Slow login for windows?
April 22, 2007
Are you annoyed/amazed at how long it takes windows XP/2K to be ‘ready’? You know… from the time you type in your password until it’s ready to use and responsive.
It turns out that in addition to Start >> Programs >> Startup — software installations litter the registry with software to run at login time. You know the time you’re actually waiting for the computer so you can actually use it…
Now…. if you’re not handy with the registry, this tip might not be for you!
If you are, go check 3 spots in the registry to see all the software that runs each time you login to your machine. Some will be familiar some wont. Google the ones you need to check up on. You may find malware etc in there. Generally I’ll edit the key and change the filename. That way if for some reason I decide to revert this change it’s easy to see what used to be enabled. To do that I change an app name from something like app.exe to app.exex
that way when it gets run from this list the program app.exex is not found and nothing starts for the entry and you save a few seconds – each time you login.
The 3 spots in the registry where you will find these ‘Run’ lists are as follows:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun
HKEY_USERS<various>SoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun
