Computer Slow to Start Up?

When you turn your computer on does it sit and churn? Do you keep clicking icons without getting a result until finally, after about 5 minutes, your computer pops up multiple copies of the application that you've been trying to start?

There are several reasons that this may be happening but the most common reason lies in your 'Startup' menu. On XP machines, click on Start then All Programs then Startup.

Take a look at the programs in your Startup menu. Do you have quick start applications listed for MS Office, Adobe, iTunes, etc.? These applications are a real pain. What they are doing is preparing your PC to quickly open up that application SHOULD YOU SELECT IT. In most cases you can live with MS Office or Adobe taking a little longer to open in return for your PC starting up faster. Delete these quick start apps and restart your machine.

Your Startup menu should only contain applications that you really need to startup every time you start your computer. If you don't know what the app does, leave it. Do some research to find out what the program is and whether you are using it. If you don't use the application, remove the startup menu entry.

NOTE: to remove a menu entry in XP simply right click it and select delete from the menu that appears.