From the moment you touch the start button until you reach the desktop, a lot happens inside your personal computer and there are multiple situations in which you can encounter delays that end up affecting your productivity and user experience. Today we are going to go over some techniques that will allow you to boot a Windows PC. in the shortest possible time.
In the frenetic world in which we live, immediacy is a rising value. And the startup of a PC is no stranger to this. There are third-party applications (usually paid) that promise a lot and actually achieve little. It is better to spend a few minutes to act on certain components of the same system/PC as we will see in this entry and also to value those hardware upgrades that even if they are minimal can help a lot because sometimes you can not do miracles just based on software.
How to boot a Windows PC in the shortest time possibleFast Startup
Windows 11 (also Windows 10) has a feature that reduces boot time and works similarly to hibernate mode. Windows Fast Startup does exactly what its name implies, as it preloads the Windows kernel and drivers before the computer shuts down.
To use fast startup you must first enable hibernation mode if you don’t have it done. Access the alternative Start menu (right mouse button on the start button) and click Windows Terminal in administrator mode.
There run the command powercfg /hibernate on to activate hibernation.
Once you have done the above, access the control panel > Power options > Choose start/off button behavior. By clicking on change settings you will be able to enable fast startup.
Lock screen and password
In the General Settings > Personalization > Lock Screen you can manage this screen which, in truth, on a desktop computer is quite irrelevant. If you discard its use, Windows 11 will start without going through it saving a lot of time. To do this, remove the “show curious data” and also show the lock image at logon.
The same we can say about the startup password to the operating system. It is mandatory on shared computers and necessary on mobility devices, but if you are working on a desktop PC that only you use, you can safely override the startup password and automatically get to the desktop. Using local accounts to boot a Windows PC in the shortest time also helps, because Microsoft accounts have to load their services and applications.
Task Manager
The configuration of the programs that start up with the computer is a vital step in speeding up the startup of a PC.. Startup can be configured in several ways, but ideally from the task manager.
Access its configuration using the hotkey combination “Ctrl + Shift + Escape”. In the Startup tab you will see the applications that are loaded at startup, their status and impact. Right-click on the ones you do not need and disable them.
For this management you can also use third-party tools that include a startup configurator. For more advanced users, Autoruns for Windows is an ideal application because it includes official Sysinternals tools and allows you to manage a larger number of startup parameters.
Background applications
They are another parameter to check because they place an unnecessary load on the system on most occasions, affecting startup and overall performance. And Windows 11 (like Windows 10) has a huge number of them of its own. Go to System Settings > Applications. Click on the three dots > Advanced options.
There you will be able to select “never” to deactivate its load. You will be able to access them when you need them but without the startup load on the system.
Windows Tips and Notifications
Other system processes that need to be managed include. “Windows tips” with which Microsoft treats us. It seems harmless but the process scans your computer at the cost of performance load. You can disable it in Settings > system > notifications.
In that same section you can remove the Windows welcome experience at logon and the startup application notification.
CPU and RAM optimization
There are applications that monopolize the use of the processor and RAM memory from the very beginning, slowing down the rest. The management of some of them is complicated because they are services of the same system. Others are easier to understand and avoid. An example is OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage service, active by default in Windows 11 and that works great but for users who use it. If this is not your case or you use Dropbox or Google Drive, it can be disabled on the “Local Group Policy Editor”.
Press on the hotkeys “Windows + R”, type gpedit.msc and press enter. In Computer Configuration> Administrative Templates you have a lot of options that you can configure, for example prevent the use of onedrive. You have to know what it disables but it is a very powerful tool with which you can leave the system according to your needs.
Windows Appearance
The configuration of the Windows 11 appearance by default is another parameter to manage, especially in low hardware level equipment. Go to Control Panel> System> Advanced System Settings> Advanced Options> Performance> Settings. Enabling the setting for best performance is a good way to save resources.
Bloatware
Windows 11 (just like Windows 10) is not exempt of filler programsunnecessary or unwanted programs that take up space, resources, are redundant and are loaded and updated in the background. Junk software, useless applications and services that penalize the user experience, lower performance, stability and also penalize the startup of the system itself. Invest a little time to remove everything you don’t need. Many can be uninstalled in the typical way, but if you need something more powerful, you can use free applications such as Bloatware Removal Tool or even better, prepare a bloatware-free Windows from the installation itself.
Improve the Hardware
If you perform all the above actions you will speed up Windows 11 startup for sure. However, there will come a time when the limitations are imposed by the hardware itself. Without having to change the whole computer there are a couple of updates that will offer immediate benefits in the boot and in the performance of the system. One of these is using a PCIe SSD instead of a hard disk or a SATA SSD and the second one is increase the RAM memory to a reasonable level to cover the main tasks of the PC.
