automatic startup of programs?

[Guest]

My computer is running very slowly (and it's less than a year old). When I
press CTRL+ALT+DELETE, I can see that there's over 50 programs running...
some of them I can identify, but you know how they're all shortened names.
Anyway, all I want running when I startup the computer is the basics:
Explorer, etc. Someone said I had to go into each and every program on my
computer and change the startup options. But there has to be an easier way!
Isn't there some sort of menu on Windows where I can uncheck the programs
that I don't want to run at startup?

Thanks!

 

[Guest]

Thats simple enough however,make sure you know what youre unstarting
first,write down the .exe from task mgr,then use search in xp to identify it.
For start up programs,go to run,type:services.msc Double click on one,set
to disable or manual start.You can also type:Msconfig Start up services,un-
chk the service.

 

[DL]

Disabling services if you don't know exactly what you are doing, or the
consequences, is a quick and effective way to arrive at a none functioning
PC

What you see is processes that are running, they are mostly there for a
purpose. 50 is not an inordinately high number and generally will not impact
on performance.
The apps you have running at start-up are mostly shown by icons in your task
bar. Usually opening/clicking on the icon will give you a number of options.
A slow PC can be caused by malaware/Trojans/viruses and low disk space.
Presumably your PC is updated and you have AV and run malaware scans?

 

[Nepatsfan]

My computer is running very slowly (and it's less than a
year old). When I press CTRL+ALT+DELETE, I can see that
there's over 50 programs running... some of them I can
identify, but you know how they're all shortened names.
Anyway, all I want running when I startup the computer is
the basics: Explorer, etc. Someone said I had to go into
each and every program on my computer and change the startup
options. But there has to be an easier way! Isn't there
some sort of menu on Windows where I can uncheck the
programs that I don't want to run at startup?

Thanks!

First off, it's probably 50 processes, not programs, that you
see running. Some of them are probably placing a drag on your
system. To eliminate the items that aren't needed, do the
following,

Download and run the standalone version of this program.

Mike Lin's Startup Control Panel
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

Here's a good reference source if you come across any entries
you're not familiar with.

Task List Programs
http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm

Next question, when was the last time you defragmented your
hard drive? Now might be a good time to do so.

Make sure your antivirus program is up-to-date and run a scan.
Once it completes, visit a couple of these online virus
scanners.

Trend Micro Housecall:
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

Panda Active Scan:
http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm

BitDefender Online Scanner
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html

Kaspersky Anti-Virus: Free Online Virus Scanner
http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner

eTrust Antivirus Web Scanner
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx

McAfee FreeScan
http://us.mcafee.com/root/mfs/default.asp?WWW_URL=www.mcafee.com/myapps/mfs/default.asp

Symantec Security Check
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp?productid=symhome&langid=ie&venid=sym

Finally, download and run these programs.

Ewido Anti-Spyware 30 day trial version
http://www.ewido.net/en/download/

AdAware
http://www.spychecker.com/program/adaware.html

Spybot S & D
http://www.spychecker.com/program/spybot.html

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Get one or both of these. And learn to use Google to find out what things
are.

StartMan has an option that takes you to
http://www.sysinfo.org/startupinfo.html
when your right click an entry and select Identify.

Also with StartMan, clicking on the Help menu, you can select Identifying
Startups (Pacman's Portal)... It sends you to
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_index.htm

[[StartMan is an extended 'msconfig' Startup Manager, designed to take
control of all those pesky programs and background services that load and
run at logon - most of which you probably don't need. As well as providing
the usual trouble-shooting options to enable or disable startups, StartMan
also permits the removal of startups.
Duplicate Detection and Removal, a unique feature of StartMan, can be
configured to remove all duplicates automatically, with or without
prompting.
Orphan Detection and Removal. As above, for orphaned startups.
Executable Detection and Removal. As above, for executables.
Includes a full range of sorting options to make it easier to locate a
specific startup - by name, by filename - even by command line parameter! ]]

StartMan v1.3.96
http://www.pt.lu/comnet/desc/startman.html

StartMan v1.3.96 Direct download
http://www.pt.lu/comnet/files/utils/startman10396.exe
-----

Startup Control Panel is another pretty good application.

[[Startup Control Panel is a nifty control panel applet that allows you to
easily configure which programs run when your computer starts. It's simple
to use and, like all my programs, is very small and won't burden your
system. A valuable tool for system administrators!]]

Download the EXE Version and just extract the executable wherever you want.

Startup Control Panel
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[DL]

Sounds like a good idea

Oy. I wish I had gotten these messages before my brilliant self discovered
the MSCONFIG command. Whatever I disabled now won't let me attach files to
email. Maybe I should just restore original settings?

I have McAvee. Will that disable viruses? I thought is would. Sorry for
the ignorance.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

StartMan has an excellent Help file. Look through it. Start with
Introduction & Getting Started.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

I downloaded Startman. As soon as I figure out how the heck to use it,
I'll let you know. It looks like Greek. Maybe it is. More likely, this
is all just too complicated for the computer-ignorant.

Thanks for the help.

Get one or both of these. And learn to use Google to find out what
things are.

StartMan has an option that takes you to
http://www.sysinfo.org/startupinfo.html
when your right click an entry and select Identify.

Also with StartMan, clicking on the Help menu, you can select Identifying
Startups (Pacman's Portal)... It sends you to
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_index.htm

[[StartMan is an extended 'msconfig' Startup Manager, designed to take
control of all those pesky programs and background services that load and
run at logon - most of which you probably don't need. As well as
providing the usual trouble-shooting options to enable or disable
startups, StartMan also permits the removal of startups.
Duplicate Detection and Removal, a unique feature of StartMan, can be
configured to remove all duplicates automatically, with or without
prompting.
Orphan Detection and Removal. As above, for orphaned startups.
Executable Detection and Removal. As above, for executables.
Includes a full range of sorting options to make it easier to locate a
specific startup - by name, by filename - even by command line
parameter! ]]

StartMan v1.3.96
http://www.pt.lu/comnet/desc/startman.html

StartMan v1.3.96 Direct download
http://www.pt.lu/comnet/files/utils/startman10396.exe
-----

Startup Control Panel is another pretty good application.

[[Startup Control Panel is a nifty control panel applet that allows you
to easily configure which programs run when your computer starts. It's
simple to use and, like all my programs, is very small and won't burden
your system. A valuable tool for system administrators!]]

Download the EXE Version and just extract the executable wherever you
want.

Startup Control Panel
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

My computer is running very slowly (and it's less than a year old).
When I press CTRL+ALT+DELETE, I can see that there's over 50 programs
running... some of them I can identify, but you know how they're all
shortened names. Anyway, all I want running when I startup the computer
is the basics: Explorer, etc. Someone said I had to go into each and
every program on my computer and change the startup options. But there
has to be an easier way! Isn't there some sort of menu on Windows where
I can uncheck the programs that I don't want to run at startup?

Thanks!

 

[Nepatsfan]

Click on the other tabs. You should find some entries on the
HKLM/Run and HKCU/Run pages. Listed are the same entries that
appear on the Startup page of msconfig.

Nepatsfan

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE/WM]

Oy. I wish I had gotten these messages before my brilliant self
discovered
the MSCONFIG command. Whatever I disabled now won't let me attach files
to
email. Maybe I should just restore original settings?

What email program?
There is nothing required in Startup to attach files to email in Outlook
Express.
What happens when you try to attach a file?
Note that email scanning by an anti-virus or anti-spam can interfere with
the function of a mail program. It doesn't add any protection, either.

 

[Guest]

Yahoo. When I try to attach a pic now, a message comes on saying internet
explorer must close, do you want to send an error report, etc.

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE/WM]

Yahoo. When I try to attach a pic now, a message comes on saying internet
explorer must close, do you want to send an error report, etc.

If you do not have IE7 it's probably malware, the second choice in what
follows. If you do have IE7 try the first option first:

1. Incompatible add-ons: What if you right click the IE icon on the desktop
and choose Start Without Add-ons?
Or go to Start | All Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Internet
Explorer (No Add-ons).

2. Malware already installed on the computer: Help with malware
All MS-MVP Sites.
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/darnit.html
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Malware_Defence.htm

Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827315

So How Did I Get Infected Anyway?
For quite a few people it's by installing Messenger Plus, whose ads for
malware don't identify the malware as such and try to convince you that you
owe it to the author. See also:
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=27971
Don't ever do a "default" install of anything. Always choose Custom and see
what else is being carried along. Don't install any extras you're not sure
of.