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Community Newsletter: Q&A: How do I disable unnecessary programs running in my PC’s background?
- 9/25/08 12:59 PM
No easy way.
by bigbollocks2 - 9/12/08 6:41 PM In reply to: How do I disable unnecessary programs running in my PC’s background? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
You have to first disable startup programs you don't need. You can download a free program like CCleaner or Spybot-Search and Destroy right on download.com. Both have tools to edit your startup programs and both are simpler than doing it through windows. Disable programs instead of deleting them until you have run your system for a while with no problems. The "Startup" menu under Start-All Programs-Startup is rarely a complete listing, but you can start there first.
Now you have to decide what you need. Many programs will place themselves (sometimes hidden)in startup without being needed. Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader, Quicktime, Limewire, itunes and countless others impose them selves on your memory. I won't even get into the mess that is AOL. They will all work just fine without being in startup because they will run when you click on a file associated with that program. You may lose a second or two waiting for a program to begin this way, but it is far better than waiting for all the programs to start and stop when you boot or shutdown, and then having a laggy system while they eat memory in the background.
The hard part is knowing what you need. You must identify each program you want to excise from startup and learn a little bit of how it works. Some are integral to Windows and should not be removed. Some run automated processes like checking your email in the background, and you may want to keep those. Others run your hardware and are required. Sometimes anti-virus and security suites run more than one program there, and they should not be deactivated. Programs are not always titled in a clear manner either, so you have to google each one. Sometimes you find malware there too. Believe me, I have looked for a good program (or ANY program) that automates this process, but there is none. Google is your friend. It adds more time to the process, but you should reboot your system after each program is removed if you are new to this, just to make it easier to identify and reactivate a crucial one mistakenly axed.
No, you're not done yet. Once you have cleaned your startup file, reboot and hit control-alt-delete to bring up the Windows Task Manager. Click the Processes tab and look at what is actually running. Again, you have to identify each process, determine if you, Windows or another valid program needs it prior to killing the process and removing it. I have found a free program that is of help here called Process Scanner by UniBlue. It will assist with identifying many of the processes easily in a browser window. But the method of killing them varies, so you will still have to research the ones you suspect you don't want. Sometimes, especially with malware, you may think you have everything cleaned up, reboot, and the offender is still there. More research. I wish there were an easier way. Maybe Seinfeld will come up with something.
Thank you
by Old Dog New Tricks - 11/15/08 3:15 PM In reply to: No easy way. by bigbollocks2Such a delight to read well informed, explicit yet easy to understand comments on the forum discussion actually posted (as opposed to the many side tracks). I intend to follow up your remarks. I particularly appreciate your comment about researching what the programs actually do, since I totally believe the only way to really resove a problem (any problem) is to firstly understand it.
Finally, have you tried the free software (on download.com) called Process Explorer from Sysinternals? It comes highly recommended by Download.com & I am giving it serious consideration. The program "replaces and enhances" Task Manager.
Thank again
Peter
p exporer
by tedtks - 11/15/08 3:34 PM In reply to: Thank you by Old Dog New TricksI have been useing process explorer for a couple months.
I think its great. one thing I like is that if I am considering
whether to get rid of something I can ' suspend ' it with PE.
then I can see if it effects anything.
only problem with this is that it resets after shutdown.
ted
P Explorer
by Old Dog New Tricks - 11/15/08 3:59 PM In reply to: p exporer by tedtksThank you for that
Peter
How to disable start up programme
by brvmama - 12/21/08 7:08 AM In reply to: No easy way. by bigbollocks2I use avery good utility by name AnVir task manager.This not only gives the definetion of each process but advises you also whether to disable or not.Good one even for the novice
Managing start-up program in XP
by caskater4 - 9/12/08 6:47 PM In reply to: How do I disable unnecessary programs running in my PC’s background? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
First to answer your question "Is this true?". Yes, you can improve your system performance by eliminating unnecessary startup programs. Unfortunately, however, there is no single place you can go to find all programs that will run at Windows startup. Instead you may have to look at several places including the programs themselves. The important thing to note is that these programs almost always display an icon in your system tray (the bottom right portion of your screen where the date and time is displayed).
The easiest way to begin is by eliminating programs from the Startup folder. You can find this folder by clicking Start, All Programs and selecting Startup. All the programs listed in this folder will execute when Windows starts. To remove an item simply right-click on the item you want to get rid of and click Delete. Note: This will not delete the program, just the link that executes the program during Windows startup. This should give you a good start at getting rid of unnecessary programs.
You've probably noticed by this point that not all programs are listed in the Startup folder. That is because programs are allowed to start themselves by adding an entry into Windows' registry. Others may suggest to remove these entries from the registry directly but you should always exercise extreme caution with Windows Registry. A wrong change to the Windows Registry can damage a system to the point that it never starts again and must be wiped clean with Windows reinstalled. Instead I suggest you edit the program's preferences or settings so that the program does not automatically start. If you right-click on the icon in the system tray you should see an option for Preferences, Properties, Settings or Configuration. Selecting one of these will give you a window that should have an option for "Automatically start with Windows" (or some variation). Simply uncheck the option and you should no longer see the program the next time you restart Windows.
Should you decide that going through every program is too troublesome and to ignore all the warnings you can edit the registry directly. This may also be your only option as a few programs do not provide an option in it's settings window and do not place a shortcut in the Startup folder. So to edit the Registry directly click Start, Run, type in 'regedit' and click OK. You will see a new window with a tree of folders listed on the left side and other miscellaneous items on the right side. Double-Click on HKEY_CURRENT_USER, then Software, Microsoft, Windows, CurrentVersion and finally Run. On the right side you should notice several entries with three values; Name, Type, and Data. Select an entry for the program you want to remove and hit the Del key. That will remove the item from executing during startup.
One more word of caution. Be very careful what you remove in the registry. Certain programs are needed at startup as they may control devices in your computer. Programs that should generally be left alone are video card control panels (i.e. ATI Catalyst, nVidia Control Panel), Anti-Virus software, firewalls, and wireless utilities. Things you should look for to get rid of are Office Startup, OEM Help Support programs (Dell Support, HP Support, etc), Printer Applications, etc.
Killing programs that start automatically to improve speed
by Watzman - 9/12/08 6:47 PM In reply to: How do I disable unnecessary programs running in my PC’s background? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Re: "Many times people mention that to speed up your computer’s
overall speed--including Windows start-up, and shut
down--is to eliminate unnecessary programs from running in
the background. Is this true?"
Of course it is true; every program that runs takes resources and thus takes resources away from every other program that runs.
Most of the programs that we are talking about are NOT in your start menu. The only programs that are in your start menu are those that are in the Start / Programs / Startup folder (I use the "Classic" start menu (which I recommend), so it may look different if you are using the standard XP desktop).
Try this: start your computer normally (restart if necessary). When it starts, do not run or start ANYTHING manually. Hit the Control-Alt-Delete keys (3 keys on your keyboard) all at once. Click on the processes tab. There you see how many things are running in your computer when you have started NOTHING. Usually, you will have FIFTY or so programs (actually processes) running. Pretty shocking, isn't it? Most of those are necessary, but quite a few are not (and some people will have more, possibly 70 to as many as 120 or 150 processes running). It's very possible that NONE of those came from the start menu.
Microsoft supplies a utility called MSCONFIG that will let you see all of the programs that run at startup and also prevent them from running. You have to use the RUN command to run this (Start / Run / MSCONFIG). After you run it, click on the "Startup" tab, and you will see the programs that run at startup. By unchecking the check box for a given program, you can typically prevent it from running, but some programs are "persistent" and will manage to either re-check the check box or create a new, 2nd (3rd, 4th, 5th .....) copy of themselves with the check box re-checked.
I also want to emphasize that you should not, under any circumstances, do this casually: Many of these programs ARE necessary, you can screw up your computer, BAD in some cases, by not allowing necessary programs to start. The general rule is, if you do not know what it is, and/or if you do not know if it is necessary, leave it alone. But Google is your friend here .... a Google search will find almost all of the things you are likely to see and the references found will tell you what it is and if it's necessary or not.
Sometimes, you may want to do more than just use MSCONFIG to keep the program from running (which may not even work), sometimes you want to remove either the registry or system file command that invokes the program or the program file itself. However, that discussion is beyond the scope of this response.
Regards,
Barry Watzman
Watzman@neo.rr.com
MSConfig
by d.arbib - 9/19/08 4:25 PM In reply to: Killing programs that start automatically to improve speed by WatzmanFollowing this article about the use of MSConfig, let me tell you of a story. I had PCTools Spyware Doctor on my XPpro/SP3/IE7 system and chose to innstall the latest version of Nero 8.3.6. This caused me great problems in that using the StertSmart icon the system simply locked and the CPU ran flat out. After lots of angst, I went to MSconfig/Services and first disabled (after excluding Microsoft) everything and Nero opened normally. So, one after another I enabled programs, re-booted over and over again and finally found the I only needed to disable Spyware Doctor. I then had the task of allowing Nero StratSmart. That worked, albeit it took ages for Nero to appear and that was solved by setting StatSmart to rember previous settings.
The moral of this stort is that without using MSConfig I would have been completely lost.
Killing programs that start automatically to improve speed
by rosiemyrosie - 9/21/08 10:02 AM In reply to: Killing programs that start automatically to improve speed by WatzmanThis is an excellent comment. Running msconfig will bring up the information, but if the user does not know what these programs are, which ones are necessary or not, is a real challenge which can definitely mess up your computer big time by messing with them.
The simple answer is to download WinPatrol from BillP Studios at:
http://www.winpatrol.com/download
This program will tell you what is running, start-up, cookies, etc. If you don't know what a program is this will tell you. There is the free version and paid version, obviously the paid version has more detailed information. It is a one time life use payment, no renewals. It is one of the very best program available to help the average to novice user to know what is running on their computer, what you need and don't need. Had it for years and highly recommend it with out the fuss and muss. Get it, you won't regret it. At least go to the website and examine it.
How to change start-up programs in the Startup folder
by mjmdesk - 9/12/08 7:49 PM In reply to: How do I disable unnecessary programs running in my PC’s background? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
First of all, open up "Explorer" by right clicking the Start button. Then left click the word "Explore. That will open up a screen listing all of you folders and files. Then expand the "C:" volume by left clicking on the "Plus" "+" symbol to the left of the C: directory. Then look for a folder entitled "Documents and Settings". Expand this folder by clicking on the "+" symbol. Then look for a folder name Administrator and expand it by clicking its + symbol. Then click the + symbol beside "Start Menu." That may give you a partial listing of start-up programs. You may delete the shortcuts to programs you are sure are not necessary at start-up. Note: this only deletes the shortcut, not the program itself.
Next you may also want to expand Start Menu which will give you the option to see a folder named Programs. Expand this folder to find another folder named Startup. click on this folder to view other programs that are being run at start-up. You may make a choice as to which are absolutely necessary at start-up, deleting those that may be slowing down your boot-up.
Deleting Unnecessary Start-up Programs
by High Desert Charlie - 9/12/08 8:00 PM In reply to: How do I disable unnecessary programs running in my PC’s background? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Kate,
Readers should note that this procedure is limited to those using Windows XP. The procedure is pretty simple, and there's little need to complicate it with questions like, "Which programs should I keep?".
1. Click - Start --> Run --> type, MSCONFIG and press enter.
2. Select the Startup Tab
3. Select Disable All
4. Scroll through the selections and find your antivirus and/or spyware programs and check their box. These are the only boxes that need to be checked.
5. Select OK and then Restart your computer
That's it!!! Most people are really surprised at the number of programs that run at start-up.
Once in awhile a program you use may require that it run at start-up or it will not work properly. If you run into this problem, you can always go back and turn the program back on.
Best of LucK,
High Desert Charlie
Don't Pay For It
by medic564 - 9/12/08 8:25 PM In reply to: Deleting Unnecessary Start-up Programs by High Desert CharlieDon't think you have to buy a program to help you with this issue. The "MSCONFIG" that you see throughout this thread will work and is pretty easy. Don't be afraid as there's really not much you can mess up. Most of the programs you will shut down using this method will still work if you need them, this just keeps them from loading when you start Windows. I would say you shouldn't have more than 10 items running at Start Up.
How do I disable unnecessary programs running in my
by apluscomputer - 9/12/08 8:36 PM In reply to: How do I disable unnecessary programs running in my PC’s background? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Best Easiest Method
What I use is simple and FREE
Get Spybot 1.6 for free and when you use it in the Advanced mode You will see a section choice on the left hand links that takes you right to the Startup PRograms that will run when you Boot up or start your Windows operating system
Here you can disable or delet any uneccessary programs liek;
Kodak camera software that gets installed automatically when you view a friends Pictures from a CD that he/she had made.
Or any camera software does NOT need to run as soon as you start Windows.
Also any older programs that you do not even use anymore - delete
Also nowdays all programs want to automatically updated themselves. WHich doesn't seem too bad But if they are gonna automatically update themselves then they need a program running at all times. This slows dfown you PC ie. jsched, qtime update, realplayer scheduler...
Delet these or disable this. Update the programs ONLY when YOU want to do so Generally from the Help menu usually has a Check for Updates choice.
Get Spybot from here:
http://www.aplus-computer.com/support/spybot16review.htm
Sincerely,
DonAtAplus, IT Professional 30 years experience
Any softwares they are same
by alan.idea - 9/12/08 8:54 PM In reply to: How do I disable unnecessary programs running in my by apluscomputerAny softwares you choose the decision ultimately comes back to you.
All you have to do is contact someone who can advice you what to disable from startup. For help
alan.idea@gmail.com
Huh????
by bigjohnl--2008 - 9/19/08 5:01 PM In reply to: Any softwares they are same by alan.ideaWhat did he say, anyhow?
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