Windows XP

[Guest]

My computer takes a long time to start up and shut down. I know that there
are many things running in the back round that are not needed. When I used
windows 98 I would go to start, run, type in "msconfig" and then I had a list
of what was needed to run windows. I would turn off anything else listed
there that was not needed to run windows. Can anyone give me a list of what
is needed for Windows XP?

 

[Guest]

Robin, there is a msconfig.exe file in XP but I don't want to tell you much
about it except to leave it alone! Especially since your asking about it, XP
is shutting down the way it needs to, if you start fooling around in XP like
you could in Win98, you might find yourself SOL. Unless you are sure of what
all the services that are running are all about, don't mess with them. If
you want to see whats going on check out your Administrative tools in the
Control Panel or you can right click on the taskbar, go to properties, or go
to setting taskbar on your start menue. There you can have it show the
Administrator tools on the start menue. Remember I said to look, check out,
but don't touch. Oh yeah, should have asked this first. How long is a long
time for you?

Walrus says, bottom line leave things alone. Be patient! How much memory do
you have? How many programs do you have in the startup folder?

 

[Mike Hall - MS MVP Windows Shell/User]

Robin

Spyware is more likely responsible.. it could even be a hard drive that is
overly full or has errors on it after crashing out a few times..

Run Error Checking, Disk Cleanup and then run Defragmenter.. also do the
following to rid yourself of spyware..


First step is to run a one shot virus remover.. I have found that Trend
Housecall works for people.. download and run it..



http://housecall.trendmicro.com/



... select the 'online scan' and follow the directions given.



This takes a while to complete but is a necessary first step.



You will also need to download Spyware removal software.. Spybot and Adaware
are available at these websites.. both are free.. download and run them..
don't forget to check for updates after you have started them..



Adaware SE - http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/



... and how to use it..
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial48.html



SpyBot S&D - http://www.safer-networking.org/



... and how to use it..
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial43.html



Spybot has the ability to immunize a system, but there is better for this
function, so download and run Spyware Blaster too.. again, check for
updates..



SpywareBlaster - http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html



... and how to use it..
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial49.html



NOTE.. FOR Windows 2000/XP users ONLY.. Ewido online scan -
http://www.ewido.net/en/ ..



The full installable program has been replaced by AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5 since
the takeover by Grisoft



CWShredder will eliminate CoolWebSearch and variants.. there is a free
download here..



CWShredder.. http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshredder_download.html



To use CWShredder, simply start the program, use 'check for update' to make
sure you have the latest version, then hit 'fix.' It will check your system
against a list of current CWS variants, and fix any infections it finds.



You must also run a firewall and anti-virus program.. here are some links
for you..



Zonealarm Firewall (free)..http://www.zonealarm.com .. recommended



AVG Anti-virus (free).. http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/ ..
recommended



The weekly 'housekeeping' will not take long.. run Adaware, Spybot, and
SpywareBlaster weekly, ensuring that you update them prior to starting a
scan.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

My computer takes a long time to start up and shut down.

How long is " a long time"?

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.

I know that
there are many things running in the back round that are not needed.
When I used windows 98 I would go to start, run, type in "msconfig"
and then I had a list of what was needed to run windows. I would turn
off anything else listed there that was not needed to run windows.
Can anyone give me a list of what is needed for Windows XP?

*Nothing* i sneeded for Windows XP. th eonly things necessarly are those
*you* find necessary. Ouside of the obvious need for security programs like
your firewall, anti-virvus, and antispyware programs, the rest are up to
you.

However if you do want to address the slow startup, it *may* (or may not;
there are other possibilities) be because of what programs start
automatically, and you may want to stop some of them from starting that way.
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.

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.

 

[Guest]

My computer takes a long time to start up and shut down. I know that there
are many things running in the back round that are not needed. When I used
windows 98 I would go to start, run, type in "msconfig" and then I had a list
of what was needed to run windows. I would turn off anything else listed
there that was not needed to run windows. Can anyone give me a list of what
is needed for Windows XP?

 

[Guest]

My computer takes a long time to start up and shut down. I know that there
are many things running in the back round that are not needed. When I used
windows 98 I would go to start, run, type in "msconfig" and then I had a list
of what was needed to run windows. I would turn off anything else listed
there that was not needed to run windows. Can anyone give me a list of what
is needed for Windows XP?

Download a Registry cleaner. I suggest RegHealer which is free and clean up
the registry.

http://www.fixregistry.com/download.htm#regheal?on_ver_chk

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Download a Registry cleaner. I suggest RegHealer which is free and
clean up the registry.

Bad advice. I always recommend against the routine use of registry
cleaners. Routine cleaning of the registry isn't needed and is dangerous.
Leave the registry alone and don't use a registry cleaner. Despite what many
people think, and what vendors of registry cleaning software try to convince
you of, having unused registry entries doesn't really hurt you.


The risk of a serious problem caused by a registry cleaner erroneously
removing an entry you need is far greater than any potential benefit it may
have.