Improve Startup and shutdown time

If you haven't seen my post at notebookforum.

Here are two very good programs I've found to help speedup the shutdown and startup time for xp/2000.

Shutdown:

http://www.intelliadmin.com/blog/2006/07/why-windows-takes-so-long-to-shut-down.html

Startup:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=664

Guide:
http://www.weethet.nl/english/hardware_bootvis.php

 

Before anyone downloads the second program, I'd recommend you first read this article:
http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/bootvis/index.htm

"Please note that Bootvis.exe is not a tool that will improve boot/resume performance for end users. Contrary to some published reports, Bootvis.exe cannot reduce or alter a system's boot or resume performance. The boot optimization routines invoked by Bootvis.exe are built into Windows XP. These routines run automatically at pre-determined times as part of the normal operation of the operating system."

 

Ya, but did you read the part under it?

http://www.tweakhound.com/xp/bootvis/index.htm

 

Who would you trust uncleG: Microsoft, who developed the BootVis utility and thoroughly knows it's capabilities and limits, or a web author who used it and noticed an improvement in boot performance?

The fact is that BootVis was developed by Microsoft for system architects who design systems for faster boot times. The utility was not developed for home users as it will not increase the boot time in Windows XP because Windows XP already performs the routines that BootVis performs. In short, it is an Internet myth that BootVis can help you. Do not waste your time running this utility.

Here's the official link.

 

Well, it did work for me. So Silent, you can either trust me and those authors who confirm it does work or $$Microsoft$$.

 

I've used Bootvis before, but I can't say whether it improved anything or not because I was also optimizing my system with several other methods at the same time. I'd say it probably helped though, because my bootup time is around 35-40 seconds.

What definitely worked, though, was that shut down time .msi posted here. I installed it, and restarted my computer, and rather than take about 2 minutes to shut down, it went in about 3 seconds.

Another tip for improving shut down times, disable the Windows Shut Down sound file from the sound scheme. That always slows it down because it has to get the file, load it up, and then play it while everything else is trying to shut down. That helped a surprising amount too.

 

I defragmenetd my drive - boot form hibernate went from 42 sec down to 21 sec. Good enough.

Ivan

 

This has been moved to the software forum - since it is not specific to Dell.

If you look in our Dummy forums, you will see a guide on how to optimize your laptop which helps the performance of your laptop, including your boot up and shut down time.

SG

 

Bootvis worked great on the desktop PC i used.

 

There are some free programs for optimization in the Free software thread.

If you want my opinion, use TuneXP. It is a great program that DOES effect startup and shutdown times. For startup, it rearranges startup files (moving them to the end of the disk), moves them together, and then defrags the boot files. It can also do a ton of other things to help out your machine.

Check it out, if you haven't already...
http://www.driverheaven.net/dforce/showdoc.php?doc=txp_download