How to reduce the startup delay for desktop apps in Windows 8

In case you aren't aware of this, Windows 8 delays the startup for all desktop apps. Shortcuts located in your Start Menu's Startup folder as well as the items which run from various Registry locations will be launched after a delay of few seconds. This behavior was implemented by Microsoft probably because Windows 8 is a tablet-oriented OS (another example of how the Desktop takes a backseat in Windows 8). However, you can reduce this startup delay for desktop apps by editing the Registry. Read this post to learn how.

1. Open Registry editor (regedit.exe) and navigate to the following key:HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Serialize
   If the "Serialize" key does not exist, then you should create it.
2. Create a new DWORD parameter StartupDelayInMSec and set it to zero, as the screenshot indicates:
   
   

   registry editor

That's all you need to do. Try putting something into your startup folder, e.g. File Explorer shortcut and reboot Windows 8 to see the change.

Bonus tip: Press Win+R on your keyboard, type shell:Startup and press Enter - the Startup folder will be opened.

Although it is not possible to completely eliminate the startup delay, with the help of this tweak you will get noticeably faster startup.

Click here to download ready-to-use registry files