Many users face the problem of a slow Windows start-up. Disabling startup entries using the msconfig utility is one easy way to make Windows start faster. Tweak enthusiasts may want to see this post on how to Make Windows start, run, shutdown faster, for more tips.
Windows 7 & Vista users can also use the inbuilt Windows Boot Performance Diagnostics to detect Windows Boot Performance problems and attempt to determine their root causes.
You will first have to activate it from the Group Policy Editor. To do so, type gpedit.msc in start search to open the Group Policy Editor. The gpedit.msc feature is only present in Windows 7 Ultimate, Professional and Enterprise editions, by the way!
Now navigate to Computer configuration > Administrative Template > Systems > Troubleshooting and Diagnostics > Windows Boot Performance Diagnostics.
In the right panel, double click Configure Scenario Execution level.
You may see it set to “Not configured”. Select “Enabled”.
Now select Scenario Execution Level. From the drop down menu select “Detection and Troubleshooting Only” or “Detection, Troubleshooting and Resolution”.
If you select “Detection and Troubleshooting only” then the Diagnostic Policy Service (DPS) will detect Windows Boot Performance problems and attempt to determine their root causes. These root causes will be logged to the event log when detected, but no corrective action will be taken.
If you select “Detection, Troubleshooting and Resolution”, the DPS will detect Windows Boot Performance problems and indicate to the user that assisted resolution is available.
If you disable this policy setting, Windows will not be able to detect, troubleshoot or resolve any Windows Boot Performance problems that are handled by the DPS.
If you do not configure this policy setting, the DPS will enable Windows Boot Performance for resolution by default.
During a shutdown or restart, you may get to see this Shutdown Tracker window.
Do note that this policy setting will only take effect when the Diagnostic Policy Service is in the running state. When the service is stopped or disabled, diagnostic scenarios will not be executed.
Windows 7 or Vista Home Premium users may find the following information to be of interest:
As mentioned, the Group Policy Editor or gpedit.msc is not included with Windows 7 or Vista Home Premium. It’s only available in Business, Ultimate and Enterprise editions.
The gpedit.msc is basically a front-end for various registry settings and so you can open the Registry Editor and change the key/s listed in the table.
This spreadsheet from Microsoft, lists the policy settings for computer and user configurations included in the administrative template files delivered with Windows 7. These files are used to expose policy settings when you edit Group Policy Objects (GPOs) using Group Policy Object Editor (also known as GPEdit).
If you have liked this post, you might want to check out some more, on topics like Group Policy, Performance, Tips.
