W3J Boot Up Time

How fast is your boot up time?

Think mine seems pretty slow. That's problably because i have Norton Internet Security, Anti virus...

Any tips on which useless startup apps/services to be disabled to improve the performance?

 

you just answered your own question
thats the first one i removed

 

Yeah I run Nod32, when I first installed a new Seagate 160gb 5400.3 it woud boot up in under 30 sec.

It is a bit slower now bacause I have a heap of sotware loaded and my drive has only 8% free space............dam I gotta go and clear some space..... se ya

 

so are you using xp built-in firewall? is it good enough?
any recommendations for NIS replacement?

 

yeah i use the built in..im also running a modded host file..and it's probably also a good idea to run any type of spyware search program once in a while too..just to make sure

 

Windows softwares tend to have stupid bugs ad when I say stupid I mean it...
Remeber the blaster...
Standard windows products are the #1 target for hackers...

 

I use Nod 32 it is very good, and has great reviews and uses minimal system resources and you get free trial, check it out

http://www.eset.com/

 

Me I run avg free antivirus...switched from norton...boot up times were cut in half easily. Still use XP firewall but also have a hardware firewall on my router so if figure with both of those Im pretty safe. Yet to have an infection in the last 4 years...touch wood.
a

ps also run windows defender and ad-awareSE, and use firefox for browsing.

 

Remove Norton! Replace it with AVG free for AV and Zonealarm for firewall.

Go into msconfig and disable silly programs that start up when you dont need them like Adobe Reader, Nero, Power DVD and Quicktime.

Disbale services you dont need, there are various guides availbe on the net for this.

Download tweak programs like TweakXP and SpeedXP and use the guides at www.tweaktown.com.

 

Yah, Norton blows. AVG is good for free, but I use CA's E-Trust EZAntivirus. Been using it for years. It uses minimal resources and leaves a small footprint on your machine. I agree with what everyone else said here too, but don't forget, if you have MS .NET framework installed....it's a system bloat whore and has been reported to seriously slow boot times (among other things). Sorry for that crude explanation but I HATE .NET framework! Only reason to have it now is 'cause ATI's Catalyst Control Center requires it for the new drivers. WinXP MCE may need it too but I'm not sure, maybe someone else can comment on that.

edit: forgot to mention that CA's internet Security Suite (has AV, spam blocker, and other neat stuff all built into 1 program) is free this month on Tiger Direct after rebates. TG's rebates are a little tedious but you'll get your money and free is free, right?

 

When you go to msconfig, it's very easy to look over some spyware etc. If you are unsure, just type in the name of the process in question (sometimes followed by .exe.), and there are a multitude of websites which will tell you where that process comes from. it's a great way to speed up your computer. Btw, Adobe actually takes up a LOT of startup time and resources

 

how fast are you boot up times from the instant you turn on your computer till when you get windows finally all loaded?

Im getting just under a minute and I'm wondering if that is too slow

 

it takes about 45 sec to go from pressing the power button to the login screen, I'm not sure if thats slow or avg, its def. not fast. I have most of the major bloatware removed, just the essential ones that I need, but still, nothing has loaded yet its just the logon screen, why would it take that long?

 

Mine is about 1.5-2minutes.
of course with all junks (internet security, AV, etc.) installed.

 

Depends on how many application programs are installed to the hd. Many programs are installed, the loading time will be longer. One trick in the regedit can be speed up and let the bootup timing is faster.
Cheers

 

Just got my new Asus. With Norton boot up time was very slow. Got rid off it and installed Zone Alarm and AVG, now boot up time quicker. Also internet is quicker now.

 

~20 seconds! That's with my 160GB Seagate 5400.3 RPM HD

I also like to tweak it by disabling a bunch of processes I don't use... To check out all the processes and to set them to Auto, Manual, or Disabled.. go to Start>Run>type in "services.msc" (I prefer this over MSCONFIG).

Here's a site with Black Viper's list... it gives you a guide to all those processes running, so you can determine yourself if you'll be needing them:
http://www.dead-eye.net/WinXP Services.htm

As for anti-virus.. I recommend Avast:
http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

You could also check out this site where they compare different AVs:
http://www.av-comparatives.org/

 

thats abnormally slow.

 

AVs usually take around 30-40seconds to startup..i know AVG always searches for updates at startup

 

Well I have the same drive as ledzepp14 and after it was installed mine would boot from the point I pushed the button through loggin and ready to use in 30sec!

Now the drive only has 15% free space and I have a heap of software running, it takes 33 sec for the loggin box to appear and a full 1:30 untill it completes loggin and is ready to use..........

Im going off and going to clear some space an eliminate some start up programs..........

 

1.5minutes is from the point i push the button until I notice the hard drive light stop blinking.

From push button until I see my desktop probably takes about 1min.

 

I timed my w3j on startup today when i noticed it have been pretty slow and clocked a bit over 3 min until i could use it. Thats pretty bad and hopefully i can get it down to 1-2 min after removing some stuff from autostart and maybee replacing norton that is running out of its license in a couple of days.

 

when i bootup with the ac plugged in, times are fast(1 min or so) but when im on battery, its ridiculously slow where it takes like 5 mins to boot. Is there something i have configured incorrectly? ie. with NHC?

 

You could probably improve it by modifying PowerGear setting.

 

I suggest using BootLogXP to see how long it takes for your laptop to boot up.

It's a simple program and it will reboot your system and count how long it takes to boot.

Then it gives you a time plus a bar graph in which how long it takes certain programs to load on your computer.

From there you can decide what to remove, change or add to make your system load faster.

 

Check your P4G settings for when you're on battery - it sounds like you have it set on Battery Saving, which drops the cpu speed to 25% of max and will slow your system to a crawl. Your AC time would be faster because P4G keeps the cpu at 75-100% only. Change your P4G batter setting to quiet office or game/DVD and your problem should be solved.

NHC isn't the issue, I'd leave it alone.

 

That bootlog software was helpfull and it really shows that the norton\symantec system stuff really takes a lot of time, only thing that was running about the same amount of time where som files from the system folder.

 

Wow thats a great program, it shows how little the Asus progs use, I just have to figure out how to trim down svchost, taking up masses of startup time. although I thought it was asystem file?

 

May I offer a suggestion to those who are frustrated with long load times? My W2JB takes about 2.25 minutes for a full fresh boot. I disabled most of the unnecessary processes and removed just about all the junk but the long boots persisted and I just figured that I had to live with it, but I wasn't really happy with it.

I have recently started placing my rig in standby mode when I'm finished with a session. I'm usually on my comp every day and the battery drain is very minimal but the really good news is that when I press the power button, I'm fully up and ready to go in approx. 10 seconds. That's what I'm talking about!

 

I agree. A couple of months ago I switched both of our notebooks and desktop to hibernate mode only, and only reboot when necessary for MSoft update or other software installation that requires it. 20-25 seconds from pushing the power button and I'm up and running online.

Hibernate is a great second option if you don't want to worry about the (minimal) power drain from standby, and if you need to be sure the HD is parked if you're going to carry it around or potentially bump it at all .

 

I would be carefull about treavelling with your laptop in suspended mode and not completely shutting down. in the UK theives are using wifi and bluetooth finders to find laptops, cell phones and PDAs in car parks, the article in the paper said that if your laptop is not completely turned off it still transmits a wireless signal (or is able to be detected by such devices).

 

Does adding RAM will speed up the boot time?

 

for loading times and startup i believe upgrading the hd is the most effective...nzwaverider did you notice faster bootup times?

 

uhm how to check my hdd speed? thanks.

 

Absolutely, when I first got my 160 gb 5400.3 my W3J would fully boot up in 30 sec, now I have a LOT of software and it has crept up to 1.35

I use a small exe out IT guy at work gave me it is basic but gives you an idea, I think others use more complex test, but when I ran this, my new drive was faster than the stock Fujitsu drive, although from reviews I have read aparently the Seagate perpendicular 5400.3 models are the fastest 5400 rpm drives available at the moment.

 

heh i got a score of 3075 so theres definitely a difference..i also notice my hd temp at 47 after doing those 2 tests

 

HDD temp sounds normal, I must say my Seagate 5400.3 runs a few deg cooler then the Fujitsu, I copied an image database (27GB, 20,000 images) it copied for 15mins solid, and the drive reached 48 deg, then dropped back down to 42-43 within a few minutes.