Until a few years ago, even before the arrival of Windows 7, PCs almost all started very slowly and more or less it took at least a minute, if not much more, before it could be used. Fortunately, things have improved considerably today, from Windows 7 we have arrived at Windows 10 and computers have certainly evolved also from the hardware point of view, becoming faster and more powerful.
Today, therefore, if the PC takes so long to turn on, then there is certainly a problem that can and must be solved, because it is not a normal situation.
There are basically two causes of a slow Windows startup : the first is the presence of too many programs, processes and services that are set to start automatically, the second is a hardware, disk or memory problem .
The first is, of course, the most frequent cause, because the installed programs are the main problem of a slow PC.
The more programs you install, the more likely some of them will automatically start background processes that slow down the initial power-on and load process.
To fix the problem of programs that start automatically, you need to check the Windows task manager (Windows 10 and 8).
Then open the task manager by pressing the CTRL Shift Esc or CTRL Shift Esc keys together to go to the Startup tab to find all the items that start automatically.
Among these, check those that do not need to have in automatic start, select them one by one and press on Disable .
These programs could include utilities from iTunes, spotify, Google, the printer, the graphics card, the mouse and keyboard or touchpad management tool and then also the antivirus and security programs that can be kept enabled.
Those to be deactivated are certainly all the elements that have written in the High or Medium Startup Impact column, because they are the ones that are actually causing slowdowns.
For these programs it is worth considering the idea of removing them completely from the PC.
In Windows 7 you cannot use the task manager to manage the automatic start of programs.
You can use the internal tool MSConfig, not too simple but important and to know, or an external program (which can also be useful in Windows 10 to have more startup options).
Among the best programs to manage the startup of the PC, already reported in another article, we can remember here the best, Autoruns from Microsoft and the simplest, Ccleaner, which can be used to clean the disk and which also has a section dedicated to startup.
If Windows remains slow even if there are no particular programs and processes in automatic startup, then there is a hardware problem, almost certainly related to the hard disk.
For example, a PC with an old hard disk can never be quick to switch on and load programs, just as a PC with a disk is almost full, on which it will be required to free up space.
Another reason for slowing down your computer is the excessive fragmentation of files on the disk, which requires defragmentation .
I therefore refer to the guide to defragment and clean a hard disk to optimize the computer .
It must be considered that the hard disk is really a slow piece of the computer (even the newest and best there is) and there is not much you can do to speed it up.
What can be done today at a low cost is to put Windows on a solid state drive or SSD much faster, keeping the hard disk only as data storage.
Replacing the hard disk with an SSD is an easy operation on both fixed and portable PCs and is an upgrade that brings great benefits.
It is not wrong to say that with the SSD, even a medium-low level Windows PC can become fast to turn on almost like a smartphone or tablet.
If the startup of Windows was slow even on a PC with SSD that does not have problems of programs in automatic start, the responsibility is surely the RAM memory that is damaged.
Replacing the RAM should almost certainly solve the slowness problem.
As explained in the past, changing discs and adding RAM on the laptop allows you to improve and renew it in a decisive and sensitive way.
READ ALSO: Speed up the startup of the Windows PC for a faster boot of the computer
