It does not really make sense to keep unused network adapters enabled because of this. Most users therefor may want to consider deactivating all unused adapters in Windows to speed up the start of the operating system.

This can be done in the Windows Control Panel. Click the start button and there on Control Panel to open it. Windows Vista and Windows 7 users open Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center > Change adapter settings for this. Windows XP users click on Network and Internet Connections > Network Connections instead.

Here you see a list of all network connections currently setup on the PC.

Please note that you not only see all network adapters listed in the menu but also network connections like virtual private network connections configured on the Windows PC.

You can disable any network adapter right here. Right-click the network adapter that you want to disable and select disable from the context menu.

You should be able to identify the adapter based on its name. If you have made an error, for instance by disabling your primary network adapter used to establish an Internet connection, you can right-click again and select enable from the options to re-enable it.

Repeat the steps for every network adapter that you are not using (regularly) on your system. It may be a good idea to restart the system afterwards to see if you notice any speed improvements during system start. You may also want to run a software to record the boot time. We have reviewed our fair share in the past, you can use programs like Boot Racer, Soluto or the Windows Event Manager.