New computers start up pretty fast. It’s with time that the booting process becomes slower, making the user wait for an uncomfortably long time before finally starting up. Start-Up time depends on file fragmentation, free space, processing power of the computer and start-up services. Changing these could help with a faster Start-Up time.
Understanding Start-Up:
When you start your system, programs need to be loaded on to the memory of the system. These programs then start the operating system. A list of these programs includes:
a) Security Softwares : These comprise of the anti-virus, firewall and the anti spyware which are essential to protect your computer. These load to the memory automatically when your computer starts.
b) Device Drivers : These become the interface between the operating system and the hardware and load into the memory of the system automatically.
c) System services : These load in the memory to enable features and functions needed to run the system successfully.
d) Media players, synchronization managers and other applications and programs load during start-up.
Now that we know what Start-Up really means, we can better understand factors which affect it. These programs, applications and services need to load in to the memory but many factors can ascertain speedy functioning.
Factors on which Start-Up Time depends:
The first factor which affects the start-up time is the available free space on the disk. These software needed for the start-up are stored in the hard disk. Storing too many files, even those you do not use regularly, can slow down start-up drastically. The OS needs free space to complete its job successfully. RAM contents are stored in swap and paging files, or secondary memory. If this space is low, the computer will take more time to Start-up.
The number of programs that load automatically during start-up can decide the start-up time. More the programs there are, slower the entire process is. It’s advisable to only keep essential programs like antivirus and other security related programs enabled during start-up. A list of these programs would be:
• Firewall
• Anti virus
• Anti spyware
• Often used applications
RAM available also plays a role in the start-up time. If your RAM is low, the system starts moving certain applications to paging file which drastically affects start-up time. Your RAM should be more than the minimum requirement of the Operating System. Another factor can be the hard disk. Due to wear and tear, the hard disk becomes slow and affects the efficiency of the computer.
Make Start-Up Faster:
There can’t be one single solution to this problem as speed depends upon various factors. However, some things that help in general are listed below:
a) Increase RAM – Buy a new RAM stick and ensure it is compatible with the system. A new RAM will not only speed up start-up time but also increase overall efficiency of the computer.
b) Delete unnecessary files – Delete files and programs that are not in use to free disk space.
c) Decrease Start-up applications – disable unnecessary start-up applications to make the computer boot faster.
d) Replace hard drive – If your disk space is low or there are noises coming from the hard disk, consider replacing it with a new one. It’s possible that a hard disk which is not running smoothly may crash.
e) Defragment hard disk drive – You must defragment your hard drive on regular basis to increase the speed of the system.
If even after all these things, the start-up time remains to be slow, you should either format the system or consider buying a new one.
