Tweak3D.net - System Startup Tweak Guide

Updated: September 20, 1999
Written by: Dan "Tweak Monkey" Kennedy

Introduction

The typical Windows user has to restart his or her system several times daily. Whether it's due to installing a new program, updating drivers, or even the result of a system crash, it has to be done. There is practically no real way to avoid the near constant rebooting that Windows 9x forces you to suffer, but you can fight it. This guide will help you to minimize the time it takes your computer to startup. Also, this guide will help you optimize your computer's startup routine so you can enter Windows with a ton of free resources.

First Step - the BIOS

The first step to making your system startup quicker is to tweak certain BIOS settings that lead to slow downs and delays. To enter the BIOS setup, restart your PC and hit the key designated for setup. (ex: "Hit delete for setup") Usually the key is designated right on the screen, and often times this key is DELETE. If you can't find the key, look in your motherboard manual. If you can't find one of the following commands, look for a similar command. If you still can't find it, skip over it and look at the next command. Here are the commands you should look for to change:

These commands can be found in various sections of different BIOS setup programs. Search for the following:

Turbo Frequency - ENABLE. This will set your bus speed approximately 2.5% higher, offering a generous speed increase. This may not be supported or work on all systems. It will make the system startup a bit faster. Note that this can cause problems with some systems.

IDE Hard Disk Detection - This part of the BIOS Setup will detect your hard disks for you; and you can save the configuration. If you configure your hard drives here, you will not have to let your BIOS auto-detect the drives every time you boot up, which will save you time. This is a rather simple process and I don't think I need to explain it further.

Standard BIOS Setup Menu - This part of the BIOS Setup will confirm that all of the hard disks are configured. If you're sure you're not using a certain drive, turn off auto-detection and save yourself some time. CDROM drives usually do not need to be configured for Windows and your computer to identify them.

AGP Aperture Size - This number will set the maximum amount of memory that can be accessed by the AGP graphics card. It is recommended that you set this to 1/4 or 1/2 of your total system memory, unless instructed otherwise by your graphics card manual. If you receive odd errors when executing OpenGL applications, consider setting this value back to its default setting. E.g. if you run Quake 2 and the following error pops-up: Error GLimp_EndFrame0 - SwapBuffers0 Failed!

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