Why is my windows slow at startup?

Solution 1:

Install Process Explorer, and make sure it runs at startup. It keeps a history of recent processor usage, and tells you which programs were taxing the CPU most at any given time (mouse over the CPU history and a tooltip appears identifying the CPU hog at that time).

Solution 2:

If you don't find the culprit in Start, All Programs, Startup Items then you may want to check for other startup items by using msconfig.

Click on Start, Run (may be different in vista) type in msconfig, press ok, and click on the startup tab at the top.

These are all of the programs that start with your machine. It is safe to disable all of these items but you shouldn't have to. If you notice the name of a program you don't use anymore uncheck it here. If something seems fishy google it to find out what it does and uncheck it if you want. When you're finished cleaning these out press ok and restart.