System Configuration Utility

[Guest]

My Internet service provider has just suggested that I uncheck all of the
programs listed under the Startup tab in the System Configuration Utility
(reached via Run using msconfig) in order to significantly speed up the
computer's start-up process. This is not the first time that this suggestion
has been made to me (and not just by my ISP).

So, I thought I'd ask whether anyone had an opinion on this step, and how
drastic it might be. I have added only two items to the list and all others
were there from the time I received the computer, presumably part of the
original loading process for WXP.

Appreciated.

 

[JS]

Not a good idea unless you know what you are stopping from running, as you
don't want to stop your AV and firewall software.

You can use msconfig (Start/run/msconfig) or better still
Try Autoruns from SysInternals:
http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/Autoruns.html
This will show all apps/etc. that load/run when you first boot and
selectively allow you to stop any that you don't want.

Note: You may need to highlight an item (right click) and use the Google
option on some entries to get the details for more obscure items in the
list.

JS

 

[Pop`]

My Internet service provider has just suggested that I uncheck all of
the programs listed under the Startup tab in the System Configuration
Utility (reached via Run using msconfig) in order to significantly
speed up the computer's start-up process. This is not the first time
that this suggestion has been made to me (and not just by my ISP).

So, I thought I'd ask whether anyone had an opinion on this step, and
how drastic it might be. I have added only two items to the list and
all others were there from the time I received the computer,
presumably part of the original loading process for WXP.

Appreciated.

It won't hurt anything and is worth trying. It may or may not help,
depending on a lot of things.
Msconfig is NOT the proper place to turn these things off permanently,
BTW. It is ONLY a testing assistance to determine what's giving problems,
not a final solution. Note the messages you'll receive after turning them
off and Restarting. Remember that; it's just testing. And, you can always
turn them back on.
Some things that are necessary to the system you'll find will turn
themselves back on, too, so don't be thrown if that happens<g>.

WHY did you receive this advice? What makes them think you need to do it?
It sounds like strange advice from an ISP unless other instructions were
given along with it, along the lines of what I've said here.

Physically disconnect from the internet and try it. Unplug your internet
connection, in other words.
All that does is stop those items from pre-starting; they'll still start
if/when you or the system calls for them, with a couple of exceptions I'll
mention later here. As a result, some programs -might- start slower because
parts of them weren't preloaded for you, or you may not notice any changes.
It depends.

I suspect in your case it won't help much since you've added little to the
machine, but ... those are sometimes famous last words!<g>

Then test thoroughly to be certain everythign is still working fine,
including especially your antivirus and other security programs. You might
have to go back and re-enable those. Not everything can literally be turned
off from the preloads and still function correctly.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

My Internet service provider has just suggested that I uncheck all of
the programs listed under the Startup tab in the System Configuration
Utility (reached via Run using msconfig) in order to significantly
speed up the computer's start-up process. This is not the first time
that this suggestion has been made to me (and not just by my ISP).

So, I thought I'd ask whether anyone had an opinion on this step, and
how drastic it might be. I have added only two items to the list and
all others were there from the time I received the computer,
presumably part of the original loading process for WXP.

It's not the first time I've heard it either, but I still think it's
*terrible* advice.

First of all, some of those programs starting automatically are probably
critical for you to run. I'm thinkingof security-oriented software like your
firewall and anti-virus programs.

Second, other programs there may not be critical, but still may be useful to
you. Here's my standard advice on this subject:

On each program you don't want to start automatically, check its Options to
see if it has the choice not to start (make sure you actually choose the
option not to run it, not just a "don't show icon" option). Many can easily
and best be stopped that way. If that doesn't work, run MSCONFIG from the
Start | Run line, and on the Startup tab, uncheck the programs you don't
want to start automatically.

However, if I were you, I wouldn't do this just for the purpose of running
the minimum number of programs. Despite what many people tell you, you
should be concerned, not with how *many* of these programs you run, but
*which*. Some of them can hurt performance severely, but others have no
effect on performance.

Don't just stop programs from running willy-nilly. What you should do is
determine what each program is, what its value is to you, and what the cost
in performance is of its running all the time. You can get more information
about these at http://castlecops.com/StartupList.html. If you can't find it
there, try google searches and ask about specifics here.

Once you have that information, you can make an intelligent informed
decision about what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of.

And here's my standard advice on slow startup:

My personal view is that the attention many people pay to how long it takes
to boot is unwarranted. Assuming that the computer's speed is otherwise
satisfactory, it may not be worth worrying about. Most people start their
computers once a day or even less frequently. In the overall scheme of
things, even a few minutes to start up isn't very important. Personally I
power on my computer when I get up in the morning, then go get my coffee.
When I come back, it's done booting. I don't know how long it took to boot
and I don't care.

 

[JS]

I agree with Ken, boot time is not all that important and I often go do
something else while the PC is booting.
More importantly, do your applications run with acceptable speed, if you
have a stable and reliable system then don't try to break it by trying to
save some time during boot.

JS

 

[Bruce Chambers]

My Internet service provider has just suggested that I uncheck all of the
programs listed under the Startup tab in the System Configuration Utility
(reached via Run using msconfig) in order to significantly speed up the
computer's start-up process. This is not the first time that this suggestion
has been made to me (and not just by my ISP).

Change ISPs and stop listening to those others who are giving such bad
advice.

So, I thought I'd ask whether anyone had an opinion on this step, and how
drastic it might be. I have added only two items to the list and all others
were there from the time I received the computer, presumably part of the
original loading process for WXP.

Appreciated.

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[Guest]

Thanks to everyone who replied. The advice that I'd received came as part of
my ISP's attempt to convert me and, I assume, many other clients, to an MSN
affiliation (and a Hotmail service) that the ISP has entered into, all of
which was quite offputting for me. By such measures the ISP, a big one, was
even going to make the use of Mozilla's suite no longer possible - everything
had to be MS related. This after years of supporting the use of Netscape and
Mozilla. Don't ask me to elaborate on my discussions with them.
Anyway, in the process of trying to, literally, force all of this on my
system, they suggested unchecking everything in the Systems Configuration
Utility. That's when I started to wonder what they were really up to, and
backed off. I'd read a little bit about the utility to know that this was not
the way to do things (except maybe to carefully test items, and then the
benefits were perhaps so limited as to be questionable). I decided that the
technician with whom I was talking had been brainwashed into advising certain
steps to achieve the MSN/Hotmail conversion and he actually didn't have a
very deep appreciation or understanding of the consequences of some of the
steps he was suggesting.
I don't find the boot-up particularly slow and, as suggested, usually do
something else while it's happening. I leave my laptop running through the
day (work at home), and it moves itself into Standby when its not busy, or,
if I'm going to be away for several hours, I use Hibernation (assuming that
I'm not expecting an electrical storm, in which case I turn eveything off and
pull cables, since, for the first time ever, a storm recently did fry my TV
through the quick re-start power system).

Cheers,
Peedee