If you use Windows Vista, you know that it can be really slow on startup and take a lot of time to become responsive after the desktop loads. I’ve always found it really annoying, to put it mildly. Fortunately, it’s possible to speed up Vista startup.

The reason why Vista takes so long to load is that it does a lot in the background – it loads up processes, services, and applications, which is pretty time- and resource-consuming. The more there is to load, the longer it takes.

Of course, your Windows might take too long to load because of viruses or spyware, or because you need to upgrade your hardware, but that’s another story.

Here is how you can speed up Vista startup in two easy steps.

Tame Your Software

The first thing we start doing after getting a new computer is installing software. Some of the programs are essential, others are there just because we wanted to check them out and forgot to remove them. And a lot of those programs load on startup too, which causes significant system slow-downs.

So, the first thing you should do to improve Vista boot time is remove software you never use and stop applications you don’t always use loading on startup.

To remove programs you don’t need:

1. Click on the Start button, then go to Control Panel
2. Double-click on Programs and Features
3. There you can view all programs you have installed and remove the ones you don’t need

To manage your startup list, use Windows Defender:

1. Click on the Start button, type in defender and hit Enter
2. In Windows Defender, click Tools and then Software Explorer
3. You will get a list of your startup items. Don’t overdo it and disable your antivirus or other vital programs!

Control Windows Services

Apart from applications, Windows loads various services. Some of them are vital, others you never use. So why let them hog your computer?

To customize services, do the following:

1. Click on the Start button, type in services, and hit Enter
2. You’ll get a window with all the services and their short description
3. Be careful what you disable, because you might make your PC unbootable by mistake

If you’d like to be able to remove software, manage your startup items and services in just two clicks, try Auslogics BoostSpeed. Not only does it make removing programs and startup items fast and easy, it also gives you tailor-made advice on which services are safe to disable.

Hope these tips were helpful and your Vista now loads faster!