Those of you who regularly use Microsoft Office might want to try an upcoming new feature designed to speed up your favorite program. Rolling out in May, an option called Startup Boost will reduce the amount of time you have to wait for a Microsoft Office application to launch.
The first volunteer for this mission will be Microsoft Word, with other applications in the Office suite joining via future updates. Popping up as a scheduled task, Startup Boost will be completely optional so you can easily disable it if you don’t want an Office program chewing up memory.
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“Microsoft is introducing a new Startup Boost task to optimize Office applications’ performance and load-time,” Microsoft said in a message on Wednesday. “It will roll out in May 2025, initially for Microsoft Word. The task is optional, visible in Windows Task Scheduler, and can be disabled via in-app settings.”
How will Speed Boost work? After you sign in to Windows, the associated task will silently kick off, just like other scheduled tasks, programs, and services that automatically start up. The Office application will then remain in a paused state until you launch it or the system removes it from memory to free up resources.
The feature will only be activated if your PC has enough memory and resources to run it without affecting Windows’ performance. You’ll need at least 8GB of available memory and at least 5GB of free disk space. Startup Boost will also be stifled if Energy Saver mode comes on.
Don’t want or need Startup Boost? No problem. To disable the feature in Word (once it’s rolled out), take the following path: File menu > Options > General > Startup options. Come May, you’ll find a new setting called Startup Boost for which you can just uncheck its checkbox. You’ll also be able to view it and disable it from Task Scheduler.
“Startup Boost is an optional performance feature,” Microsoft said. “It is safe to disable. When disabled, Microsoft Office applications will be fully functional but may take longer to load. Customers can disable Startup Boost entirely by preventing the process from starting.”
Normally, I’m not a fan of programs that clog up your Windows startup routine, especially ones that are uninvited. Certain apps, such as security programs, password managers, and synchronization tools, do need to start up automatically. But other programs muscle their way in without any real need, thereby using up memory.
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I sometimes check the Startup section in Task Manager for enabled apps and disable any I don’t want to start up automatically. But I use Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook every day. I will certainly give Startup Boost a spin to see if it noticeably speeds up launch time without any side effects.
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