System Boot Time Saver

Every time we boot the system, there are a number of applications that try to start at the same time with Windows, which happens because many programs create shortcuts in the startup folder. In this context, there are a few situations that need to be taken into account. The first one is when the application warns you about the creation of a startup entry, asking you for permission in this regard (see Winamp, which asks you to allow Winamp Agent as startup entry). The second situation is when a program adds an entry to the startup list without notifying you (see Logitech Desktop Messenger, which does not ask for startup entry permission). And the last one is when applications create shortcuts and add services to system boot (all antivirus products, firewalls etc. are included in this category). In this situation the applications have components that are checking for updates or belong to real-time process actions, so it is imperative to add startup entries.

In all situations the applications try to start at the same time with the operating system, which can cause the latter to block. Why? Because we don’t have unlimited resources that we can spear only for startup. I performed a small test on a computer featuring 1.8GHz Dual Core, 4GB of RAM and running Vista OS. In startup we had antivirus, some small applications (4), a graphic editor, a small image capture program and IE-based browser with at least 15 tabs to open. Although I had 4GB of RAM and a pretty powerful CPU, trust me when I say that some sort of startup order can make a difference. If you can configure the applications to start with a small delay between them, you can save a great deal of time.

The application that was tested is called Startup Delayer, and it does exactly what I mentioned in the previous paragraph, namely, it allows you to create a scheduled startup list, by applying a delay time, which, of course, can be modified, after each item starts. The main goal is to gain time, and to make your system boot faster. In the main window Startup Delayer displays a list with all startup items. It does not list the boot services though, like msconfig, but showing them is sometimes not very recommended because if you don’t know their exact purpose you could end up destabilizing your system. The main list can be filtered upon user name. When adding a new item, the program will let you set a delay time and a target folder, as well as add startup parameters and location.

Startup Delayer was designed to work in two modes: Safe and Advanced. While the former will not allow you to “take action” upon startup list, the latter will allow you to modify the startup list, namely delete or add items. I had a bit of trouble understanding the difference, but after creating the list and system reboot, it all became clear. In other words, the Safe mode will not display the items that start, but the Advanced mode will display a small progress window on the top side of your desktop, showing starting options and also the delay time. This way you can skip, cancel or pause applications' start.

The first test that I performed was to install a program that did not ask user permission to create a startup entry (Logitech Desktop Messenger). Startup Delayer did not warn me about any new entry but instead popped up immediately in the main list. The second test involved using Winamp. Also, in this case Startup Delayer didn’t notify me about any modification to startup. This feature, of notifying the user when a new item is added to the startup list, is more characteristic to programs that perform startup monitoring actions. A startup manager that also has this feature implemented would raise a lot of interest.

After customizing the startup list I wanted to back up my configuration somehow, but the backup process is not really necessary if there is only one running user. The program will also allow you to set a fixed time delay in seconds, if you consider this to be the best method. Another thing that I noticed was that Startup Delayer did not list the system components that start at boot. There are free applications like, Starter, that provide this feature along with other ones like the opportunity to search the name of the item using Google, or a small description that can tell a little about the selected startup entry.

The User Interface consists mostly of the Configuration window. The startup list items can be sorted using colors, which are assigned from the right click menu of every item, using Classify as option. The color Black is for unclassified items, Blue is for System Process, Green is assigned to 3rd Party Application, and Red stands for malware classification. The language of the interface can be changed and you can choose between seven languages. Another small window component of the user interface lets you view known applications. Here the items are assigned to categories: System Process, 3rd Party Application and Malware.

The Good

The idea of setting up a boot order to save time and resources is always welcomed, but Startup Delayer provides the possibility to add delay time between items. A big plus goes for the Advanced Mode from where you can pause, skip or cancel the startup of items.  

The Bad

Startup Delayer will not display the system components that start at boot. This will not allow a power user to disable, enable or remove startup system components. For every item that you add, important information can be found using Google search. Yes, you could copy the name and use a browser, but it is a lot easier to do it from within the program.  

The Truth

To gain time at system boot you will need to either keep a small number of items in startup or create an order for the items to start in. Startup Delayer will do the last part for you, namely, it will allow you to set a delay time for every item. To make the application more interesting a startup monitoring process can be added.

Yes, this feature requires some sort of background or system tray functionality to be implemented, but think about the advantages that this real-time monitoring includes. You would not be forced to search the list for new items but simply block new entries, because applications are not the only ones that have startup entries, but services too, which can slow down the boot process.