How To Speed Up Windows XP Shutdown
Article By: Editor | Topic: "How to", Slow PC?, Speed Up PC, XP & Vista Problems
It’s fairly common for people to want to learn how to speed up their Windows XP startup and boot up; in fact, it’s actually quite the popular topic. However, we’re going to head to the opposite side of the spectrum right now and delve into how to speed up Windows XP shutdown. Now, since you’re here you’ve probably been suffering from deplorably slow PC shutdown, and we have three tricks that may enable your PC to shut down within seconds as opposed to mind-numbing minutes. Yes – we said seconds.
What we’re going to be sharing today will involve manually editing your computer’s registry. We generally we advise against such activities because it can be dangerous - however, if you follow our advice and be careful when you’re editing the registry, you should fare just fine.
Before you start – backup the registry
This is a word to the wise whenever you’re making any changes to your computer’s registry, and it’s important to do now. In order to backup the registry, though, you need to access your PCs registry editor:
Click Start from your desktop >> Run >> Type in “regedit” (no quotes) >> Press OK
At this point you should have your Windows Registry editor in front of you. To create a backup of your registry:
Click File >> Export
When you’re prompted for the file name, we suggest creating something like “registrybackup-todays.date” or something like that so that you know what the file is. By default the backup file should be in your My Documents folder.
Important Note: Before you click “Save”, at the bottom of the Export Registry File screen you will see two options under Export Range: All and Selected Branch. Be 100% sure that you choose All, otherwise you will not have a complete backup of your registry.
Click Save >> Backup Complete! Be patient, though as it may take a minute or so to process.
Now, onto the tweaks
In order to continue, you should already have your Windows registry editor open.
Tweak #1: This tweak will lower the amount of time Windows allows itself before it kills open applications when you press the shutdown or restart button.
Click HKEY_CURRENT_USER >> Control Panel >> Desktop
Be sure that Desktop is highlighted (in the left panel) and in the right panel find the following:
HungAppTimeout – double click on this entry, enter 1000 and hit OK
WaitToKillAppTimeout – double click on this entry, enter 1000 then hit OK
Tweak #2: This really is an extension of the first tweak, except this one will enable the faster shutdown time for all users instead of just the current user.
Click HKEY_USERS >> .Default >> Control Panel >> Desktop
Just as before, we’re going to change the following values to 1000:
HungAppTimeout – double click on this entry, enter 1000 and hit OK
WaitToKillAppTimeout – double click on this entry, enter 1000 then hit OK
Tweak #3: Our third tweak involves changing the registry to increase the speed by which Windows will kill running services when you press on the restart or shutdown button:
Click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE >> SYSTEM >> CurrentControlSet >> Control
In the right panel you’ll see the entry:
WaitToKillServiceTimeout – double click on this, enter 1000 then hit OK
That’s it – Just close your registry editor, reboot your PC and enjoy the faster shutdown speed for your Windows XP Computer.
Before we go, though, we want to give a special thanks to JohnTP.com for sharing his expertise as the idea for these tweaks came from his website. We have personally applied these tweaks and can say with 100% certainty that these tweaks speed up Windows XP shutdown considerably.
Enjoy!
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