Windows XP Pro - extreamly slow startup

[Angelina Macri]

I'm running XP on toshiba Tecra A2 laptop - startup is extreamly slow - have
enough memory and no viruses- have been told to check the msconfig and
remove some programs from the startup - If this is the solution - then how
do I figure out what can be unchecked. I have also been advised to go to
individual program icons and into "properties" to get them out of startup -
tried and not apparent how to do it - anyone out there that can help?

 

[Malke]

I'm running XP on toshiba Tecra A2 laptop - startup is extreamly slow
- have enough memory and no viruses- have been told to check the
msconfig and remove some programs from the startup - If this is the
solution - then how
do I figure out what can be unchecked. I have also been advised to go
to individual program icons and into "properties" to get them out of
startup - tried and not apparent how to do it - anyone out there that
can help?

Basically, you Google the program names you see so you can find out what
they are and if they are essential. You can also look up the names at
various sites to which I'll give you links below.

Of all the OEMs, Toshiba loads their systems up with the most cr*p. With
laptops, you always will have more OEM programs starting than you do
with a desktop and you do need to have some of them go, but believe me
you don't need all of the updaters, etc. running.

http://aumha.org/a/loads.htm - What loads at Startup?
http://castlecops.com/StartupList.html
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_index.htm
http://www.theeldergeek.com/services_guide.htm
http://www.liutilities.com/products/wintaskspro/processlibrary/
http://www.windowsstartup.com/wso/search.php
http://www.processlibrary.com/results/

Malke

 

[Vince]

Although you may not have any viruses you do have a good chance that you
have many instances of Spyware, Malware, and Adware.

Even if you download and use cleaning tools to get rid of these pests you
may or may not get all of your issues cleared. The programs do an ok job of
fixing things but you will probably never be totally fixed. I have seen
computers get spyware and you think it is clean now but weeks or even months
later the cleaning programs when they get updated will still find little
pieces of the bad stuff that was missed before.

Here is an example.
I helped out one person that had a computer that took 25 minutes to boot up
and be usable.

After removing all of the spies I did manage to get the machine to boot in 7
minutes instead, but that was still way too long. Now because of how some of
the spies were installed it took forever to find them and remove them. So I
ended up spending nearly 5 hours trying to clean the machine. In the end it
still had to be wiped out and redone.

Now the computer boots in under 2 minutes as it should.

The above story is not always typical of spyware but is very common.
Basically what I would do is try to use a few spy programs such as Adaware,
Spybot Search and Destroy, and Microsoft Defender (all free). Decide how
much time you want to spend working on this issue and then make a concious
choice to either live with the final results or reformat and reinstall.

 

[Frank]

I'm running XP on toshiba Tecra A2 laptop - startup is extreamly
slow - have enough memory and no viruses- have been told to check
the msconfig and remove some programs from the startup - If this is
the solution - then how do I figure out what can be unchecked. I
have also been advised to go to individual program icons and into
"properties" to get them out of startup - tried and not apparent
how to do it - anyone out there that can help?

msconfig is a trouble shooting tool. It is not to be used to disable
startup items. A good tool for this is Mike Lin's startupcpl.
(google)
Before checking items you should (google) to see what they do.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

msconfig is a trouble shooting tool. It is not to be used to disable
startup items.

It's true that MSCONFIG was designed as a troubleshooting tool, but I
disagree that "it is not to be used to disable startup items." In fact,
regardless of what it was designed for, it also works fine for making
permanent startup deletions.

A good tool for this is Mike Lin's startupcpl.

I agree. It is a good tool, and may even be slightly more conevenient than
MSCONFIG. But MSCONFIG also works fine.

 

[Plato]

msconfig is a trouble shooting tool. It is not to be used to disable
startup items. A good tool for this is Mike Lin's startupcpl.

But. Msconfig CAN be used to temporararily disable your background apps
prior to burning sensitive CDs and/or ISOs.