Modern Windows OS’es can take a while to boot. My Windows XP Machine takes about 1min to boot up completely. Couple this with the fact Windows wants me to restart everytime I install an update or a driver a lot of time can be wasted just for restarting the machine.
Codejacked has an interesting solution to solve this problem by restarting windows but bypassing the BIOS reboot. This can actually shave of about 10-20 seconds of the boot time. Here is how can do this trick.
The trick is to hold down the SHIFT key when invoking the restart.
Windows Vista: Select Start, then hover over the right arrow that is to the right of the padlock icon until the pop-up menu appears that contains “restart” as one of it’s choices. Hold down the SHIFT key while clicking on the “restart” choice.
Windows XP: Select Start. Select “Shut Down…”. Change the drop-down combo box under “What do you want the computer to do?” to “Restart”. Hold down the SHIFT key while clicking on the “OK” button.
Alternatively for Windows XP you can even try an alternative method that restarts even quicker can be tried. This may not work all the time but it does work in most situations.
So you’ve done a registry hack or tweaked a Windows setting and you’re so eager that you can’t wait to check out the results. Hit Ctrl+Alt+Del (which should fire up the Task Manager) and go to the “Processes” Tab. Find “explorer.exe,” right-click it, and choose “End Process.” Don’t be afraid of the warning message. Trust me and click “Yes.” The taskbar and desktop icons should vanish, so don’t freak out. Now choose File / New Task (Run?) and type “explorer.exe” without the quotes in the new window’s text box. Click OK (or press Enter) and you’re done.
