too many programs at startup?

[BlueFireZ]

How many programs are supposed to be running, max at startup" I read in a
tech report somewhere that there should be between 15 and 75. I have 98.

I think it may be effecting my CPU which sometimes runs at 98%. How do I
find out which of the files I can close?

Or, could it be that one application is slowing my system down? I have
McAffee, Spybot, AdAware and Norton all on my computer. Is that bad?

 

[Big Al]

How many programs are supposed to be running, max at startup" I read in a
tech report somewhere that there should be between 15 and 75. I have 98.

I think it may be effecting my CPU which sometimes runs at 98%. How do I
find out which of the files I can close?

Or, could it be that one application is slowing my system down? I have
McAffee, Spybot, AdAware and Norton all on my computer. Is that bad?

If McAfee and Norton are both virus software then yes. You only need
one. If they are a suite and do the same as spybot or adaware then you
don't need them. But YOU have to know what they do.
I have adaware but only run it like monthly and it does not run at boot.
I feel very confident in my virus and firewall and my daily
practices of internet use to keep me clean.

 

[philo]

How many programs are supposed to be running, max at startup" I read in a
tech report somewhere that there should be between 15 and 75. I have 98.

I think it may be effecting my CPU which sometimes runs at 98%. How do I
find out which of the files I can close?

Or, could it be that one application is slowing my system down? I have
McAffee, Spybot, AdAware and Norton all on my computer. Is that bad?

At startup chances are all you really need is your virus checker and
firewall


BTW: Be sure to use only one anti-virus program

 

[DL]

You are refering to running proccesses, of which there is no fixed number,
it depends on what you installed on your sys

 

[PD43]

Or, could it be that one application is slowing my system down? I have
McAffee, Spybot, AdAware and Norton all on my computer. Is that bad?

McAffee and Norton... if they are both A/V programs, yeah, that's bad.

Also... look at when your virus scans are running. Try to schedule
them for a time when your computer isn't in use (leave it on 24x7).

As to the number running... it will depend on your computer and how
many sound/video things need to be running to support it, etc.

I have only 32 running here. I've cut it to the bare bones and am
only running Admin Services that I really need.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

How many programs are supposed to be running, max at startup" I read in a
tech report somewhere that there should be between 15 and 75. I have 98.

Numbers like that are meaningless. There is no "max," and there is no
"should."

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.

But are you talking about programs or processes? 98 is an enormous
number if you're talking about programs. But even for processes, there
is no max.

I think it may be effecting my CPU which sometimes runs at 98%.

Download and run the free Process Explorer at
http://tinyurl.com/ys2zq2

That should tell you what is using the CPU when it's at 98%.

Post back with that information for more advice.


How do I

 

[db ´¯`·.. >]

when windows is installed,
it doesn't install any startups
except for messenger.

therefore, any startups you
do have are likely not required
for the o.s. to function, including
the messenger.

the only program you should
have starting up "automatically"
should be the antivirus.

anything else can be started
manually via the start button
or quick launch or desktop icon,
etc.

regardless of what some state,
you can disable any or all of your
startups and in doing so you will
likely find that windows functions
better.

click on start>msconfig
and go to startup tab to
view them and determine
if any of them are absolutely
required to automatically
start with windows everytime
you start you system.

[incidentally, some systems
cannot tolerate the norton]

 

[PD43]

At startup chances are all you really need is your virus checker and
firewall

That ONE statement is evidence enough that you are clueless and that
you shouldn't be giving advice to folks here.

 

[Fahd Akhtar]

I absolutely agree with "db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>"

When you install windows, there's nothing except messenger, windows tour &
Security Center.
And also to someone "as there is not point in min & max progs that should be
running."

Analyze is yourself.
Hit ctrl+alt+del
go to the 'processes' tab
sort all processes by "user name" by clicking on it.

Now see how many programs are running for the current user logged on to the
computer.
if this list is long, then you surely need to shorten it down as you'll see
how much memory each application is taking.

You can also sort by amount of memory being used by each prog by clicking on
"Mem Usage". If on the top if the list are progs under your user name and
not from "system/localservice/networkservice" then these prog are using much
of your memory which might cause your pc to get slow.

The final part is going to...

Run--->msconfig
go to "startup"
here you'll find all programs that will start as your windows is started.
uncheck all unnecessary programs that you don’t need to be started by
windows and you can always open them later on. Also those programs that were
using high memory.
This wont cause any prob as it'll just slow your windows startup.

Hope you understand my point(s)

Fahd Akhtar (a.k.a Faadi)

 

[jayeong]

How did you manage to post from the future?? (4/9/2008)

 

[jayeong]

It seems that the date has been corrected and that posts are updated only
hours after posting.

 

[Frank-FL]

How many programs are supposed to be running, max at startup" I read in a
tech report somewhere that there should be between 15 and 75. I have 98.

I think it may be effecting my CPU which sometimes runs at 98%. How do I
find out which of the files I can close?

Or, could it be that one application is slowing my system down? I have
McAffee, Spybot, AdAware and Norton all on my computer. Is that bad?

I have one (1). It is for my promise Fastrak for RAID.

 

[BlueFireZ]

I only have one anti virus running. The Norton AV is disabled. the processes
running are categorized into system, owner, network service and local
service. The only ones I am going to touch are the owner processes.

I will check these two sites out. Thanks to all of you for your answers.

BZ

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I only have one anti virus running. The Norton AV is disabled.

Disabling Norton is not good enough. There are pieces of it remaining.
You need to uninstall it.

the processes
running are categorized into system, owner, network service and local
service. The only ones I am going to touch are the owner processes.

I will check these two sites out. Thanks to all of you for your answers.

You're welcome. Glad to help.

 

[Daave]

Disabling Norton is not good enough. There are pieces of it remaining.
You need to uninstall it.

Agreed. The removal tool does a good job deleting the remnants and may
be downloaded from:

http://service1.symantec.com/Support/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039

Also, I noticed OP is running McAfee. I suspect that might be causing
slowdowns as well. My recommendation is to remove it and replace it with
a better, lighter AV program such as Avast or AVG (both free):

http://www.avast.com/eng/free_software.html

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/


McAfee Consumer Products Removal tool (MCPR.exe):

http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?id=107083&lc=1033

Regarding spyware, OP already has Spybot S&D and AdAware; that should
suffice.