Community Newsletter: Q&A forum: How do I disable unnecessary programs running in my PCs background?

Hi Kate - There are many elements which affect the overall speed of a computer, the obvious main contributors are the hardware components such as CPU and RAM which determine the computer's base speed. The most effective method of increasing speed is to upgrade these components, especially increasing the amount of RAM (random access memory) which is the cheapest and simplest option.....however, this is often not affordable nor practical (on older machines). The next best method is to maintain a clean hard drive and keep programs that auto start with Windows to an absolute minimum. The only ones that really need to be running in the background are those which are associated with essential system processes and any security software which includes real time protection, e.g. Anti Virus.....all of the others can easily be manually started if/when required.
The best way to stop programs from auto starting is to use each one's preferences, options, settings menu.....just right click on the program's icon in the system tray (far right of taskbar) and select the appropriate heading and then look though the settings for any reference to; Auto start, start with Windows, etc. and disable that option. Some programs, however, do not include the disable option and that is where a start-up manager can help.
The start-up status/behaviour of programs can be changed via the 'run' command in Windows....just type 'msconfig' (minus quotes) into the 'run' dialogue box and press ok/enter and then click on the 'start-up' tab. The information there is sparse though and some of the entries can be quite confusing (difficult to identify)...that is where a 3rd party software can help. There are plenty of good free start-up managers available, including those built into Advanced Windows Care and Windows Defender (Microsoft's anti spyware) but I recommend the use of WinPatrol...not only does it allow you to set the start-up behaviour for each entry but it also monitors for any applications trying to insinuate themselves into (or back into) start-up. WinPatrol will issue a warning message whenever any program attempts to add itself to the start-up list and you can either deny or accept the change...thereby maintaining the status quo.
Next, keeping the hard drive free from junk and unnecessary data will also help....there is a good little free program called 'CCleaner' which will, along with 'Windows Disk Cleanup' (in 'System Tools'), do just that.....frequency of cleaning is relative to usage, for the average user once per week should suffice.
Finally, regularly (about once per month) defrag the hard drive....it is hotly debated as to whether defragmentation is actually effective or not but it certainly will not hurt and there are other benefits. Windows includes it's own defrag utility but it is painfully slow, there are lots of free 3rd party offerings but for the beginner I recommend 'Auslogics Disk Defrag', it is quick and very easy to use.

LINKS:
http://www.winpatrol.com/
http://www.ccleaner.com/
http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag

cheers....JIM

Hi Kate S,
Yes, it is true that by eliminating unnecessary programs from running in the background does speed up the computer. The main items you want to Leave running at startup are your Antivirus and Firewall(If using a 3rd party one,not the built in Windows Firewall.)

To take programs out of your startup;
Go to Start - Click on Run and type in MSCONFIG and press ok / or enter on your keyboard.
Once you do this a System Configuration window shall open. Across the top you will see a few tabs.
General(Shows the type of startup you are currently in).
Boot (Gives several Boot options,which should NOT be alltered).
Services (Lists the names of Services, their manufacturer, The status Running or Stopped, and the date disabled).
Startup (Lists the startup items, Manufacturer, Command, Location, and Date disabled).

Click on the STARTUP Tab ,
You can use http://sysinfo.org/startuplist.php (type what you see in the search bar, makes it easier to search just the items in your startup) AND http://www.castlecops.com/StartupList.html to check the items listed in startup.(Both sites have a Key to follow:Y-Normally leave in, N- Not required or not recommended, U- Users choice, X- Definitely not required - typically viruses, spyware, adware, ?- Unknown.)
For example: In my Startup is RtHDVCpl- By going to sysinfo and searching it,I see that that belongs to my sound card and is a Users choice(Up to the user to decide if they require the program to run at startup, can be left in or taken out of startup)So im going to uncheck the box (because im only altering this one and am done with startup)Im going to click Apply and then OK. A prompt comes up "You may need to restart your computer to apply these changes.Before restarting,save any open files and close all programs. Im going to click on Restart. Now once the computer restarts, I recieve a prompt, You have used the System Configuation Utility , I check the box to not show this again and click Ok And if system configuration does open, click the X or ok to close it.

To recap the steps to follow:
Go to Start - Click on Run and type in MSCONFIG and press ok / or enter on your keyboard.
Click on the Startup tab on the top.
Use http://sysinfo.org/startuplist.php (type what you see in the search bar, makes it easier to search just the items in your startup) AND http://www.castlecops.com/StartupList.html to check the items listed in startup.
Click Apply and Ok when complete
Click Restart
once the computer restarts, you will recieve a prompt, You have used the System Configuation Utility, Check the box to not show this again and click Ok. Good luck Kate

How do I know services which are required by windows. I have Windows XP.

I personally use CCleaner . It is free and has tools built in for uninstalling or disabling start-up programs . You can always Google the ones that you are not sure of , just to be sure . Try it and you will be amazed on how much " clutter " it can get rid of .

I HAVE WIN VISTA HOME PREMIUM ON COMPAQ PC

I've been through this situation several times, and each time the solution has been to use msconfig to figure out which program(s) were not necessary and keep them shut down. It's very time-consuming and requires numerous re-boots, but, in the end, will make you a much happier camper.

If you are comfortable poking around in the registry, you can find some of the programs that are eventually eliminated and remove them, so that they are no longer on your list. Otherwise, they will stay there, without a checkmark in their little box.

Here's how to do it:

Click on start, run, and type msconfig in the entry box, then click on OK or press enter. It will bring up the system configuration utility program. The tabs you want are Services and Startup. To see what's going on in Services, check the box "Hide all Microsoft Services" and then review what is left. You will generally find things like your anti-virus program, anti-spyware, etc. running services here. There may be others as well (a firewall, if you don't use Microsoft's). If you don't know what they are, you can uncheck the box. Then go to Startup. Start by Disabling All. Then click Apply and you'll be prompted to reboot.

When your system starts back up, you'll get a box reminding you that you've started with the system configuration utility; I usually just check the box that I don't want to deal with it, because I know that I just did it (and just rebooted from it). See what sort of messages pop up about things that aren't working, and what doesn't work right for you. For instance, does your PDA sync up properly on startup? That is one program that runs in the background. If it doesn't, you need to open up msconfig, check the box for that program and reboot again so that it works. As you find things that don't work, you'll have to add that program to your list of things to add to background programs. You'll find it useful to make a list that converts the shorthand name that Windows uses into something that a human can understand. A simple Notepad file will do nicely for this, but it can come in handy at some future date when you are having problems and you need to know which program it is that you want to kill - just what does it do?

Just keep going through the iterations until you have your PC running the way you want it to.

I would suggest using WinPatrol Plus from BillP Studios. It has a very good interface and can give advice on most programmes running on a computer. There is a free version of the program but there the information about running processes are rather rudimentary.
WinPatrol Plus is $29.
Another idea would be to look for freeware with the same capabilities. I can't suggest any program since I use WinPatrol but I am quite sure there are simular programs to be found as CNET downloads

I'm far from an expert but I understand exactly where you're coming from. Programs that come up unnecssarily on startup hog resources and can cause your machine to run slow. I've been using WinPatrol Plus for some time. I find it a very useful utility because it notifies me when a program tries to change my computer's settings and gives me the option of permitting it or not. It also has several other useful tools, including changing what programs run on startup. I have the paid version but I used the free version for some time successfully. I think the difference between the two versions is that with Plus, you can go to the WinPatrol website and get detailed information on any program running on your machine. In any case, WinPatrol has a tab which will display everything that runs on startup and give you the option of disabling it. Of course you have to be careful not to disable something essential, but you can pretty much figure out a lot of what you need on startup and what you don't. You can always create a restore point with XP prior to disabling each program. Hope this helps

I have a small utility (freeware) called Startup Control Panel 2.8 by Mike Lin. This lives in the Control Panel next to the System Icon. This has a number of folders populated with the programs that startup when your PC or Laptop starts. You can go in to each of these and turn them off just by unchecking the box. If one is there and I am unsure what it is I do a Google search to find out what software it is associated with.
If you have made an error you can always check the box and turn it back on. There is a delete function but if you delete something necessary it will re-create it.
This utility makes control of the startup so simple even a non technical person like me can stay in control.

There are many programs that are free that will do what you want, Kate. Besides Windows Task Manager, I like Process Explorer. For disabling or deleting startup programs, I have found the free Win Patrol very helpful, even for newbies with its Startup tab. It's very easy to understand and has other advantages too. I keep the icon in the notification (systray) area of my taskbar for my Win XP system. Go to Google and type in Win Patrol.

That's starting and manually stopping. That takes a lot of time. Better to not have them start at all. There's a lot about that in this thread.

Kees

You may use Software Explorer provided by Windows Defender, but it will work only if you are having the original Windows.

You can use Revo Unistaller, a free software with excellent interface that brings lots of utilities for PC performance. Prevents for unused applications to run at the startup, cleans all the garbage for the hard drive and others.

Check this out, it is the best of all mentioned.

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

Dear Sir:

I use startup cop, which will list all running programs, and allow you some info on each one, and to disable or remove each one on the next boot.

I think I got it from zdnet or cnet, and it costs only about #20.00.

Good luck

Ray E