Delay between startup programs

Having used 7 and 8.1 for a long time now, there's one annoying thing I've noticed and can't get rid of in 8.1. I was hoping I'm just overlooking something.

On 7, I had a bunch of startup programs. Immediately after logging in, Windows would just run through the list and start each process in a row as fast as possible, making them all appear in my systray like bullets from a machinegun. Startup was very satisfying to watch.

Now with 8.1, there seems to be a hardcoded delay between each program. Several seconds pass between each icon appearing in my systray despite each program only taking a fraction of a second to start and both CPU and the SSD being pretty much idle during this time.

I figured this is some sort of optimization for certain people who prefer to wait longer and be able to use their machine with max responsiveness while everything starts, but I prefer the approach of making all my programs start up at once and letting them take whatever they need to start as fast as possible, reactiveness immediately after login be damned. Is there a way to get this back?

Note: I'm not talking about Startupdelayinmsec in the registry, but the unexplained delay between each individual program that now seems to add up to multiple seconds per piece, whereas 7 would get all my programs started in less than a few seconds in total.

Try this to see if it helps:
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/37373-startup-delay-time-reduce-windows-8-a.html

topgundcp said:

Try this to see if it helps:
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/37373-startup-delay-time-reduce-windows-8-a.html

Click to expand...

Marnes said:

Note: I'm not talking about Startupdelayinmsec in the registry

Click to expand...

...

I've had that key set to 0 forever. Doesn't do squat.

I would disable some Windows optimizations, which in fact do the opposite, just like startupdelay.
For starters try to disable Superfetch, hibernation, fast startup and such.
You might also check Elpamsoft.com

TairikuOkami said:

For starters try to disable Superfetch, hibernation, fast startup and such.
You might also check Elpamsoft.com

Click to expand...

Already done (SSD makes it useless), done, and done (also SSD and custom bootloader and such) since always... :/

Does that program do anything of its own? It looks like just a frontend for the usual stuff.

How does Startupdelayinmsec have an opposite effect btw? If you're talking about the drowning effect that happens when your computer tries to do everything at once, that's actually more efficient in my case because performance is so good my hardware is mostly doing nothing when just running defaults. I have to wait far too long before my programs are all started and in the meantime my ssd, ram and cpu are just sitting and doing nothing. That's why I get the feeling there's an artificial delay. I think it would be better to max my hardware so the limiting factor is my actual performance, not some timeout someone hardcoded. This stuff is made for multi-tasking, mono-tasking just makes it slower.

Lemme try to revisualize my problem.

• boot
• log in screen appears
• swipe finger, password, w/e
• Windows logs me in

Next, what used to happen (on 7)

• all startup processes started very quickly, along with system startups
• cpu and such hogged to max as it gets flooded with processes
• processes just run as fast as they can all at once, cpu's cores all being used
• programs finish starting up very fast one after the other

What happens now:

• a single program is started
• finished loading
• idle
• more idle
• still nothing
• second program started
• ...

Waiting for all my programs to be loaded so I can actually start doing stuff takes forever, but 99% of what I'm waiting for is just idle nothingness. The CPU's not doing squat, the SSD isn't doing a thing. All because for some reason only 1 program at a time is being started, nullifying the whole point of multicore.

I would rather have a maxed-out CPU and a barely responsive system for a very short time after logging in, than a fully responsive system and a CPU that's barely being used while Windows takes its sweet time starting all my programs with what looks like an artificial delay in between each one. If 7 could make my programs appear in my systray like bullets from a machinegun (one right after the other, pop pop pop), why does 8 need 10x more time to start the same programs while actually having better performance and with the CPU doing nothing?