Boot Advanced Options - Number of Processors

How to Change the Number of Processors Used at Boot Up in Vista

information   Information
If you have a multiple core CPU (Ex: Intel Core Duo or Quad CPU) or multiple CPUs, then this will show you how to change the Number of Processors that will be used during boot up for troubleshooting and debugging purposes to be able to determine if there is a problem with a single processor/core, or for a programmer to test their code against a single core while running on their multi-core system.
Note   Note
Vista will use all your processors by default at boot up without this Number of Processors setting box checked. Using all of your available processors (cores or CPUs) durring boot allows the computer to boot faster only because a multiple core CPU or multiple CPUs can handle and do more at once than a single core or CPU. Multiple cores do not actually increase the speed, but only increase the number of processor cores working on the job which in turn has the job finish quicker. If you do not have much running at startup, then you may not notice much improvement in how long it takes to startup.
Tip   Tip
People have reported that by checking this setting and selecting all of their available CPUs, they have seen a performance increase in boot up speed despite the Note above . See the example below. If it does not help, then you can do step 7 to undo this and go back to the default settings.
warning   Warning
Selecting a lower amount of processors to use at boot up than you actually have can increase the amount boot up time causing a longer boot.

EXAMPLE: Boot Up Time Before and After
NOTE:
This is the before and after boot up time for my computer after I changed it to use all 4 cores. For fun you can post your results here: ReBoot Time
Before_ReBoot-Time.jpgAfter_ReBoot_Time.jpg

Here's How:
NOTE:
Before you do this, you should see what your current boot up time is so you can compare it to what it will be before and after applying this.
1. Open the Start Menu.​
2. In the white line (Start Search) area, type msconfig and press Enter.​
3. Click Continue in the UAC prompt.​
4. Click on the Boot tab. (See screenshot below)​
5. Click on the Advanced options button.​
Step1.jpg

6. To Change the Number of Processors at Boot -
A) Check the Number of processors box, then click on the drop down arrow and select the number of available processors (cores or CPUs) you want to have used at boot up. (See screenshots below step 7)​
NOTE: To test to see if this can speed up your boot time or not, then select the highest number listed for all of the available processors to be used at boot up and check the Detect Hal box.​
B) Click on OK.​
C) Go to step 8.​

7. To Restore the Default Number of Processors at Boot -
A) Uncheck the Number of processors box.​
B) Click on OK.​
Step2A.jpgStep2B.jpg


8. Check the Make all boot settings permanent box and click on OK. (See screenshot below)​
NOTE: If you do not check this, then you will Selective startup dotted instead of Normal startup under the General tab. You can still make changes again by checking this again after any changes.​
Step3.jpg

9. Click on Yes at the confirmation window. (See screenshot below)​
NOTE: You can restore or make changes to this again later if you want. I will confirm it. Just remember or write down what you had set (checked or unchecked) before if you wanted to restore back to those settings later.
Step4.jpg

10. Check the Don't show this message again box. (See screenshot below step 11)​
NOTE: You will not see this again after checked.
11. Click on the Restart button.​
NOTE: If you checked the box and want to restore this Restart box, see: How to Restore the System Configuration Restart Prompt in Vista
WARNING: This will restart the computer immediately. Make sure you save and close anything open you do not want to lose.
Step5.jpg

12. After you have started back to the desktop, you can check to see what your new boot up time is for fun.​
That's it,
Shawn



 

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Your welcome Tim. That's a great improvement.

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Hi.

I try to load msconfig but I cant edit or change any settings. I click on a check box say and nothing happens. In boot tab the square box is empty.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self built
    CPU
    Intel E8400 3GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel DX48BT2
    Memory
    Kingston PC3-10666 4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX 9800 GTX XXX
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Samsung SM-T220HD 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050 on two monitors
    Hard Drives
    WD Raptor X/150Gb in RAID0
    WD Raptor 36gb
    3x Samsung F1 1Tb
    PSU
    Thermaltake ToughPower 850w
    Case
    Thermaltake Armor
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120
    Keyboard
    Dell Multimedia Enhanced USB
    Mouse
    Razer Diamondback 3G
    Internet Speed
    8128/832
    Other Info
    Thermaltake Muse esata caddy
Strange Swarfega,

Do you have UAC turned On? It should be. Are you running this from within a administrator account and not a Standard one?

You can try running a sfc /scannow command to see if it can find and fix any bad system files that may be the cause. This tutorial will show you how to.


http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/66978-system-files-sfc-command.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Hi, I have uac turned off and created a true admin account which Im using now. I ran the sfc command and it didnt find any errors.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self built
    CPU
    Intel E8400 3GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel DX48BT2
    Memory
    Kingston PC3-10666 4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX 9800 GTX XXX
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Samsung SM-T220HD 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050 on two monitors
    Hard Drives
    WD Raptor X/150Gb in RAID0
    WD Raptor 36gb
    3x Samsung F1 1Tb
    PSU
    Thermaltake ToughPower 850w
    Case
    Thermaltake Armor
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120
    Keyboard
    Dell Multimedia Enhanced USB
    Mouse
    Razer Diamondback 3G
    Internet Speed
    8128/832
    Other Info
    Thermaltake Muse esata caddy
Swarfega,

Open the Start menu and right click on Computer and click Properties. Under the System section, look to see if your CPU is properly identified as being a Core 2 Duo CPU 3 GHz.

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
it is correctly identified :D
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self built
    CPU
    Intel E8400 3GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel DX48BT2
    Memory
    Kingston PC3-10666 4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX 9800 GTX XXX
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Samsung SM-T220HD 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050 on two monitors
    Hard Drives
    WD Raptor X/150Gb in RAID0
    WD Raptor 36gb
    3x Samsung F1 1Tb
    PSU
    Thermaltake ToughPower 850w
    Case
    Thermaltake Armor
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120
    Keyboard
    Dell Multimedia Enhanced USB
    Mouse
    Razer Diamondback 3G
    Internet Speed
    8128/832
    Other Info
    Thermaltake Muse esata caddy
Well, I must admit that I'm stumped on why your msconfig does not show any available options for you like the examples in the tutorial.

You might also post this question in the General Discussion forum and Vista General newsgroup to see if someone may know of a solution to this problem.

Sorry, :(
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
yes they work.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self built
    CPU
    Intel E8400 3GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel DX48BT2
    Memory
    Kingston PC3-10666 4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX 9800 GTX XXX
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Samsung SM-T220HD 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050 on two monitors
    Hard Drives
    WD Raptor X/150Gb in RAID0
    WD Raptor 36gb
    3x Samsung F1 1Tb
    PSU
    Thermaltake ToughPower 850w
    Case
    Thermaltake Armor
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120
    Keyboard
    Dell Multimedia Enhanced USB
    Mouse
    Razer Diamondback 3G
    Internet Speed
    8128/832
    Other Info
    Thermaltake Muse esata caddy
hmm ill try that tomorrow morning and report back. Getting late here :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self built
    CPU
    Intel E8400 3GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel DX48BT2
    Memory
    Kingston PC3-10666 4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX 9800 GTX XXX
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Samsung SM-T220HD 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050 on two monitors
    Hard Drives
    WD Raptor X/150Gb in RAID0
    WD Raptor 36gb
    3x Samsung F1 1Tb
    PSU
    Thermaltake ToughPower 850w
    Case
    Thermaltake Armor
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120
    Keyboard
    Dell Multimedia Enhanced USB
    Mouse
    Razer Diamondback 3G
    Internet Speed
    8128/832
    Other Info
    Thermaltake Muse esata caddy
I went into safe mode and I still couldnt change any settings in msconfig!
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self built
    CPU
    Intel E8400 3GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel DX48BT2
    Memory
    Kingston PC3-10666 4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX 9800 GTX XXX
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Samsung SM-T220HD 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050 on two monitors
    Hard Drives
    WD Raptor X/150Gb in RAID0
    WD Raptor 36gb
    3x Samsung F1 1Tb
    PSU
    Thermaltake ToughPower 850w
    Case
    Thermaltake Armor
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120
    Keyboard
    Dell Multimedia Enhanced USB
    Mouse
    Razer Diamondback 3G
    Internet Speed
    8128/832
    Other Info
    Thermaltake Muse esata caddy
IM using a quad core q6600 oc'ed my time before was 51 seconds and when i changed it to 4 cores it went to 54 seconds :P but then again i prob only have 7-9 processes in services.msc set to auto rest are disabled..sometimes when i come to the loading bar screen it will load thru 2-3 bars some times 5-6.
 

My Computer

Hi UMX,

Since you have such few processes or startup programs running, having multiple cores running at startup may not help much. Multiple cores do not actually increase the speed, but only increase the number of processor cores working on the job which in turn has the job finish quicker.

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Hi

I have a new HP2110ca tablet PC.

I have been working my way thru the tutorials to essentially speed up operation and boot time.

When I first looked at this tutorial I had the option of 2 processors ( as I have a dual core chip). At that time I did not change the number, which was set to 1.

Yesterday I returned to the option and now only one processor is shown in the "# of processors" box.

At no time have I made the boot option changes permanent.

Any idea what has happened? Can I restore the option thru a registry fix?

Ed
 

My Computer

Hi Ed,

Strange. Do you not have a drop down arrow to click on in the box to select a different number of processors?

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Ed,

See if restarting your computer will fix the problem.

When you right click on Computer, in the Start Menu, and click Properties, what does it show your processor as under the System section?

Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
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