Windows is the most widely used operating system. We intentionally or unintentionally install so many applications and programs on it that after sometime the operating system becomes sluggish. Being the most widely used operating system it is also the prime target of viruses and other infections which worsen the situation. All this does not only result in slow working of the computer but also results in slow start-up and slow shutdown. In this post I will discuss some ways to speed up the shutdown process so that your computer does not keep you waiting when you need to shut it down.
During this tune up you will need to edit the Registry Editor and incorrect editing of the Windows Registry can lead to further instability or complete crash of the operating system, so please take a backup of your Windows Registry before proceeding with the steps mentioned below.
Step 1: Click on the ‘Start’ button and then on ‘Run’. If ‘Run’ option is not available then press the ‘Windows’ key on the keyboard along with letter ’R’.
Step 2: In the ‘Run’ box type ‘Regedit’ and press ‘Enter’. This is the command for opening the default Registry Editor of Windows operating system.
Step 3: Once you have the Registry Editor open go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER, then go to ‘Control Panel’ and then to the Desktop.
Step 4: Now in the right side pane double click on ‘HungAppTimeout’ and change the value to 1000.
Step 5: Do the same for ‘WaitToKillTimeout’, and change it to 1000. Also change the value of ‘AutoEndTasks’ to 200.
Step 6: Now go to the key called ‘Default’ under HKEY_CURRENT_USER and there open ‘Control Panel’ and then the ‘Desktop’ key.
Step 7: Now in the right side pane double click on ‘HungAppTimeout’ and change the value to 1000.
Step 8: Do the same for ‘WaitToKillTimeout’, and change it to 1000.
Step 9: Now navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and then to ‘Control Panel’ and then to Desktop.
Step 10: In the right side pane double click on the ‘WaitToKillServiceTimeout’ and change the value to 200
Technically this would be all and now your computer will start shutting down faster.
Use Hibernation as an alternative
You can turn ON the Hibernate feature of Windows operating system so that you can turn off your system without losing the current state. Next time when you will start your computer, you will get it in the same state where you left it. All the open applications and files will be open and ready to work upon. This is a quick shutdown option. In the ‘Hibernate’ mode, your computer captures the image of data in the memory and saves its image in the hard drive. On turning on the computer the same image is restored into the memory so that you get the same state where your computer was before hibernation. Hibernating the computer is fast as it does not try to close all the running applications and services. Try it and it will save quite a lot of your time if your computer takes long in shutting down.
