Speeding up Windows

[AdIyhc]

Will removing unused drivers/fonts speed up Windows Boot time?

I saw this description: Remove useless/invalid drivers to improve system performance.
From: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/downloads/2166877/driver-genius

How true are these claims? Also how to go about removing them manually instead of using software?

Tried to delete the fonts but they just keep coming back.

[kimmchii]

how long is your bootup time now?

try disable *everything* in the startup folder and if it reduces to <20sec, then your bootup time is normal. better avoid removing drivers etc... not worth the trouble.

[Veign]

Check out BootVis to see whats what during the boot process:
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/sysperf/fastboot/bootvis.mspx

How many fonts do you have loaded?  Reducing fonts can help.

[JavaJones]

MS removed Bootvis quite a while ago from their site. They claim the stuff it does is already done by XP automatically on boot as appropriate. I've seen improvements from using it though. It's still available elsewhere with Google searches...

- Oshyan

[Veign]

Not sure what you are saying since BootVis is only a visualization tool and does not change or affect the boot process.


Should have posted a download link:
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/System-Tweak/BootVis.shtml

[AdIyhc]

Including my security software, my bootup time from bios screen to desktop is 45-50 sec. I have 86 default fonts under Windows\Fonts.

Downloading bootvis now, 1.6-2.8KB/s. O_o

[AdIyhc]

The drivers delay section of Bootvis show only 10 drivers.
After using Bootvis, the tracing shows Boot done in 26.81 sec from 29+ sec.

Under the Boot Activity Graph, it shows "Prefetching" (Init Time: 19.91 sec). So does that mean I should disable prefetch??

[JavaJones]

Unless I'm mistaken I'm fair sure "bootvis" also has some optimization functions. Haven't used it in ages though. I suppose that shows how vital it is to me (not very). But I do think it can at least show you problems in some cases.

- Oshyan

[Veign]

That could be JavaJones.  I was going by memory that it was just visualization but it could have included some tools.

MS either pulled it because:
1) If tools where included they were too risky for them to support
or
2) They didn't want you to see what was happening during the boot and how long it took.  Might have reflected poorly on WinXP.

[JavaJones]

Methinks it was #1. From the Bootvis site on MS.com

The boot optimization routines invoked by Bootvis.exe are built into Windows XP. These routines run automatically at pre-determined times as part of the normal operation of the operating system.

- Oshyan

[Mastertech]

Under the Boot Activity Graph, it shows "Prefetching" (Init Time: 19.91 sec). So does that mean I should disable prefetch??

No disabling Prefetching will cause the overall time of Windows to Boot to increase significantly. If you look again you will see that the prefetching is happening simultaneously during the driver load portion. Prefetching is what accelerates Windows XP boot time. DO NOT DISABLE IT!

By default Windows optimizes the boot files automatically every 3 days at system idle time (10 minutes of inactivity). Bootvis simply invokes this to happen now, instead of waiting three days. Anytime something with your boot changes, new drivers, new applications that load at startup ect... you would have to wait 3 days for your boot times to get optimized. Or you can simply run Bootvis and have it happen now. This is why it works and this is also why Microsoft says it does not do anything that Windows does not do automatically, both are true, it simply comes down to how soon you want your boot performance optimized.

[JavaJones]

Now. I want it now, now, now! Damn you MS.

- Oshyan

[tim254]

Bootvis Download:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=664

[JavaJones]

Yeah, it's not hard to find. I just find it annoying that they pulled the tool. They let us still download MS Powertoys for god's sake.

- Oshyan