BootRacer is a windows startup speed benchmark utility that targets the general Windows user. No technical knowledge is required to run the software program. What makes it more interesting than other programs with a similar functionality (Boot Timer) is that it rates the startup time. This gives the user an impression on how his system rates when compared to other Windows systems. Another advantage is that BootRacer records several values, to be precise the time it takes boot to logon and to the desktop.

The boot speed rating will get the highest rating if the startup speed of the Windows operating system is below 60 seconds. Many systems will fall into that category and it would probably make sense to change the ratings to reflect this.

BootRacer can be configured to run at every system startup or only once. It would make sense to run it on every startup in the optimization phase. If you are confident about your boot time you might want to run it once to see the results.

Boot Timer is currently only compatible to Windows NT, Windows XP and Windows XP 64-bit editions but the author promises to make it compatible to Windows Vista in future updates. To use Boot Timer simply double-click the executable and the application will automatically display a popup after the next computer restart that displays the boot time of the system.

This is a great utility for users who want to optimize their boot time.There are several possibilities to reduce the boot time of a PC. I do not want to get into all of them but here are a few tips on how to reduce the boot time:

• Remove Fonts that are not needed anymore
• Remove Startup Programs that start with Windows
• Change Bios settings
• Compress the Windows Registry

Got any more tips, let me hear them !