How do I minimise the number of processes that load at startup

[Guest]

Windows Task Manager shows that I have 39 processes running, that load up
whenever I start up my PC. How do I stop them loading up automatically, and
how do I determine which ones are needed and which ones are not?

 

[Earl Grey]

Hi Andy:

By itself, the number 39 is meaningless. What matters is what those
processes are doing. There is no correct number, and your goal is not to
reduce the number of processes. Find out what each process does with a
web search. Then you can make an informed decision.

Earl Grey

 

[Ron Martell]

Windows Task Manager shows that I have 39 processes running, that load up
whenever I start up my PC. How do I stop them loading up automatically, and
how do I determine which ones are needed and which ones are not?

Use Start - Run - MSCONFIG. Items that load at startup will be listed
on the Startup and Services tabs.


Note: Please ensure that you fully understand the purpose of a
startup item, how and why it was put into the startup, and the
consequences (if any) of removing it before you make any changes. Some
items are very important for the proper and safe functioning of your
computer.

Items on the Startup tab can be checked out at
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php

Services can be checked out at
http://web.archive.org/web/20041128084144/www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Windows Task Manager shows that I have 39 processes running, that
load up whenever I start up my PC. How do I stop them loading up
automatically, and how do I determine which ones are needed and which
ones are not?

First of all, 39 is not an unusual number, nor is it a particularly high
one. Many people have 60 or more running without a problem.

Second, wanting to minimize their number is a counterproductive desire. If a
particular process isn't doing something necessary or desirable, *and* it
impacts performance (not all do), then you might want to consider stopping
it. It should be *which*, not how many.

There are probably few if any you have running that you should stop, and
fooling around with processes can easily get you into trouble.

Here's my standard advice on autostarting programs (not processes in
particular):

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.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Ken

I seem to have opened a can of worms here. The reason I posed the question
is that each of the 39 processes seems to open up slowly, one after the
other, when I start my PC. I therefore sit there waiting sometimes 4 or 5
minutes before I can do anything else.
I suppose mt real question is, 'will cancelling any of these proceeses being
loaded on startup make any difference to the speed of startup?'
What's your advice?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Thanks Ken

I seem to have opened a can of worms here. The reason I posed the
question is that each of the 39 processes seems to open up slowly,
one after the other, when I start my PC. I therefore sit there
waiting sometimes 4 or 5 minutes before I can do anything else.
I suppose mt real question is, 'will cancelling any of these
proceeses being loaded on startup make any difference to the speed of
startup?'
What's your advice?

My advice is perhaps unusual. 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.

 

[mikeyhsd]

not unusual to have a virus scan at boot up. easily turned off in the options of virus programs.



(e-mail address removed)




Thanks Ken

I seem to have opened a can of worms here. The reason I posed the question
is that each of the 39 processes seems to open up slowly, one after the
other, when I start my PC. I therefore sit there waiting sometimes 4 or 5
minutes before I can do anything else.
I suppose mt real question is, 'will cancelling any of these proceeses being
loaded on startup make any difference to the speed of startup?'
What's your advice?

 

[Earl Grey]

Andy:

"will cancelling any of these proceeses being loaded on startup make any
difference to the speed of startup?"

No one knows, because no one knows what the processes are. Find out what
they do, and then you can make an informed decision.

Earl Grey

 

[frodo]

One possible reason for a very slow boot up is that you may have
unknowingly disabled XP's built-in periodic "boot time optimization
defrag" from running. This will typically run once every couple of days,
if enabled and the system "goes idle" (meaning it's not doing anything and
the screen saver activates). The most common way it's turned off is by
disabling the Task Scheduler Service, and old W98 "tweak" that really
should not be done in XP.

One way to check is to look in \windows\prefetch and check the file
layout.ini; its date will be the date of the last run. It should be at
most few days old, no more.

you can force this layout.ini rebuild operation to take place w/ this
command:

%windir%\system32\rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks

after doing so layout.ini should have a new date (it does other things
too, WMI related etc, but that's another story). This operation normally
takes about 2 minutes (watch the HD light), but if it takes only 10
seconds or so then the layout.ini DID get remade, but the defrag operation
did not run (see below); you can then force it too, with this command:

\windows\system32\defrag C: -b

[or whatever your drive letter is]. the -b say to do only the fast
boot-time defrag. It should take about 1-2 minutes, no more. Normally it
will run on its own as part of the first command above, but it may be
disabled via this reg key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\OptimalLayout\EnableAutoLayout=0 ; default is 1

if it's set to 0 try to figure out why; it defaults to 1, but some third
party defragers do disable it when they are installed (because they can do
the job better). If that's the case then use the 3rd party tool after
doing the layout.ini rebuild.

---------

regarding what stratup tasks can/should be turned off, you just have to do
your research. there are lots of sites that can tell you what a
particular startup task is and whether you really need it; just use google
to search on its name and you'll find advice.

I recommend the Startup Control Panel:

http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

use it to disable those items that do not have there own option to "start
when windows starts". [always check if the item has its own means first,
and use that if possible.] Lots of these startup items are just "update
checkers", "tray tools", fax monitors, etc, and they can be safely
disabled. But use google to research it first on an item-by-item basis.

As far as Services, google for Black Viper (a long gone but often archived
site), and The Eldar Geek. Both have good advice re: Services that can be
disabled.

Good Luck.

 

[Ron Martell]

Thanks Ken

I seem to have opened a can of worms here. The reason I posed the question
is that each of the 39 processes seems to open up slowly, one after the
other, when I start my PC. I therefore sit there waiting sometimes 4 or 5
minutes before I can do anything else.
I suppose mt real question is, 'will cancelling any of these proceeses being
loaded on startup make any difference to the speed of startup?'
What's your advice?

Try using Windows XP Boot Logger to quantify the startup delays and
identify exactly what item is cause them:
http://greatis.com/utilities/bootlogxp/

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[Guest]

39 processes at startup? Good Golly! Holy Moley!

I have 7. And even that is too many. YES, removing those you don't need
will help your computer to boot up faster.

 

[Guest]

PS: try this link: http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php

You can type in the file name of each startup item and learn what is does,
and whether you can turn it off or not.