Computer Startup

[Guest]

When I start my computer many programs show up in the lower right hand corner
(the icon) and seem to slow my computer down. Also, AIM window always seems
to come up..this really slows down the whole start up process. How can I
keep these unwanted icons from starting in my toolbar at the bottom, etc.

 

[Rich Barry]

John, go to Start>Run type msconfig click Ok. Select Startup Tab.
You can uncheck the programs you recognize
and that you don't want opening at Startup. Click Apply, Ok.

 

[Ron Badour]

To cut back on the number of programs starting at boot, check the programs
themselves for an option not to load. You might have to double click an
icon in the tray (others might require a right click) and then look for
preferences or options. If you cannot find an option, look for the program
in one of the following start up points and remove the reference to it:

Start up folder on the start menu, the load= and run= lines in the win.ini
and these registry run keys (use regedit.exe):

1. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion­\Run
2. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\­Run
3. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion­\RunOnce
4. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\­RunOnce
5. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion­\RunServices
6.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion­\RunServicesOnce
7.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion­\RunOnce\Setup

If tinkering in the registry is not your thing, you can use msconfig.exe,
startup tab, to disable programs; however, by doing so, you may lessen its
value as a troubleshooting tool. There might be some double entries in
msconfig--be careful not to disable parts of your anti virus program for
example.

If you disable an entry in msconfig or remove it from the start up point and
the program loads again after a reboot, that is an indication that you
missed an option on the program itself. If you don't know what an entry is,
use google.com or check here:
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_index.htm

 

[Ken Blake]

When I start my computer many programs show up in the lower right
hand corner (the icon) and seem to slow my computer down. Also, AIM
window always seems to come up..this really slows down the whole
start up process. How can I keep these unwanted icons from starting
in my toolbar at the bottom, etc.

First, you should be concerned with *all* programs that start automatically.
Not all of them manifest themselves by an icon in the system tray.



On each program you don't want to start automatically, check its Options to
see if it has the choice not to start. 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 with 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.

 

[RalfG]

AIM starting up with windows is an option within AIM itself that you can
disable. The same applies for many other programs that show up in your
system tray, like Java, any messenger or chat programs, "quick start" type
icons (ie. Nero, MS Works, OpenOffice) and so on.

 

[RalfG]

Some programs put an icon in your Startup folder on the start menu. Remove
that if you don't need or want the item to run when you boot Windows.

 

[Kelly]

Added info:

WinXP Startup Programs Tracker:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_u.htm#xp_util

--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP/DTS&XP)

Taskbar Repair Tool Plus!
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/taskbarplus!.htm