# How Many Seconds Does It Take For Your Computer Boot Up?



## 2048Megabytes

If anyone else wants to post this thread is for fun.  *How long does it take for your computer to do a cold boot (go from a powered off state to the login screen) *without using hibernation mode?  

It takes my system (the computer specifications are in my signature) approximately 38 seconds to go from an off state to the log in screen using Windows Vista Service Pack 1.

I know people with some super fast hardware are going to definitely beat my score.  Post your score in this thread for fun.


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## 2048Megabytes

Might I ask also people to post their computer specifications when they post their score.


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## JTM

2048Megabytes said:


> If anyone else wants to post this thread is for fun.  *How long does it take for your computer to do a cold boot (go from a powered off state to the login screen) *without using hibernation mode?
> 
> It takes my system (the computer specifications are in my signature) approximately 38 seconds to go from an off state to the log in screen using Windows Vista Service Pack 1.
> 
> I know people with some super fast hardware are going to definitely beat my score.  Post your score in this thread for fun.



I don't have a stopwatch of any sort, all digital and my cell phone doesn't have a timer. I would say however that mine boots very quickly with the Q6700 and 6 gigs or ram. 

OT: My mom's Dell w/ 256mb of ram and XP Home Edition would take minutes from a cold boot until the startup apps were loaded.


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## 2048Megabytes

Nobody else wants to post anything on this subject?  Maybe I placed this under the wrong subject?


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## Dropkickmurphys

How long mine takes to boot: Too Long.


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## TFT

Windows XP SP2 Professional

Boot up - 29 seconds
Shutdown - 4 seconds


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## bm23

my bios screen just take freaking long to load. plus i dual boot so it's even slower. i think it must take over a min for my com to boot.
c2q 6600
2gb RAM
vista ultimate sp1


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## gamerman4

Doesn't matter, I keep it in sleep when I'm not using, takes about 3 seconds to boot from sleep.
I would say that it takes about 30-40 seconds to cold boot.


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## funkysnair

mine takes too long, i spent 8rs defragging my c drive to no improvement, my scsi 15,000rpm drive will be installed soon-just getting round to it!

getting lazy


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## WeatherMan

Forever  E5200 @ 3.9GHz + 6GB ram, on a 1 week old Vista SP1 installation, lol. This is with 3 things on startup, tweaked services & Classic GUI


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## alexyu

It takes about 30 sec to boot, Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, AMD Athlon x2 5000+, 2gb ram.

Poll?


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## 2048Megabytes

Interesting, I thought I would see some better cold boot up times than what I am seeing.  It sounds like some of you need to do some serious hard drive defragmenting.  You can also use the "MSCONFIG" command to unselect programs that are slowing down your startup after you log in.


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## WeatherMan

I defrag all my drives weekly 

I have a Logo screen that likes to sit around for around 10 seconds, then POST which takes another 5, then the bootloader, then around 15 seconds of windows loading bar, then around 5 seconds to get in to the desktop, and another 5 till that program loads.

I know thats 40 seconds  lol 

I'm going to do time it with a stopwatch now, and write down what happens at whattime


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## WeatherMan

Wow. 

Turn on - 0 Seconds
Logo Appears - 15 Seconds
POST Appears - 19 Seconds
Bootloader Appears - 26 Seconds
Windows Bar Appears - 29 Seconds
Windows Logo Appears - 70 Seconds
Welcome - Too fast to show
Desktop - 73 Seconds

At least its better than my time posted on XS, of over 100 Seconds!

Not really bothered about boot time, I never turn my system off. It's kept on during most power cuts with UPS, I leave it on when I go on holiday etcetc. Just restart when I need to lol.


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## Gooberman

Mine's under 1 min that's all I know (My Compaq)


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## WeatherMan

Holy crap I just tried a Diagnositc Startup.... Disabled Logo post, (System still takes 15s to get display after pressing power. lol

Heres my new times

Turn on - 0 Seconds
POST - 15 Seconds
Bootloader - 25 Seconds
Windows Bar - 29 Seconds
Windows Logo - 69 Seconds
Desktop - 71 Seconds

I've been using Auslogics defrag... I'm gonna try see if windows things my drive is fragmented, should tell me how well the Auslogics software is doing its job... Then I'll try something like defraggler, or can someone suggest a better defrag program?

I'll defrag every drive, do a disk cleanup, cclean etc. See where I get 

edit: Damn, 6GB of Hybernation files .!
3.8GB of Temp Files!


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## chrisalv14

shut down: 10 seconds
boot-up: 14 seconds.


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## thermophilis

44 from cold to login. It's my laptop:
C2D t5750 (2ghz)
Radeon HD3650
3gb ram
5400rpm HDD

I'm kind of surprised that with a 5400rpm drive I can beat some of you.


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## zombine210

41 seconds to log-on screen in Windows 7. 
another 25 seconds for control (open firefox) after password.
time taken with cell phone stop watch.

have not timed Windows XP,


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## lovely?

last i checked, it takes my pc about 45 seconds to be useable on the desktop, not a bad time to me. 

the problem, is that it takes three or four minutes to shut it down!


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## speedyink

The only one I know off hand is my EEE, which takes 42 second from cold to windows 7 logon, about 55 seconds to a minute for the CPU to drop down (completely finished booting)

All I know is my desktop does it faster..I'll time it later


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## 2048Megabytes

chrisalv14 said:


> shut down: 10 seconds
> boot-up: 14 seconds.



You get to the log in screen in 14 seconds?  What system are you using to get a 14 second cold boot time?  Do you have a Solid State Drive?


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## speedyink

Ok, desktop is 40 seconds to the windows 7 logon screen, 52 seconds fully booted.  About 20-30 seconds of the booting was bios/post crap.



2048Megabytes said:


> You get to the log in screen in 14 seconds?  What system are you using to get a 14 second cold boot time?  Do you have a Solid State Drive?



Hell, how does his bios/post last less than that.

I'm gonna start timing mine from the windows loading screen (so right after boot menu) to desktop...I'll get much better times 

As for my EEE, I need to figure out how to get boot booster working on it's new hard drive...


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## 2048Megabytes

speedyink said:


> Ok, desktop is 40 seconds to the windows 7 logon screen, 52 seconds fully booted.  About 20-30 seconds of the booting was bios/post crap.



Is there a fast boot option in your BIOS?


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## JTM

I wonder if anyone here is in the "How many MINUTES does it take for your computer to boot up?" stage still.


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## WeatherMan

I am


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## speedyink

2048Megabytes said:


> Is there a fast boot option in your BIOS?



Hmmm...I can't recall, I'll take a look next time I reboot.


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## Bob Jeffery

Mine usually takes about 25-20 seconds to desktop. I wonder why y'all's bios take so long to long


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## 2048Megabytes

Bob Jeffery said:


> Mine usually takes about 25-20 seconds to desktop. I wonder why y'all's bios take so long to long



Different basic input/output systems are on each motherboard.  Some motherboards have a more efficient BIOS than others.  What is your motherboard model Bob Jeffery?


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## WeatherMan

I just spent hours shifting all my OS installation to the front of my drive, defragging the pagefile, bootfiles etcetc, virus scanning ccleaning and general cleanup.

Im, 7 Seconds. SLOWER 

I'm trying to make a decision.... I have a 320GB drive (60Mbps Transfer) and a 750GB drive (80Mbps Transfer) Newer drive...

the 750GB is partitioned into 2, one for the OS and the other for movies. The 320GB is used as a storage drive.

I did originally use the 320GB slower drive for OS and the 750GB unpartitioned for storage. Now that I'm booting from my partitioned drive my boot times are rediculous. This is with 3 startup programs, and a serverly modified services list. Defragged drives no temp files no system restore hybernation etc etc...

Is it better to stick my OS back on the smaller drive?


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## 2048Megabytes

Bootup05 said:


> I did originally use the 320GB slower drive for OS and the 750GB unpartitioned for storage. Now that I'm booting from my partitioned drive my boot times are rediculous. This is with 3 startup programs, and a serverly modified services list. Defragged drives no temp files no system restore hybernation etc etc...
> 
> Is it better to stick my OS back on the smaller drive?



What is the exact make and model number of your hard drives?  If we can find out the specifications of your hard drive we can find which one reads faster.


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## Gareth

My desktop takes 10 seconds to post (disabled fast bios because of my RAID config). Then once its posted, its booted to a usable state in 27 seconds.


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## Kesava

What if I don't have multiple accounts and therefore doesn't show a login screen, where do I time to? The screen that comes up for a few seconds that says "welcome"? does that even happen in Vista? I can't remember. What about the Vista orb thing. The circular logo vista thing... will that do?


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## apj101

why would you ever turn your computer off?


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## Archangel

apj101 said:


> why would you ever turn your computer off?




because I cant sleep with the thing on.  funny tough, my pc is quite quiet, but the feint noise still keeps me awake.. :x


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## FairDoos

12's Aprox, and the specs are in my sig 

I just recently reformatted so i think thats got something to do with a good boot time


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## apj101

Archangel said:


> because I cant sleep with the thing on.  funny tough, my pc is quite quiet, but the feint noise still keeps me awake.. :x



im the other way around. If its too quite I cant sleep. My PC is not in my bedroom. But fortunatly the gentle noise of the city serenades me to sleep.


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## Kesava

I used to hate any noise at all when I was trying to sleep. My speakers used to emit the faintest sound even when turned off. It wasn't audible until you were lying in bed silently and I would pull the plug every night. But since being in India and sleeping with a fan on full every night, I don't care about noise


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## 2048Megabytes

Kesava said:


> What if I don't have multiple accounts and therefore doesn't show a login screen, where do I time to? The screen that comes up for a few seconds that says "welcome"? does that even happen in Vista? I can't remember. What about the Vista orb thing. The circular logo vista thing... will that do?



I would say time it until after the Vista logo disappears because that is when the log in screen would appear.  

Why don't you have a password to get on your computer?


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## 2048Megabytes

apj101 said:


> Why would you ever turn your computer off?



It's a waste of power to leave it on all the time.  It also shortens the life of a personal computer to leave it on all the time.


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## WeatherMan




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## patrickv

I'm gonna restart in a sec, so i'll post mine, probably half an hour 

----

edit : 26 secs, starting directly at the boot screen !! shucks


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## Kesava

2048Megabytes said:


> Why don't you have a password to get on your computer?



Firstly because my dad's computer is currently in storage so we share mine. Secondly because I wouldn't password it anyway as I have no need to. Thirdly because I prefer the computer to log straight on so I can turn it on and come back and it will be ready.


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## Hdk20

Boot up: 32 seconds.

Shutdown: 4 seconds.


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## 2048Megabytes

PatrickV has the fastest time so far at 26 seconds.  I think someone else who stated 14 seconds didn't follow my instructions on when to start their timer during a cold boot.

Anyone with an operating system installed on a Solid State Drive willing to post a time from a cold boot?


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## Aastii

I don't have a password either so am going til after the vista logo as instructe and that takes around 25 seconds when i clean, fresh install. when i have my system how it is now, ie cluttered takes 30 dead, that is because i have to wait for avast, steam  and xfire to load up. Sucks to have start up programs 

I'll take this opurtunity to post my mums old system because we timed that as it was so ******* slow.

To give you some idea if you want to guess before, she had a 3.2GHz celeron D processory with 256mb RAM and possibly the slowest HDD in history (it is now my storage one) along with a 6400

to boot up fully to the point that you could open something took 5 minutes and 24 seconds...lightning  quick eh


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## 2048Megabytes

How old is the hard drive?  Can you hear it when it reads?  If you bought another 512 megabyte RAM module for her computer it would likely increase performance and only cost about $18.


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## JTM

I remember when it was a pain to reboot a pc. Now it's like a simple walk in the park. I don't even realize it takes any time really, compared to what I used to deal with.


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## 2048Megabytes

I timed the following computer from a cold boot with the following specifications:

Hewlett Packard Model A305W 
Processor: Celeron (2.7 gigahertz) Model SL77S using 0.13 micron technology
RAM: 768 Megabytes running at about PC-2100 speeds
Operating System: Linux Ubuntu 8.04

Got approximately a 58 second boot time to get to the login screen.

The computer runs slow though doing normal tasks such as browsing the Internet.


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## DJboutit

7 yr old computer running windows 2000 best time just under 3 min when computer has many problems 6min


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## chrisalv14

it takes about 30-60 seconds for mine to boot up.


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## 2048Megabytes

DJboutit said:


> 7 year old computer running Windows 2000 best time just under 3 minutes.  When computer has many problems 6 minutes.



Wow, you may want to look in the newspaper and buy a more up to date computer for $100.


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## pfig88

on my current build, about 15 secs from cold boot to my account, Vista 64-bit.


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## JTM

I just learned that you can set your PC in Windows 7 to boot using all the cores on your CPU. I've changed mine from 1 to 4 and didn't see any performance enhancements


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## 2048Megabytes

pfig88 said:


> On my current build, about 15 seconds from cold boot to my account, Vista 64-bit.



That was not using hibernation mode? That was a cold boot!?


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## 2048Megabytes

JTM said:


> I just learned that you can set your PC in Windows 7 to boot using all the cores on your CPU. I've changed mine from 1 to 4 and didn't see any performance enhancements



There is also this option in Windows Vista.


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## mx344

Desktop in my sig:46 seconds
My IBM t60(laptop):23 seconds
This is using vista home premium 32bit.

Laptop spec.
2gigs of ram
t2400 @ 1.83ghz
60gig @ 5400rpm
15.4 screen


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## JTM

2048Megabytes said:


> There is also this option in Windows Vista.



Really, I wasn't aware of that feature! Thanks! Sadly it probably won't help any (not that it takes a while anyway).


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## mx344

^lol yah , although i didnt seem to get much of a speed up, it was like 50seconds with one core running, and like 46seconds with 2 cores running.


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## Bones

For me to get to my desktop, and able to work things takes:

17 seconds.


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## 2048Megabytes

Bones said:


> For me to get to my desktop, and able to work things takes:
> 
> 17 seconds.



Did you do this from a cold boot?  What are your system specifications?


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## 2048Megabytes

I doubt Bones who stated 17 seconds followed my instructions on when to start his timer during a cold boot.

I just did another old laptop.  Approximately a 62 second boot up time for a Toshiba Satellite 1800. Specifications are as follows:

Celeron 1 gigahertz processor
256 megabytes of PC-100 RAM

After the log in screen it takes about two more minutes before the computer is ready to respond though.


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## massahwahl

About 26 seconds here.

When I had my old IDE hard drive it was closer to 90+ seconds. Used to take FOREVER!

My media center pc is 32 seconds.


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## tlarkin

You guys have to reboot your computers?  Oh wait, you guys use Windows, LOL LOL LOL LOL

































jest kidding guys!


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## 2048Megabytes

What is your cold boot time with your Macintosh TLarkin?


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## tlarkin

2048Megabytes said:


> What is your cold boot time with your Macintosh TLarkin?



From power off to log in screen?  Dunno let me time it.

Powered  machine off, let it sit for over 5 minutes, powered on and started stop watch on my iPhone.  Took approximately 43 seconds from power on to log in screen.  This is my Macbook Pro, which well, is my work machine and is used hardcore.  I will have to time my G5 at home which I barely use and is probably more optimal.

I will time my vista desktop too.  If I reboot it takes like 14 to 20 seconds to hit the log in screen again.

Also on a side note I have not rebooted this thing in probably 6 months if not longer.













This also depends on what you guys considered to be booted....

I don't reboot my systems unless they need it and typically when they start to run slow I reboot them.


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## gamerman4

about 3 seconds after I touch my power button (ExpressGate OS FTW)
I normally don't turn off Windows 7 unless I have a good reason, sleep works great on my system.

Just testing cold boot, got 27 seconds to login screen. Logs me in to desktop in about 1.5 seconds.


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## The Best Jack

Around 30 to 40 seconds.

Jack.


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## G25r8cer

XP Pro Performance Ed

34Seconds Using BootTimer

Vista Ultimate 

Too Long  -  64Seconds

This is why I use Xp more often now


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## tlarkin

what do you guys consider to be booted?


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## CdnAudiophile

It takes my computer from time I press the power button till everything is fully loaded on the desktop 1 minute 6 secs . I am running Vista Ultimate 64bit.


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## theasian100

from press button to the time I can ACTUALLY start using my computer (like using firefox and such)

3 minutes. So sad...


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## gamerman4

tlarkin said:


> what do you guys consider to be booted?



I hit the button on my timer as I hit the power button, stopped it on the login screen. 27 seconds. Logs in in about 1.5 seconds. It is usable the moment it logs in (woo Win7). I consider usable to be booted.


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## tlarkin

gamerman4 said:


> I hit the button on my timer as I hit the power button, stopped it on the login screen. 27 seconds. Logs in in about 1.5 seconds. It is usable the moment it logs in (woo Win7). I consider usable to be booted.



Are all your system processes up and fully running at that point, or just able to log in, or just to the log in screen?


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## laznz1

28 seconds complete from cold boot specs in sig while running in the XP sector


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## G25r8cer

tlarkin said:


> Are all your system processes up and fully running at that point, or just able to log in, or just to the log in screen?



He said Usable!!! What more info do you need?


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## gamerman4

tlarkin said:


> Are all your system processes up and fully running at that point, or just able to log in, or just to the log in screen?



Unlike most people, I don't have 100 things startup when I login so as soon as I log into my user, I can immediately open firefox (or whatever else) with no delay.


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## tlarkin

g25racer said:


> He said Usable!!! What more info do you need?



Read up on how OSes work, then you will understand.  Kernel starts first, then core services, then system services, then user services.  Typically you can log right in but a lot of times, depending on your set up you can't do anything for a few minutes.


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## gamerman4

tlarkin said:


> Read up on how OSes work, then you will understand.  Kernel starts first, then core services, then system services, then user services.  Typically you can log right in but a lot of times, depending on your set up you can't do anything for a few minutes.



I have noticed my boot times are faster now I have 4GB of RAM (an upgrade from DDR2-800 to 1066 as well), and with my new motherboard having 2 extra USB slots, I've even got a 1GB usb stick for readyboost. Nice and peppy now. Boot times really don't mean much tho since a single driver or program installation can cripple your boot time if it requires kernel-mode drivers or just adds a lot of services (Norton is famous for this).


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## G25r8cer

gamerman4 said:


> Unlike most people, I don't have 100 things startup when I login so as soon as I log into my user, I can immediately open firefox (or whatever else) with no delay.



Me too  I only have the necessary things on startup. At idle I only have 25 processes running on xp and on vista well thats 40 processes.


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## tlarkin

My VM of XP SP3 boots in about 15 seconds.


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## G25r8cer

So does mine in Virtual PC


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## Bodaggit23

Cold boot, from power off, is about 45-50 seconds.
I lose 15 seconds because my goofy board takes that
long to post.


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## dannaswolcott

Well it takes my pc about 20 sec from bios screen to the desktop. It dont even show Welcome, I hear the vista boot sound then right to desktop it goes. All I have running is McAfee, Logmein, and SynchronEyes ( my computer monitoring program ). Shut down is almost asap. I keep cleaning up the pc and running defragg all the time and it seams to keep the boot time to a low. I dont let anything much start up on boot, I disable a lot, everything I dont need. btw... I havent rebooted in 26 days.


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## footballstevo75

40 seconds with the pc in sig and I can run all my programs that are installed with no delay.

Stupid bootloader slows me down lol


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## Feuerfrei.x

41 to boot
second time it wanted to do a disc check soo.... 3.51 grrr


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## Machin3

I installed Windows 7 and the boot time increased by like 20 seconds. It surprises me.


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## Dystopia

I'm not sure exactly, but I get around 7 seconds on the POST, then it takes a couple seconds to get to the OS chooser thing (For one reason or another I had to delete the folder, if someone could tell me how to get rid of that screen it would be great). by the time I choose XP it's been about a total of 10 seconds. windows loading screen is on for no more than 15, so that brings be 25. By the time I'm at the login screen to enter my pass its been about 32 seconds. With out the pass, I'd probably get around 35 seconds because it don't got to loadthe password screen.

AMD 5200,4GB RAM, 7200RPM SATA HDD, 8600GTS, XP Pro SP3

MY parents desktop is a complete joke. Takes well over a full 2 minutes.

2.5ghz celeron, 512MB RAM, probably a 5400RPM IDE for sure hard drive, intregrated graphics  its a total paice of garbage

EDIT: I have never defragged my hard drive. Re-installed plenty of OS's lolz (like at least 5 times) but no defrags.


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## remixedcat

2 minutes, but a server os so it pops up alot of crap. more then a client OS.


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