BIOS Tweaks for Faster Startup Times

One of the first BIOS settings to change is its Power On Self Test setting. Most BIOS utilities have a "Quick POST" option which runs less extensive Power on Self Test routines. Enter your BIOS utility by rebooting your computer and pressing the designated key when prompted. The key, usually F1, F10, or Delete, varies by manufacturer, so watch your screen as your computer begins to reboot. Explore the BIOS menu for a Quick POST or Quick Boot option. Enable this option.

Before you exit the BIOS, check to see if your BIOS has "boot up floppy seek" and "boot delay" options. If so, disable both of these. The floppy seek option instructs the computer to look for a bootable disk in the floppy drive which is rarely necessary. The boot delay gives your computer’s hard drive time to spin before boot up. You may need to adjust this setting if you run into problems. If so, return to BIOS and re-enable it.

MSCONFIG Tweaks for Faster Startup Times

MSCONFIG is a system configuration utility that is extremely useful for speeding up startup times. The first tweak involves changing a startup "timeout" from the default of 30 seconds down to just a few seconds. The second tweak involves restricting programs from automatically loading at startup. Both of these changes can dramatically improve your computer’s startup time.

First, go to Start > Run and type in "msconfig" (without the quotes). Click the OK button. Once launched, click the Boot tab. Find the Timeout section and reduce the number that appears. By default, the timeout is 30 seconds. This timeout is the time that Windows allows the user to choose an operating system before it boots to its primary operating system. If you have a dual boot computer, change the number to 5 or 10 seconds and adjust up or down to meet your preferences. If you have a single operating system, there’s no need for a timeout because you have nothing to choose so set this number to 0.

Next, click on the Startup tab. Here you will see a list of all programs that Windows loads at startup. You may have all kinds of unnecessary, infrequently used programs loading at startup! If you don’t use the programs each and every time you turn on your computer, then you are unnecessarily slowing down both startup as well as performance as a whole. Remove the programs that you don’t need running at all times by removing the checkmark next to them. This simply stops these programs from automatically loading; you can still launch the programs when needed using traditional methods.

By tweaking your BIOS and system configuration settings, you should see an immediate improvement in startup times.