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According to Microsoft Windows 7 will offer a great improvement in boot time, but since Windows 7 isn’t here yet here are a couple of tips for speeding up your XP or Vista computer’s startup.

1. Get rid of the programs your never use
The easiest way to speed up your computer’s startup is to remove any unnecessary programs you have on your computer. Not only will this speed up your boot time but will improve the performance of your computer in general. You can remove programs you no longer use in Vista by going to Start, Control Panel, Programs, and then Programs and Features. To remove a program, select it and then click Uninstall.

To remove programs in XP you can go to Start, Control Panel, and then Add or Remove Programs. If you see a program you no longer use you can remove it by clicking on it and then selecting Remove.

2. Stop programs from starting on their own
The more programs that your computer has to start when it is first turned on the longer it will take. Some programs you will want to start up as soon as you turn on your computer such as your antivirus or programs you use all the time, but there are often other programs that will start up that you don’t need. To see a list of startup applications in XP or Vista:

  1. Go to Start, Run, and then type in “msconfig” and click OK
  2. Now go to the Startup tab. From here you can un-tick the items that you do not want to start automatically, but be careful not to un-tick anything unless you are sure you know what it is. In the example below you can see we have un-ticked the box for Windows Messenger.
  3. You can then click Apply and Restart your computer.

If you would like more tips on how to speed up your computer’s start up click here to read an article from MSN Tech.