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How to fix slow boot time?

My computer running Win 7 has been running on the slow side for a year or two now (so don't just tell me to do a system restore, since i don't have any restore points that old), and I've finally gotten around to trying to fix the problem. While my computer isn't insanely slow (it usually takes between 80 and 120 seconds to start up according to the event viewer), it is somewhat annoying, especially because I've seen on this and other forums that most Win 7 machines can start up in under a minute. Anyway, I've tried a bunch of different stuff to try to make it run faster (fixing individual event viewer errors and running various software that "claims" to speed up the system, including registry cleaners, which I know probably only made the problem worse.) Anyway, I disabled all the "speed" software, and if the registry really is damaged, I can't tell cuz everything seems to run fine, just a little on the slow and glitchy side, which is how it was before I tried to make it run faster. 

I have already tried using msconfig to see if there is too much software running at startup, and have disabled all of it except for stuff that looks important or that I actually use (see attached pictures). Anyway, I also noticed that the "mainpathboottime" is only 30-35 seconds, which seems reasonable. However, the "bootpostboottime" is usually in between 60-90 seconds, which seems like way too long.

I also notice that both on startup and while I use it, the computer often whirs the fan relatively loud whenever I use applications (such as videos/apps/games on google chrome or even while scanning with Mcafee). So, it seems like the problem might just be too much software/drivers/background programs all running at once and putting a big strain on the system. And while I try to keep the msconfig startup programs to a minimum, many of the other programs I have set using Microsoft services to automatic (delayed start). <-- I'm not even sure what that means, but since it says delayed, I'm assuming it shouldn't load until after my computer has started up, so it shouldn't affect the boot time (right???). 

Also, please don't tell me to simply do a repair install, factory reset, or use a Windows recovery disk or system image. I never made a system image cuz I don't even know how, i don't think I ever made a Windows recovery disk, or if i did i lost it years ago, and I have software I paid for that I have long since lost the activation keys for, so i don't want to risk losing it if i clean install Windows.

note: (below are some pictures and the details of the most recent boot copied from the event viewer.

P.S.: This entry seems like it might be important "<Data Name="BootIsRootCauseIdentified">true</Data>"

What does it mean when it says that the boot is the root cause identified? Like, when i read that I think, "No sh*t, the boot is what is causing the boot to be slow. What I want to know is what IN the boot is slowing it down (corrupt files, too much software, malicious software, bloatware, etc)?"

Log Name:      Microsoft-Windows-Diagnostics-Performance/Operational
Source:        Microsoft-Windows-Diagnostics-Performance
Date:          6/27/2014 9:03:05 PM
Event ID:      100
Task Category: Boot Performance Monitoring
Level:         Critical
Keywords:      Event Log
User:          LOCAL SERVICE
Computer:      Jeffrey-PC
Description:
Windows has started up: 
     Boot Duration : 110646ms
     IsDegradation : false
     Incident Time (UTC) : ‎2014‎-‎06‎-‎28T04:00:54.656000300Z
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
  <System>
    <Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Diagnostics-Performance" Guid="{CFC18EC0-96B1-4EBA-961B-622CAEE05B0A}" />
    <EventID>100</EventID>
    <Version>2</Version>
    <Level>1</Level>
    <Task>4002</Task>
    <Opcode>34</Opcode>
    <Keywords>0x8000000000010000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2014-06-28T04:03:05.376554100Z" />
    <EventRecordID>7146</EventRecordID>
    <Correlation ActivityID="{036B4C48-F800-0001-04B8-1F8F8592CF01}" />
    <Execution ProcessID="1492" ThreadID="2100" />
    <Channel>Microsoft-Windows-Diagnostics-Performance/Operational</Channel>
    <Computer>Jeffrey-PC</Computer>
    <Security UserID="S-1-5-19" />
  </System>
  <EventData>
    <Data Name="BootTsVersion">2</Data>
    <Data Name="BootStartTime">2014-06-28T04:00:54.656000300Z</Data>
    <Data Name="BootEndTime">2014-06-28T04:03:01.339323200Z</Data>
    <Data Name="SystemBootInstance">2441</Data>
    <Data Name="UserBootInstance">2318</Data>
    <Data Name="BootTime">110646</Data>
    <Data Name="MainPathBootTime">32246</Data>
    <Data Name="BootKernelInitTime">28</Data>
    <Data Name="BootDriverInitTime">828</Data>
    <Data Name="BootDevicesInitTime">1556</Data>
    <Data Name="BootPrefetchInitTime">99921</Data>
    <Data Name="BootPrefetchBytes">540614656</Data>
    <Data Name="BootAutoChkTime">0</Data>
    <Data Name="BootSmssInitTime">7394</Data>
    <Data Name="BootCriticalServicesInitTime">898</Data>
    <Data Name="BootUserProfileProcessingTime">11760</Data>
    <Data Name="BootMachineProfileProcessingTime">0</Data>
    <Data Name="BootExplorerInitTime">1865</Data>
    <Data Name="BootNumStartupApps">12</Data>
    <Data Name="BootPostBootTime">78400</Data>
    <Data Name="BootIsRebootAfterInstall">false</Data>
    <Data Name="BootRootCauseStepImprovementBits">0</Data>
    <Data Name="BootRootCauseGradualImprovementBits">512</Data>
    <Data Name="BootRootCauseStepDegradationBits">0</Data>
    <Data Name="BootRootCauseGradualDegradationBits">0</Data>
    <Data Name="BootIsDegradation">false</Data>
    <Data Name="BootIsStepDegradation">false</Data>
    <Data Name="BootIsGradualDegradation">false</Data>
    <Data Name="BootImprovementDelta">0</Data>
    <Data Name="BootDegradationDelta">0</Data>
    <Data Name="BootIsRootCauseIdentified">true</Data>
    <Data Name="OSLoaderDuration">3086</Data>
    <Data Name="BootPNPInitStartTimeMS">28</Data>
    <Data Name="BootPNPInitDuration">1579</Data>
    <Data Name="OtherKernelInitDuration">3216</Data>
    <Data Name="SystemPNPInitStartTimeMS">4582</Data>
    <Data Name="SystemPNPInitDuration">805</Data>
    <Data Name="SessionInitStartTimeMS">5601</Data>
    <Data Name="Session0InitDuration">590</Data>
    <Data Name="Session1InitDuration">309</Data>
    <Data Name="SessionInitOtherDuration">6494</Data>
    <Data Name="WinLogonStartTimeMS">12995</Data>
    <Data Name="OtherLogonInitActivityDuration">5624</Data>
    <Data Name="UserLogonWaitDuration">5372</Data>
  </EventData>
</Event>

Answer
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The 32 bit version of Internet Explorer is the default for Windows 7 x64 (64 bit).

This is why the 32 bit version of Adobe Flash and JAVA is installed.

Microsoft Community Contributor (MCC) 2011

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The Windows Experience Index reveals that the hard drive and memory are the two factors worth looking at in terms of system performance.

 

Your boot times are typical for a conventional hard drive. To significantly improve boot times you would need to replace the drive with a solid state drive, which would be expensive.

 

Adding RAM may not impact on boot times but it could help system performance at other times. The Resource Monitor figures suggest the available RAM is probably being pushed at times to fully utilize the maximum available. Adding RAM would also cost and an indication of the expense involved is to be found in the link below.

 

Memory Type: DDR3 PC3-12800, DDR3 (non-ECC)
Maximum Memory: 8GB
Slots: 2
Although the memory can be installed one module at a time, the best performance comes from using matched pairs of modules.
How much memory your Windows OS will recognize depends on which version of Windows you are running. 32-bit versions of Windows will see (and utilize) only 3GB or 3.5GB. To utilize more memory, install a 64-bit version of your OS. More information about OS memory maximums can be found here
http://137.201.245.29/store/listparts.aspx?mfr=Gateway&model=NV57H%20Series

 

Avoiding unnecessary multi-tasking could result in better system performance. You may find using RAMMap in the way indicated below would help. Your system is holding on to Standby memory and not releasing it to Free memory. You can force release by restarting your computer but often this is not very convenient. Another way to force the release of Standby memory is available using RAM Map (freeware from Microsoft):

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sysinternals/ff700229.aspx

 

Download and install, and create a shortcut on your Desktop to RAMMap and / or pin to your Taskbar. When you sense the system is becoming unresponsive use Ctrl+Shift+Esc to access Task Manager. Click the Performance tab and the Resource Monitor button. Click the Memory tab and check whether Free is near to Zero or is Zero. If it is, open RAMMap, click Empty on the Menu bar and Empty Standby list. This action instantly restores Free memory.

 

The procedure using RAMMap is an effective workaround but the true solution lies in discovering the source of the problem. Knowing the source you may be able to resolve the problem by contacting the provider of the software and / or updating the software.

 

I am not a fan of McAfee. Replacement with Microsoft Security Essentials could benefit your system. It may not produce significant performance benefits but you could see fewer problems.

 

TuneUp Utilities is software that I would not allow on any computer under my control. I would uninstall it.

 

You may be able to improve boot times by reviewing the installed software and changing it to load on demand. Use Auto runs rather than msconfig to carry out this review. Do not disable services as this is usually counter-productive. To identify what loads when you boot use Autoruns (freeware from Microsoft).

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902

 

With Autoruns you can uncheck an item, which disables it from starting, or you can right click an item and then delete it. If you uncheck you can recheck to re-enable the item. It is a much safer approach than editing the Registry and better than using msconfig. A useful feature of the programme is that you can right click an item and select Search Online to get information about the item selected.

 

A useful guide:
http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/archive/analyze_all_autorun_auto-start_programs_in_windows.cfm

You might use ADWCleaner to check for parasitic software. There are no obvious signs that it is present on your computer but a check could pick something up. Download and run ADWCleaner and post a copy of the report produced:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/

 

I suggest you take the precaution of creating a system restore point before running ADWCleaner, to guard against unforeseen consequences. Select Start, Control Panel, System, System Protection, and click the Create button.

 

http://www.gerryscomputertips.co.uk/performance1.htm

 

http://www.gerryscomputertips.co.uk/maintenance1a.htm

Gerry
Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, England
Enquire Plan Execute

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Last updated September 6, 2023 Views 163 Applies to: