FASTER SHUTDOWN

One of the reasons why Windows can take a really long time to shut down is because it clears the page file every time you power off your PC. This is good from the security point of view, as the page file stores temporary files and other data. Sometimes unencrypted passwords can end up in your paging file, which means that clearing it on shutdown is not such a bad idea. However, if you have all your sensitive data encrypted or if extreme security is not high on your list of priorities, it's a good idea to stop Windows clearing the page file every time you shut down your computer. To do that, you'll need to change some stuff in the registry. Here is how:

1. Click on Start and type regedit in the Search box (XP users will need to click on Start - Run and type regedit there). Hit Enter
2. In the new window, locate HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\MemoryManagement
3. Now double-click on ClearPageFileAtShutdown and change the value to 1
4. Close the Registry Editor and reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.

Another way to speed up Windows shutdown is to decrease the time Windows waits to kill non-responding services. To do that, we will need to open regedit again:

1.   Click on Start and type regedit in the Search box (XP users will need to click on Start - Run and type regedit there). Hit Enter
2. Now navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control
3. Now double-click on WaitToKillServiceTimeout. A new window will appear
4. Change the value to 5000
5. Click OK, close the Registry Editor and restart your computer.

EXTERNAL HDD CACHE

Some external Hard Disk Drives allows ReadyBoost feature and external caching. The performance difference is notable in USB 3.0 than in USB 2.0 devices. External caching allows the system to use external HDDs for caching the data and retrieving it when needed. It is similar to the caching on the native HDD installed inside the system except that the caching file is stored in external HDD.

ENABLE READY BOOST

ReadyBoost is a feature that was first introduced in Windows Vista and made its way into Windows 7. Basically, it lets you use a USB flash drive as secondary memory cache, which helps your computer run faster. Keep in mind that it's no substitute for RAM, though.

To use ReadyBoost, simply insert a USB flash drive and if it meets certain requirements, Windows 7 will ask you if you want to use it for ReadyBoost and recommend the size to reserve.

If you insert the flash drive and nothing happens, AutoPlay could be disabled on your computer. In this case do the following:

1. Go to Computer, right-click on the removable storage device and select Properties.
2. If the drive is compatible, you will see ReadyBoost there. Click on it.
3. Select Use this device and set the amount of space to be used for ReadyBoost system file.
4. Click OK.

 Depending on your initial system speed, ReadyBoost can improve the performance of your PC quite significantly. On average, you can expect something like a 15-20% improvement in some applications.   

ENABLE QUICK BOOT

In the past, computers needed to run POSTs (power-on self-tests), which are no longer necessary. However, some systems still perform them and thus increase your PCs startup time. Memory check is the longest of them all and can last for several seconds. The Quick Boot option still performs all the necessary tests, but it does that quicker. This makes sense, because the complete version of POSTs is not really needed every time you power up your PC.

Turning on Quick Boot is pretty easy:

1. Enter BIOS settings
2. Depending on BIOS version, you will see either “Quick Boot”, “Fast Boot” or “Memory Check”. Use the arrow keys to highlight it.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to either enable "Quick Boot" or disable "Memory Check"
4. Press Esc to exit the BIOS and don't forget to save all changes
5. Reboot your computer for the changes to take effect

ENABLE DIRECT MEMORY ACCESS

It's not only disabling things that can increase PC speed. Enabling features that are disabled by default can significantly speed things up.

Direct Memory Access (DMA) is a feature that allows your hard drive and CD-ROM drive to transfer data directly to and from the memory without using the microprocessor. Basically, Direct Memory Access decreases the CPU load and thus makes your system work faster.

Direct memory access is usually enabled by default for devices that support it. However, sometimes you might need to manually enable DMA, especially if the device was improperly installed or a system error occurred. To enable DMA, do the following:

1. Click on the Start button, type devmgmt.msc in the Search box and hit Enter. This will open Device Manager. Click on Confirm if UAC prompts you so.

2. In the left-hand pane, expand the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers by clicking on the + sign

3. Locate the icons that have the word Channel as part of their label

4. Right-click on the icon, and then click Properties

5. Go to the Advanced Settings tab, and then check the Enable DMA checkbox under Device Properties.

 6. Click OK and you are done.

ENABLE ADVANCED DISK PERFORMANCE

One more way to speed up your SATA hard drive and improve overall Windows 7 performance is to enable write caching. Be careful, though, and only enable this option if you have a UPS and there is absolutely no risk of power cuts. Otherwise you can lose your data. To enable advanced disk performance, do the following:

1.   Click on Start, right-click on Computer and go to Properties.
2. Click on the Device Manager on the left-hand side.
3. Open the Disk drives section, right-click on your hard drive and select Properties.
4. Go to the Policies tab.
5. Check Enable write caching on the disk.
6. Click OK and you're done.

DISABLING STARTUP ITEMS

Your computer may have many programs configured to load on windows startup. These programs can make your PC startup very slow and you don't need all of them at startup anyway. As you install more software, more programs automatically add themselves to your startup list. The more there are, the more RAM gets taken up on Windows boot. That's how your computer becomes sluggish on startup. The solution is to go through your startup list and disabling all the unwanted programs.

When you start your computer, Windows has to load a whole bunch of system files without which it can't run. However, a lot of other programs also put themselves in the startup folder. These can be anything, from Google Update to Skype and Windows Live Messenger. Adobe programs are also notorious for launching on startup by default.

Unnecessary startup items are easy to manage with the help of the System Configuration Utility. Here's how:

1. Click on the Start button, then click Run (for Windows XP) or Search Programs and files (for Windows 7).
2. Type msconfig in the box and hit Enter. This will launch the System Configuration Utility.
3. Go to the Startup tab. You will see a list of all programs launching on Windows Startup.
4. Now go through the list and simply uncheck the programs you don't want to start automatically. Be careful and don't start disabling recklessly. If you don't know what something is, it's best to leave it alone or at least Google it before disabling.
5. Click Apply and then click OK.
6. Reboot Windows for the changes to take effect.

Alternate method using software:

 You can use the Startup Manager feature in Advanced System Care or use the native one in Wise cleaner.