A step-by-step guide for improving boot times

Today's weekly column for the WindowsSecrets e-newsletter starts this way:
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A step-by-step guide for improving boot times

By Fred Langa Even powerful, capable hardware can sometimes get bogged down, and few things are more irritating than a needlessly long boot,

Horrible four-minute boot resists easy fixes

Yvon Dubois' PC has plenty of horsepower, but it's taking forever to boot. Yvon's tried all the normal speed-up steps, but none worked. (The PC is running XP, but the answer applies to all versions of Windows.)

• "My Dell Inspiron, with 2.7GHz Quadcore CPU, 3GB RAM, and XP Pro, takes over four minutes to boot.

  "I reduced the number of icons on the desktop, reduced to a minimum the start-up programs, and ran some commercial tune-up tools, all to no avail.

  "I have Trend Micro AV and TurtleBeach audio running at start-up, and that's about it. During all that time, the hard drive is continuously running.

  "Any suggestions?"
  

Sure, Yvon!

You've already done the most important first step — reducing the amount of software trying to run at start-up. But you can do more...

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And then the first item in the column goes on to discuss half a dozen extra steps you can take to make your PC start up noticeably faster.

Other topics in my column this week:

• Remove Flash's hidden pieces before a complete re-install
• How to delete a folder containing "illegal" filenames
• Hardware error masquerades as software trouble

Complete issue content:

Free content posted on July 22, 2010:

TOP STORY By Woody Leonhard Windows Live shares your Messenger contacts Big problems with third-party tattling My idea of what's "private" vs. Microsoft's Dig deep for Live's detailed privacy controls Why has Microsoft put privacy in jeopardy? LOUNGE LIFE By Tracey Capen Audio conversion project stopped by Win7 upgrade WACKY WEB WEEK By Stephanie Small The world's most-effective fly swatter

 
Paid content (no set fee; you decide what it's worth):

LANGALIST PLUS By Fred Langa A step-by-step guide for improving boot times Horrible four-minute boot resists easy fixes Fix Flash Player with a complete uninstall Can't delete folder containing long filenames Hardware error masquerades as software trouble

INSIDER TRICKS By Lincoln Spector Clean up your Windows notification area A special place for a special type of app Start with applications that truly belong Getting rid of the junk you don't want Remove applications from the startup sequence

PERIMETER SCAN By Ryan Russell Novel antivirus product works in the cloud New AV player is run by security veterans A truly small and nimble AV application Breaking the rules: Doubling your AV protection Protect your online community from malware

A portion of your support helps children in developing countries Each month, we send a full year of sponsorship to a different child. Your contributions in July are helping us to sponsor Alfredo, an 8-year-old boy from the Philippines. Children International channels development aid from donors to Alfredo and his community. We also sponsor kids through Save the Children and Plan USA. More info

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