How to make your Windows 7 system start faster

A new CNET How To article on starting Windows 7 faster may be pertinent to IT administrators and executives grappling with this perennial problem. While hardly revolutionary, I did spot some really good advice.

The tips that caught my attention include using Windows 7's Event Viewer in order to pinpoint the source of performance woes, as well as using the Process Monitor utility, a free download from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), to hunt down processor cycle-sapping processes or the Autoruns utility to work through all the startup software that gets loaded. Another useful tip is to make use of the Group Policy Editor (Windows 7 Professional and up only) to track sluggish applications.

Another plausible reason for a computer slowdown is the presence of malware, or even more obscure problems such as the inadvertent creation of too many restore points. Finally, the use of special diagnostic software to perform a general system housekeeping was recommended.

While I'm personally in favor of using tools like Process Monitor and Autoruns, the use of system utilities is certainly a good alternative for those less inclined toward a hands-on approach. Hopefully, the arrival of Windows 8 and its lightning-fast startups will make slow startups a problem of the past.

For more:
- check out this article at CNET How To

Related Articles:
Windows 8 to reboot less after updates
Users will sign into Windows 8 with a picture password
Windows 8 to eliminate reboot blues