say "much" because it is still a good idea to shut it down all the way every once and awhile.

 

[Tekara]

this guide has done some pretty good wonders with my laptop:

http://www.techspot.com/tweaks/startup/

 

[Ken Chan]

Periodic Windows updates should force you to reboot anyway XP is stable enough that you can try just putting the computer to sleep. If the computer also wakes up reliably -- some don't -- and things seem to work about as well as they normally do, then you only reboot when forced to. It does use a wee bit of electricity though. If that's an issue, you can try Hibernate. In either case, don't forget to Save your files.

 

[Christian Behrens]

You should definitely add some RAM. It should generally speed things up, even startup time (depending on whether paging has to be used).

And run defrag on your harddrive, that could possibly help quite a bit as well.

-Christian

 

[StevenFC]

Faster processor, much more memory, and less programs that load at startup. And also what Ken said. He knows his stuff.

Or maybe just make some coffee while it boots. :wink:

 

[Patrick Sun]

Unfortunately, for my experience, 512MB of RAM is the minimal amount for XP for decent boot-up speed. 128MB of RAM is just too little for XP, I'm afraid. The bad news is that laptop RAM isn't cheap, and the cost/benefit of adding RAM just to shave off another minute or two of bootup time might not be in your financial interest.

 

[Scott L]

Consider upgrading and installing a fresh copy of Windows. I just spent a measily $230 upgrading an old P3 800 system with 384mb of ram to this:

- AMD Sempron 64 2600+
- ECS nForce4-4X mobo
- Kingston ValueRAM 512MB DDR400
- MSI Geforce 6200TC vid card

You can even get motherboards with onboard video to save about $50. The system flies compared to the old one (much quicker boot, working with Photoshop, etc..), and I no longer have fear of visiting Flash intensive sites.

edit- doh, I see we were discussing a Dell. guhhh. Best bet is to up the ram and defrag the HD.

 

[Paul Padilla]

Slow boot time is inconvenient, but it doesn't necessarily translate into poor overall computer performance. Some services from recently installed programs may be adding to the boot time but I wouldn't worry too much unless you're seeing normal operations slowing down as well.

That being said...128MB is a skimpy for XP...more RAM never hurts. I'll also second making sure your machine is clean and free of viruses and spyware.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

If I were you I'd sit down and take the time out and remove your programs one at a time, and then reboot to see which (if any) program is slowing it down.

If you can, just move the files to another location so they won't load. I think your machine has caught something though- too.

Glenn

 

[Diallo B]

you do not have enough ram. period. my girls computer ( a dell 2.4ghz celly) just got sluggish and i was getting ready to do an OS overhaul. instead of spending hours doing the OS and reinstalling programs I put in another 256mb of ddr 2700 and now the system is cruising along and her boot time has significantly dropped. (i also went and did some tweaking in msconfig to cut the fat)

install some more ram, man! at least another 256mb to make a total of 384mb. I would recommend at least 512mb for a happy xp experience.

 

[Rommel_L]

Arthur,

Here are some suggestions...

Add more RAM (this is a must!!). I believe the kind of computer you have can only max out at 512MB. So max it out to 512MB.

Change the virual memory minimum and maximum size setting to 768MB. You can find this at Control Panel -> System -> Advance Tab -> Perfomance Settings -> Advance Tab -> Virtual Memory Change

Go to Start -> Programs -> Startup. Make sure that is empty.

Run msconfig. Inside the Startup Tab, uncheck qttask and click OK.

 

[Mike Fassler]

yeah you need more ram you only have 128mb winxp easily uses all of that.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

when my parents' system ran windows xp, it took less than a minute to boot, and the specs are pretty old by today's standards. it has a pIII 500 MHz, but it has 448 MB ram. the ram, along with minimizing startup junk, is crucial to a quick startup.

CJ

 

[Lee Scoggins]

I agree but find that 1gb is really better. Ram is cheap...buy lots of it.

 

[Jordan_Brulotte]

WinXP uses 128MB of ram just to boot. 512MB is the realistic minimum for optimum performance.

 

[Robert_Gaither]

I'd recommend minimum 512mb of ram, go thru your startup files and see what is booting up (if you run im programs, ad blockers, virus scanners, etc this may also explain why), and maybe a change in the bios settings as well (most are setup to boot from all options as well as checking the A: drive, CD rom, and ide search, you can eliminate a lot of these by simply adjusting the bios).