What is one effective way to speed up a PC that is taking a long time to boot?

Removing applications from startup is an effective way to speed up a PC during the boot process. When a computer is turned on, the operating system loads a variety of processes and applications that are set to start automatically. The more applications that are set to run at startup, the longer it takes for the operating system to fully load and become usable.

By eliminating unnecessary applications from the startup list, you reduce the load on the system during boot, which can lead to quicker boot times. This also means that system resources are freed up, allowing essential processes to start faster and improving overall system responsiveness after the boot process is complete.

In contrast, installing a faster hard drive can improve boot times as well, but it involves more time and cost and does not directly address the issue of applications slowing down the boot process. Adding RAM can enhance overall system performance, especially for multitasking, but doesn’t typically impact boot speed directly unless the system is severely constrained by memory. Running virus scans is important for system health but does not affect the speed of the boot process itself. Thus, removing applications from startup is a more immediate and effective solution for speeding up boot times.