stopping programs that auto load (prefetch?)

[Guest]

When my machine loads my user settings it adds applications to the taskbar
next to the clock. Some of these I am going to use rarely so I would like to
be able to stop these programs loading, how do I do this? Do I have to remove
the apps from the PREFETCH folder or is there another way?

 

[Malke]

When my machine loads my user settings it adds applications to the
taskbar next to the clock. Some of these I am going to use rarely so I
would like to be able to stop these programs loading, how do I do
this? Do I have to remove the apps from the PREFETCH folder or is
there another way?

The Prefetch folder has nothing to do with this. For each application
that is starting with Windows, first see if the program has Preferences
or Options where you can disable it from starting with Windows. Make
sure you don't need to have that program start with Windows!

If there are no Preferences, use the System Configuration Utility:

Start>Run>msconfig [enter]

This brings up the System Configuration Utility. Look on the Startup tab
and find the probable culprit. Uncheck the box next to its name, Apply
and OK out. You don't need to restart immediately, but the next time
you do you'll get a dialog saying you've used the Utility. Just tick
the box that says in effect, "don't bother me about this again".

How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

Malke