Hi Rob - There are several approaches you can use to make controlling the
Startup process easier.
1) Use msconfig. (Start|Run, then type msconfig)
2) As good, but different, is to go here:
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml and get Mike Lin's Startup Control
Panel applet.
A somewhat more difficult to use but more extensive program to do the same
thing is StartupList from here:
http://www.lurkhere.com/~nicefiles/index.html, or even better,
Autoruns from here:
http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/source/misc.shtml#autoruns.
Be very careful about doing any Registry modifications directly unless
you're comfortable with this, and be sure that you BACKUP your Registry
before making any changes, so that you can recover if something goes wrong.
Changes made with StartUpCPL are less likely to cause problems, and are
usually a matter of just re-enabling the particular program.
Another program of this type that I can recommend is StartMan, free. You'll
have to get it here:
http://www.pt.lu/comnet/files/utils/startman10396.exe,
as the pcforest site is, sadly, no longer in business.
Another such free program that I can highly recommend is StartupRun, here:
http://nirsoft.cjb.net/, particularly if you suspect malware problems.
If you have problems with suspected hijackers, you can look up and
investigate suspect programs in your StartUp lists here:
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_pages/startup_full.htm (Recommended)
http://www.3feetunder.com/krick/startup/list.html (Recommended)
http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm (Recommended)
All work fine for controlling startups, however, I would recommend using
both msconfig and StartupCPL or one of the other third party programs.
They're both free, and each has some advantages. For example, the XP
msconfig also gives you some visibility/control over services, while Mike's
applet offers much better startup control.
Also, you should read and print out/save for future reference mskb article
Q179365 here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q179365 which will
tell you the order in which things get loaded.
Two additional resources which have useful information relating to startup
issues are:
How to Delay Loading of Specific Services
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;193888
HOWTO: Control Device Driver Load Order
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q115/4/86.asp
Perhaps this will help.
--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP
In
