Minimize Windows Boot time (Windows XP)

If you’re speed freak and feeling adventurous in squeezing every second to make your Windows PC start faster, then this is for you. The "Windows" boot process is a complex set of processes usually governed by a few config files.

Let’s examine Boot.ini:

Boot.ini is a configuration file usually located at the root/base directory of your boot disk (usually C:\). This can be edited via a text editor such as Notepad.

In this tip, we will try to speed up the boot process by removing the unnecessary portions of the process. The examples we will use here are applicable to Windows XP.

For other versions of Windows, you can refer to this link: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms791511.aspx.

To speed up the boot process:

1. Open Notepad, then open the BOOT.INI file (usually located at C:\). As a best practice, always back-up your boot.ini file before doing anything, in case you want to revert back to the original settings.
2. Remove the /bootlog parameter. The /bootlog parameter records drivers being loaded during the boot time. It helps to determine in which driver has an issue. But if you are not diagnosing, you might as well remove this.
3. Add the /noguiboot parameter. The /noguiboot parameter disables the basic graphic video support during boot time. Once added, the graphic splash screen before the login screen is skipped. This is also handy if you want to diagnose video problems when you load Windows.

Your config line should look something like this:

[boot loader]

timeout=30

default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS

[operating systems]

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional"

/noexecute=optin /fastdetect /noguiboot

If you are not comfortable editing the boot.ini configuration file, you can use Microsoft's standard configuration tool, msconfig.

Simply go to Start > Run, and type msconfig in the Run text box. Then go to the boot.ini tab. This should speed up the Boot time significantly.