System Configuration Utility (msconfig.exe) is not the place to do this.
a) Yes.
b) Up to you.
c) Yes. Although some programs may not realize that the entries have been
UNChecked here, they will go ahead and start anyway.
MSCONFIG is primarily a troubleshooting tool, not a startup manager, and as
such it does not permit the permanent removal of startups - they can only be
disabled.
The correct method for removing any startup is to use the program that
placed it there in the first place.
For those who do not wish to mess around in the registry, StartMan is a good
deal. It only runs when you start it. It does not have to run in the
background. It can remove the startups for you, not only just disable
them. Whether it's a link in a startup folder or a path in the registry.
StartMan v1.3.96
http://www.pt.lu/comnet/desc/startman.html
From StartMan Help:
[[StartMan is a startup manager created to address some of the shortcomings
in Microsoft's original System Configuration Utility (MSCONFIG.EXE).
MSCONFIG is primarily a troubleshooting tool, not a startup manager, and as
such it does not permit the permanent removal of startups - they can only be
disabled. Under normal circumstances all startup items should be enabled as
it is difficult to troubleshoot a system's startup while some items are
disabled on a more permanent basis. Such non-essential items should be
removed completely, in order to both release MSCONFIG for its primary
purpose of troubleshooting, and to remove any confusion where duplication
occurs. Where an item is essential, the program that requires it will quite
often re-instate the item. But since it knows nothing of the disabled item,
you end up with a duplicate. A duplicate is simply an item that is both
enabled and disabled (not as impossible as it sounds, since enabled and
disabled items are stored in separate locations). {{{Doesn't have to be an
essential item, some scumware can and will re-enable their startup keys.
Wes}}}
MSCONFIG also doesn't show where each of the startup items are actually
located (versions previous to Windows Me's version). This can be an
important factor when determining whether a startup item is essential to the
system or not. {{{XP's version of msconfig does show the locations, but if
you're not familiar with the registry, they are hard to read. Wes}}}
StartMan addresses all these issues by displaying each group of startups
separately and by permitting the user to delete non-essential items as well
as temporarily disabling the essentials. It is fully-compliant with MSCONFIG
with regards the location of disabled items and, where a duplication occurs,
will automatically offer to remove the disabled item for you (a feature
unique to StartMan). StartMan also displays additional startup groups that
MSCONFIG simply doesn't touch.
IMPORTANT
The correct method for removing any startup is to use the program that
placed it there in the first place. The reason for this is that the program
would otherwise be unaware of the changes you'd made with StartMan or any
other startup managers, and some will actually restore their startups
automatically, thus creating duplicates. Therefore always check the main
program's own options or preferences, or the system tray icon's options (if
the program has one) before resorting to any startup manager - including
this one. Startup managers should ONLY be used to disable startups
temporarily - such as when troubleshooting - or to remove non-essential
startups that have no removal options whatsoever. ]]
Where an enabled startup might live >>
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Where a disabled item from that location gets stored >>
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run-
--
Hope this helps. Let us know.
Wes
In
Simon said:
Help, please.
Many sites say that you can speed things up if you deactivate some of
the entries in the MSconfig Startup tab
So can you help me with a few questions:
a) do you deactivate an entry just by clearing the tick?
b) can someone tell me which ones must not be deactivated?
c) and exactly what happens when you untick an entry in the list?.
Will it start up quite happily when you need it (say when you click
on a program icon or open a file from Explorer).
