Too many prorgrams starting when computer turns on...

[Molly S]

There are too many programs that run when my computer turns on. It takes
forever! There are no programs in the start up icon on the start menu
though... How do i get the programs not to start with the computer?

 

[Malke]

There are too many programs that run when my computer turns on. It takes
forever! There are no programs in the start up icon on the start menu
though... How do i get the programs not to start with the computer?

It is always better to stop programs from starting with Windows from within
the programs themselves, so look in their Options before changing anything
with msconfig - you're just examining things at this stage. If a program
doesn't offer any way to control startup from its Preferences, then use
msconfig to uncheck the box next to its name, Apply and OK out.

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".

Important - Do not use the System Configuration Utility to stop processes.
Instead, use Start>Run>services.msc [enter] and do not stop any services
unless you really, really know what you're doing.

How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560
The free Autoruns program is very useful for managing your Startup -
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/default.mspx - Autoruns

Malke

 

[Big_Al]

There are too many programs that run when my computer turns on. It takes
forever! There are no programs in the start up icon on the start menu
though... How do i get the programs not to start with the computer?

Download and run autoruns from MS.
It will let you see what is started at startup. You can uncheck things
that you don't want. You'll just have to know what they are either
because of the name and folder they are in or you google for them.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

 

[mikeyhsd]

check the notification area also knows as tray in the lower right corner.
right click on the icons and check the properties for options for something like
start with windows
and disable it.

disabling items via MSCONFIG will just lead to more problems as it will then create errors on boot.


(e-mail address removed)



There are too many programs that run when my computer turns on. It takes
forever! There are no programs in the start up icon on the start menu
though... How do i get the programs not to start with the computer?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

On Thu, 4 Dec 2008 08:05:01 -0800, Molly S <Molly

There are too many programs that run when my computer turns on. It takes
forever! There are no programs in the start up icon on the start menu
though... How do i get the programs not to start with the computer?

First, note that you should be concerned with *all* programs that
start automatically, not just with those that go into the tray. Not
all autostarting programs manifest themselves by an icon in the tray.

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.

 

[JS]

Use msconfig (Start/run/msconfig) is the easiest/simplest way
How to troubleshoot configuration errors by using the System Configuration
utility in Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310560

If you want to dig deeper:
Try Autoruns from the MS Windows SysInternals site:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

AutoRuns will show/list all apps/etc. that load/run when you first boot ...
(the 'Boot Execute' tab),
when you logon (the 'Logon' tab) and other programs that load
(grouped by labeled tabs) for easy viewing.

It also provides the ability to selectively allows you to stop
(use with care) any program that you don't want to load.
You can undo any changes you have made.

Note: To get additional details on an item in the list you can't
readily identify you may need to highlight the item (right click) and use
the 'Search Online' option to get the details,
especially useful for the more obscure items in the list.

JS
http://www.pagestart.com

 

[Jim]

There are too many programs that run when my computer turns on. It takes
forever! There are no programs in the start up icon on the start menu
though... How do i get the programs not to start with the computer?

The first question that comes to mind is "How do you know that too many
programs are started at bootup?"
For instances, this computer has about 38 concurrent processes. This number
is a bit on the low side by the way.
My laptop has had 60 or so concurrent processes.

The second question is "How do you know that process X (for example) is not
needed?"

And the third question is "What performance issue can you associate with the
number of concurrent processes?"

Please specify the XP version and patch level, the processor speed, the disk
size and speed, the pagefile size, and the pagefile usage data.

Jim

 

[Cottonmouth]

Download and run autoruns from MS.
It will let you see what is started at startup. You can uncheck
things that you don't want. You'll just have to know what they are
either because of the name and folder they are in or you google for
them.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

If I can jump in here.. That looks like some really good software, but
being a total newbie to XP, I have no idea what's safe to disable. With
W98SE, I'd used it so many years I pretty well knew what was what. XP is
a horse of a totally different color. I just wish there was a guide
somewhere that explained what was necessary and what was not. I'd sure
like to pare down my startup time.

 

[Malke]

If I can jump in here.. That looks like some really good software, but
being a total newbie to XP, I have no idea what's safe to disable. With
W98SE, I'd used it so many years I pretty well knew what was what. XP is
a horse of a totally different color. I just wish there was a guide
somewhere that explained what was necessary and what was not. I'd sure
like to pare down my startup time.

Here are some links. You can also use the Great Google and search for the
names of the things you find. This is what the rest of us do when we don't
recognize something we see in Startup.

http://aumha.org/a/loads.htm - What loads at Startup?
http://www.theeldergeek.com/services_guide.htm
http://www.blackviper.com
http://www.liutilities.com/products/wintaskspro/processlibrary/

Malke

 

[JD]

If I can jump in here.. That looks like some really good software, but
being a total newbie to XP, I have no idea what's safe to disable. With
W98SE, I'd used it so many years I pretty well knew what was what. XP is
a horse of a totally different color. I just wish there was a guide
somewhere that explained what was necessary and what was not. I'd sure
like to pare down my startup time.

The answer lies in the reply you replied to? "You google for them."

You can disable some XP Services:

http://www.beemerworld.com/tips/servicesxp.htm

Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services.

And do a little tweaking:

http://www.blackviper.com/Articles/OS/OSguides.htm#Windows_XP_Home

Patience is a virtue when dealing with XP. After a while you'll know
what is what, just like you did with 98SE.

 

[John John (MVP)]

If I can jump in here.. That looks like some really good software, but
being a total newbie to XP, I have no idea what's safe to disable. With
W98SE, I'd used it so many years I pretty well knew what was what. XP is
a horse of a totally different color. I just wish there was a guide
somewhere that explained what was necessary and what was not. I'd sure
like to pare down my startup time.

You might find these to be useful:

http://www.theeldergeek.com/services_guide.htm
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm
http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_index.htm
http://www.runscanner.net/

Autoruns is a very good and comprehensive utility but it can be a very
daunting utility for novice users, the utility is not safe in the hands
of reckless users, if you delete critical entries your computer may not
boot or it may not function properly if it does!

For novice users Code Stuff Starter is an easy, safer to use utility
that can help disabling stubborn programs:
http://codestuff.tripod.com/products_starter.html

Along with that take a look at the running services in the Services
Management Console (Services.msc). Do your research on the services and
then decide what you need running on your computer. Always keep in mind
that the best way to disable unwanted processes or services is always to
first go in the program that starts the process or service and see if
there is an option to change the way the application behaves when
Windows is booted.

John

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

If I can jump in here.. That looks like some really good software, but
being a total newbie to XP, I have no idea what's safe to disable. With
W98SE, I'd used it so many years I pretty well knew what was what. XP is
a horse of a totally different color. I just wish there was a guide
somewhere that explained what was necessary and what was not. I'd sure
like to pare down my startup time.

Three points:

1. Nothing is necessary (except for obvious security-oriented software
you've installed). It's up to you what *you* want to start
automatically.

2. 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.

3. Regarding your desire to "pare down [your] startup time," I think
your main concern should be concerning performance *after* you start
up. 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.

 

[Cottonmouth]

To Malke, JD, John John, Ken Blake, and all the rest.

I did a lot of copying and pasting, saving those links for studying and use
later.

Thanks a million for being so helpful!

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

To Malke, JD, John John, Ken Blake, and all the rest.

I did a lot of copying and pasting, saving those links for studying and use
later.

Thanks a million for being so helpful!

You're welcome. Glad to help.

 

[JD]

To Malke, JD, John John, Ken Blake, and all the rest.

I did a lot of copying and pasting, saving those links for studying and use
later.

Thanks a million for being so helpful!

You're welcome. This is a good newsgroup for learning all about XP from
a variety of different people sometimes with a variety of different answers!