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times should actually speed the boot process. If you are changing things, however, the system has to start the optimization all over again and you will likely be back where you started.

One thing that slows Vista booting is the Sidebar. Sure, it's neat to have the clock and other things right there on your screen, but that does take system resources and time to load. To disable the Sidebar simply right click on it and select Properties from the menu that comes up. The first option on the following screen is a checkbox. By unchecking that box the Sidebar will not come up when you next start your computer.

To disable other items from Startup you can use Windows Defender. Go to Start, All Programs and Windows Defender. Once the program starts select Tools and Software Explorer. This will show you all of the programs running on your computer. The default category is Startup Programs showing you all of the programs that are automatically started when you boot your computer. If you know some of those programs are ones you don't want or need simply highlight that program and select disable. If you're not sure either leave the program on the list or do a bit of Internet research to determine what it actually does to help you make your decision.

Another method of disabling startup items is MSCONFIG. To start MSCONFIG click on the Start button and type "msconfig" in the box. That will give you msconfig.exe in the program list, click that and the application will start.

Under the Services tab you will find all Services that are running on your computer. You have to be very careful changing these but there may be some you never use that can be disabled. For example, I never use the modem on my system but the service is enabled every time I start my computer. Simply uncheck the boxes next to the services you don't need.

Under the Startup tab is the list of all programs that are started when the computer boots. Like the Services, simply uncheck the box next to any that you don't wish to do so.

Using these tips you can likely reduce the startup time for your system by 25-50%. Since booting Vista can often take two minutes or more that can definitely help you become more productive, faster.

Learn more about this author, Keith Hamburger.
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