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.

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Many users probably do not care about their computer’s boot time that much, it’s something that is done once or twice a day. This procedure can have an effect on the system performance as well which is where it becomes interesting for those users, too. Boot Computer tries to change this by providing you the tools you need to make your computer boot faster.

Boot Computer

Take the Windows Registry for example. It is loaded during computer startup to the computer memory where it stays until the computer is turned off. A larger Registry therefor takes up more computer memory than needed.

The tools:

• Boot Timer – We need an objective measurement for the computer startup time and Boot Timer does that for us.
• ERUNT NT Registry Optimizer – This tool compresses the Windows Registry safely making it smaller.
• Ultimate Defrag – defragments the hard drives of the computer
• CCleaner – Temporary Data Cleaner that reduces the used space on a hard drive.
• Startup Control Panel – Displays all programs and files that get executed during system start. The more – The slower.

Boot Computer Faster

Measuring Current Computer Startup Time:

We need to measure the current computer startup time before we make changes to the system. This will be our initial figure and everything that we tweak should reduce that figure. Download Boot Timer and execute it.

Boot Timer tells you that Windows has to reboot to measure boot time. Click Yes to reboot Windows right away. Boot Timer will display the boot time in seconds after the next system start is completed.

Write down the boot computer time. I usually take a sheet of paper and write the numbers down plus the changes that lead to them.

Now head over to the other sections, apply the things that I’m talking about if you feel comfortable doing so and run Boot Timer again to measure the difference. A good startup time is below 40 seconds, everything below that is great.

Analyzing Computer Startup Autorun Entries:

Most experienced users would suggest Autoruns for this task. Most users on the other hand do not need Autoruns, it scares and confuses them. Startup Control Panel has been designed with that in mind. You can only uncheck startup items that have been added by the user or programs that he installed. No harm to the system can be done.

My tip is to go through all tabs in the application and check if it is necessary that they are started with Windows. Most of the time it is not. The only things that should stay in there are the tools that you use regularly and security applications like virusscanners. Everything else can go and you probably won’t even see a difference when working in Windows.

Reduce the System Fonts:

Check the C:\WINDOWS\Fonts directory and count the fonts that are located in there. Everything below 100 is ok (Windows ships with 59 system fonts), if you got hundreds of fonts in there you might want to reduce them drastically. Every font is loaded during system startup and this can increase boot time by quite a large margin.

Check the list of Windows XP standard fonts. Those fonts should not be removed. Other applications may have added fonts as well. The best practice to remove fonts is to move those that you would delete to a temporary directory and continue working with the computer. Boot computer, start the usual applications and check if everything is looking normal.

Update Drivers:

Old device drivers might slow down the computer in general. It is therefor recommended to check the manufacturers website every now and then to see if any driver updates have been released. Especially the motherboard that powers the hard drives and connections to all system components has to be taken care of.

Windows Services:

Windows Services do not have such a huge impact on startup time which is surprising. It i still recommended to disable all services that are not needed on the system. Blackviper has a list of all Windows XP Services and recommended settings. Check out his page for all the information that you would ever need. Cautious users can skip the step.

Bios Tweaks:

A few settings in the computer Bios have an effect on the boot time. During system start, when the computer memory is shown press the PAUSE key and check the screen for any notifications on how to enter the computer Bios. It is usually Delete, ESC or one of the F-keys.

I would recommend to turn off any devices that are not installed or needed, especially floppy drives. You should also set the Quick Power on Self-Test option to enabled.

System Tweaks:

I could write a book about Windows System Tweaks. Some that might speed up computer startup are to set a static IP for the network card. This can interfere with other network settings though and it could mean that you cannot connect to a network or the Internet anymore because of the change. It is however easy to undo.

Right-click your network adapter and click Properties. The network adapter appears in Network Connections in the Windows Control Panel. Select TCP/IP and click on Properties. Now enter a static IP address, for example 192.168.1.1 and a Subnet Mask of 255.255.255.0.

Remove Temporary Files:

Run CCleaner and let it clear all the temporary files on the system. This is important for the defragmentation process of the hard drive that will be started afterward. It should not have a direct impact on system boot time.

Defragment Windows Registry:

You can save a few Megabytes by defragmenting the Windows Registry. Run ERUNT NT Registry Optimizer, let it optimize the Registry and reboot the computer. This reduces computer startup time if the Registry was fragmented.

Defragment Hard Drive

A defragmented hard drive performs read and write operations slower because it has to rotate more to find all the “pieces” of the file that gets loaded. Defragmentation can have a huge impact on overall system performance and computer startup time.

Run Ultimate Defrag and defragment all hard drives connected to the computer. Make sure you defragment the drive that Windows is located on. It does not hurt to defragment all drives but the Windows drive is the only one that affects system startup.

Did I miss anything? Let me know.

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It basically comes down to selecting a new bootskin and pressing apply. Bootskin comes with five boot skins preinstalled and more than 6000 can be downloaded from the WinCustomize website. You can find all kinds of boot skins on that website, from seasonal ones to TV shows, Movies, Celebrities and Art.

The website unfortunately displays only 8 boot skins per page which means that a user who wants to see them all has to view more than 800 pages on that website. Boot skins can be sorted by a number of criteria including rating, download and picks from the staff.

Cautious users will be delighted to hear that it is always possible to revert back to the original Windows boot skin which can be selected in the program interface just like any other boot skin.

One interesting feature is to randomly select a boot skin during Windows startup, great for users who like more than one boot skin and do not want to make a decision.

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