Community Newsletter: Q&A forum: 9/10/04 Safely getting rid of those Windows msconfig start-up programs

****** HONORABLE MENTIONS**********

(WARNING: Some of this week's honorable mentions may suggest the task of editing your Windows registry, MAKE SURE back up your registry in case you do something wrong and also be that you are familiar with files you are planning to delete. You don't want to delete a file that is critical to your system; that can really wreak havoc in your computer. So be cautious and know what you are deleting before proceeding! Delete files and edit the Windows registry at your own risk. Thank you.)


Answer:

Nikki,
the question is deceivingly simple. So, I suspect more than a simple answer is best.

If you need to remove shortcuts from the Windows startup folder, simply go to start, all programs, startup. Right click on the icon and choose delete.
This only stops the program from loading automatically. The programs remain installed and functional.

Now for the not so simple answer. First and foremost make sure your machine is fully up to date on patches and virus definitions. Many viruses load under randomly created file names.

Second, check for spyware. I use a combination of "SpyBot Search and Destroy" and "Adaware". Both are free downloads and find different problems. So I use both.

Now comes the easy (or hard) part. If you are inexperienced with the registry and it's function, it's time to be very cautious. Probably best to consult an experienced technician.

In the startup window within msconfig there is a list of registry keys that load programs. 90+% of the progams don't need to autostart. Stretch out the "command" box. Identify the anti-virus and firewall files. Leave them alone. Everything else can go.
Check the box by the rest of the startup items, then click disable all. This method allows you to change your mind in the future by clicking and enabling things you really want.

Restart and see how things work. The difference shoulld be dramatic.

Submitted by: Jim D.

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Answer:

The answer depends on what you want to retain for startup, and which windows OS you are running.
One thing for sure, you do not want to remove the SystemTray, ScanRegistry, or Taskbar Display Controls entries. On a Notebook computer, do not remove LoadPowerProfile. If you have a printer installed, do not remove the task for that printer. Other than these, any virus monitor, device driver, or anything else you feel you need for productivity or safety should not be removed.

Make a list of everything you want to keep and uncheck everything else in the Startup tab.

Once you remove an entry (by unchecking it), you will be required to restart windows to make the changes permanent in Windows98 or previous OSs. You may also need to edit the registry. There are quite a few instructions on CNET Forums Q&A archives for this, so I will not repeat them here.

I could have answered more succinctly, if you had provided more information, such as a list of what is in the Startup tab in msconfig. I hope this list of do nots will be sufficient.

Be aware that every entry in the Startup tab reduces the amount of resources available for your productivity applications.

James S. of Freehold, NJ USA

Submitted by: James S. of Freehold, NJ USA

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Answer:

I'm a little confused as to what your particular question is, but if you mean how does one remove items (programs) and keep them from running when Windows starts (the items shown from the run tab in system configuration (msconfig)), you can easily edit that particular registry key, first things first:
NOTE: !!! I AM NOT AND WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE OR FOR ANY DATA LOSS OF ANY KIND, FILES, OPERATING SYSTEM, ETC..
EDITING THE REGISTRY SHOULD ONLY BE PERFORMED BY SOMEONE WITH KNOWLEDGE ENOUGH TO DO SO.
I AM JUST SHARING WITH YOU HOW I DO MY OWN WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS.
YOU ARE EDITING THE REGISTRY AT YOU OWN RISK !!!

After that said, here are the steps,

Step 1 (MOST IMPORTANT): Back up the registry! This can easily be done by left clicking START > RUN and type REGEDIT in the run/open text box and hit ENTER or left click run or open. The registry editor should open and you then want to left click on My Computer 1 time to highlight it, then left click "File" (upper left corner) then click "Eport" (this will allow you to export a copy of the registry) a dialog box will open allowing you to save the registry file copy, gerally you can save it in My Documents but it can be saved wherever you want. Type a name for the backup and left click Save. See it sounds harder than it really is.

Step 2: With the Registry Editor still open, left click the + sign next to My Computer to expand it, it might already be expanded in which case left click the + sign next to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE to expand it, then expand the SOFTWARE folder, then MICROSOFT, then WINDOWS, then CURRENTVERSION, and then the folder named RUN, left click the RUN folder one time to highlight it and in the right hand pane you will see all of the programs (keys)that load on Windows startup. There are certain entries in here that you probably do not want to remove (such as entries that refer to printers, anti virus, etc.), so if you know which programs you want to remove then click your right mouse button on the the key referring to the desired program you want removed and a shortcut menu will popup, from there left click on DELETE or press Delete on the keyboard afterwhich a dialog box will open asking you to confirm deletion, select Yes or OK. After you are done, left click on "File" again and then "Exit".
This will close the Registry Editor and you then want to restart the computer. Snot that hard is it?

Now, to safely delete "things" (programs), you should always go to Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel first or see if the program has an uninstall link usually found when navigating to the program from the All Programs/Programs list, sometimes you can click the right mouse button on the START icon and then left click Explore in the shortcut popup menu which in turn will open Windows Explorer, then you can see if the program is listed on the C:\ drive (or partition if you have such, I have one 20Gb partition for Windows, one 25Gb for programs, and one 30Gb for Data; (pics, downloads etc.)), anyhow, also look for the Programs/Program Files folder and open the folder for the program you want to remove, you can look in here for an Uninstall file, it should have an extension such as .exe, .bat, .com, jar, or you can use the Search tool, either way, You can double click on the file and generally the programs uninstall will start. If you still have problems then you can always delete the file by going to Windows Explorer or use Search, as I stated earlier, locate the program, select and delete it, then go back to the Registry Editor as described earlier (remember to BACK UP THE REGISTRY BEFORE EDITING IT), left click on EDIT (next to File), then left click on FIND, in the text box next to "Find What", type all or part of the program name you want removed and click Find Next, if your program is found you can delete the Folder referring to said program (NOT THE MAIN FOLDER CONTAINING IT), you will then want to click Edit > Find Next (below Find) and a search will be performed for any more instances of the program. After you are done, close the Registry Editor and restart you computer. If you didn't delete the wrong Keys, you are good to go.

NOTE: !!! I AM NOT AND WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE OR FOR ANY DATA LOSS OF ANY KIND, FILES, OPERATING SYSTEM, ETC..
EDITING THE REGISTRY SHOULD ONLY BE PERFORMED BY SOMEONE WITH KNOWLEDGE ENOUGH TO DO SO.
I AM JUST SHARING WITH YOU HOW I DO MY OWN WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS.
YOU ARE EDITING THE REGISTRY AT YOU OWN RISK !!!

Also, generally if you open the Registry Editor and use FIND to see if a program has been registered and you dont find any instances of said program, you can search for and safely delete the program from it's location on the hard drive, but you this is becoming rare these days as this method mostly pertains to some DOS based programs.

It all sounds harder than it really is, I hope I was of some help and correctly understood and answered your
?question?.

Thanks for the opportunity to help and good luck!,


Submitted by: Joseph M.

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Answer:

Dear Nikki

http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_index.htm

I suggest you to visit this link and browse to "The Programs" . You may download Full-list.zip or start_ups.exe. Full-list.zip offers database of common msconfig entry with meanings of each one, which program contributes to this particular entry, whether it can be unchecked at start up etc. This database is provided to you in downloadable version i.e you may read it offline.
You may read the link above for additional information

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm
This site has also maintained database of msconfig entry in dictionary format i.e you don't have to search for meaning of msconfig entry using search engine.
Just visit the above two sites to learn the meaning of your required terms

http://www.lidownloads.com/partners/sites/pacsportal/wintasks/ Programs like win task can help you to get rid of unwanted entry in msconfig

http://www2.whidbey.net/djdenham/index.htm

This site has maintained good list of what is required at startup & what can be unchecked (delete) at start-up safely

This site will help you to get all the required information about msconfig start-up list from the single place on internet. I mean you will not have to search internet for different msconfig entry.

Please click on link what loads at startup & what to uncheck at startup

*If you don't wish to go online, you may search for the required entry's folder on your pc. Entry that belongs to Window/System folder are usually required.

You may read the documentation (readme file) supplied with your peripherals like key board & mouse etc. This may inform you about the files required at sartup for working of this device.

Followings are list of common entry required on my Window Me system scan registry , task monitor, sys tray,- yes

Entry that belongs to your Virus scan & internet security softwares are required.

load power profile - no, unless you use the standby/hibernation features on your pc

country selection - no

PTSNOOP - no

EM_EXEC - no, unless you have a Logitech mouse

multimedir KBD - no, unless you have a multifunction keyboard and use the additional keys

algoserv - no (Yes , if you use Mcafee Virus scan 6 )

bpcpost.exe - no, unless you have tv viewing software

file scan - no (unless you wish your backup software to scan for file changes at every startup)

iusage- no, unless you need to calculate the time you are on the internet


scheduling agen - no, unless you run scheduled tasks such as defrag, scandisk, etc

SDPSRV - no

statemgr - no unless you use System Restore

encoder agent - no

If you suspect for Spyware, you may visit the site listed below and download a program called 'Ad-aware', it is a very good spyware detection program and will highlight all instances on your machine. Once you have downloaded it, run the installation file and when the program is set up, use it to do a 'deep scan' of your system. When it has finished the scan, make a note of what instances of spyware it found and then let the program remove those entries.

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/

Please note that the application which installed spyware might not work once you use Ad-aware to scan spyware.

You may delete obsolete entry in ms config as follow

First you MUST back up your registry as we are going to edit it.

Click Start, click Run, type scanregw, and then click OK.
When you receive a prompt to back up the registry, click Yes.
When you receive the "Backup complete" message, click OK.

Now click Start, Run, type regedit.

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion|Run-

The last little - is important as there will be a number of Run and RunOnce files.

This will be a list of unchecked entries in the Startup Group, now it is just a case of selecting each entry and deleting it.

Once you have deleted these entries, fire up msconfig again and they will no longer be there

(if you are not sure about the process, please leave the obsolete entry as it is. Just uncheck those you don't wish to load at start-up)

*you may visit site spywareguide.com . This site has maintained database of spyware, adware, malware

With Best Regards


Submitted by: Ashar B.


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Answer:

Judging by your reference to the useful msconfig command, I assume that you are somewhat familiar with Windows. The first thing you are going to want to do is set a system restore point. You can do this through the Start menu: Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>System Restore. This is your backup in case you stop a process that wont startup again, or in case stopping a program or process has a negative effect to your system.

There are a couple of places in the msconfig console, at least in Windows XP where you can prevent commands from running when Windows starts. If you go over to the Services tab, it will show processes that are generally useful to the computer at startup and may be things such as virus protection, firewall service, pop-up killers, etc. The safest way to work with this section is to check the box that says, Hide all Microsoft services. This will prevent you from stopping a service that is essential to the proper startup of Windows.

The other tab that is more useful, but also more risky, is the Startup tab. This tab has a list of all the programs that start when your computer starts. This is generally things such as temperature monitors, media player fast-start centers, some display driver features, just to name a few. The safest, albeit slowest, way to find out what is essential or useful to you and what is not is to turn one off at a time, restart and see what happened. Some of the programs are easy to identify, such as qttask.exe is for the QuickTime fast-start center. Most programs on the Startup list are not essential to the operation of Windows, so you can basically experiment as you need to.

When you restart, your computer will show you a dialogue that tells you that you are running a selective startup of Windows, and open the msconfig dialogue box so you can make changes if necessary. If you play around with your computer for awhile and dont notice any problems, that process was probably something behind the scenes that you may or may not need in the long run. If nothing is messed up, you can leave the process disabled and move on to disable another one. Obviously, if your computer is not running something that you want it to at startup, you need to enable that process again on the Startup tab, and move down the list.

Once you have disabled the startup programs that are unnecessary for your computer, you can click the checkbox on the dialogue box when Windows starts so it will stop telling you that you are running a selective startup. If you need to enable any processes afterwords, just use msconfig. The processes will stay on the list until you uninstall the program that put them there. Enjoy your faster starting computer!


Submitted by: Stephen S.


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Answer:

The answer to your question about removing processes from the startup can not be answered in 35 words or less.( At least not the way I would go about fixing your problem). You can run "Regedit" to delete the start up files. This can be done by clicking on the "Start" bar and then click on "Run". Type in Regedit and click "OK". When the Registry Editor box pops up, on the left hand side click on the (+) next to HKEY_CURRENT_USER, then click the (+) next to Software, then the (+) next to Microsoft, then the (+) next to Windows, then the (+) next to CurrentVersion. Now scroll down the list until you find "Run" and right click on the folder and click "Export". Name the file "Run Old" and place it somewhere you can find it if it is ever needed.(In case you delete something from the "Run" folder that should not have been deleted." Now on the right hand side there should be a list of programs that are starting with Windows. If you don't know what something is you can write down the name of the file listed under "Data", (usually it is an (.exe) file, and go to http://www.liutilities.com/products/wintaskspro/processlibrary/ to get an explanation of what the file is or what program it is associated with. You can also go to http://www.aros.net/~zaphod/startups.htm or http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm . If you go to answers that work, just click on the letter the filename starts with and it will take you to the correct page. You can right click on anything under "Name" and then click "Delete". Once you are finished in the "Run" folder, you need to look in the left hand box again and click on any folder that has "Run" in its name.(Like RunOnce or RunOnceEx.) Follow the same procedure as previously mentioned. Remember to first right click on the folder in the left hand box and click "Export". This is important in case you ever want to restore the registry back to its original condition. After you have gone through all the "Run" folders, you then need to go back to the top of the list in the left hand box and click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Follow the same path as before to find the "Run" folders there. (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion). Repeat the same steps as before with regards to deleting the files. In the "Run" folders, you will find a lot of programs you never knew were running, or how they got there. After deleting any unnecessary files, you will notice that Windows will start up a lot faster and run a lot smoother. If you have any problems when rebooting, go into Windows in "Safe Mode", find the file you exported,(remember the one I told you to name "Run") , right click on the file, and click "Merge". When the box pops up asking if you are sure you want to do this, click "Yes". This will put all the files back in that folder. Most of the time you shouldn't have a problem. I hope this helps and is not too technical for you.

Submitted by: Robert

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Answer:
Quite frankly, the less the better in MSCONFIG. In fact the only two items that should be starting with your system are your firewall and your virus protection. Some video cards insist on loading their drivers and tools and this is OK if you are into video games, video editing, VHS conversion, etc. The only other things that you might need checked in MSCONFIG is power management for a laptop and a memory manager.

As a guideline, if more than 4 or 5 items are checked in MSCONFIG you probably have too much starting. Remember, everything can be started when it's needed, like Media Player, Internet Explorer, Mail, Office and/or the Office tool bar, and QuickTime. Some programs like QuickTime of insidious in that every time you run them it places itself back in MSCONFIG (what else would you expect from a MAC product?).

Other than the your firewall and virus protection, just about everything else can go. But there could be exceptions so uncheck 1 or 2 items at a time and run for a day two. If no problems, repeat the process until you whittle the list down to the barest minimum. If something breaks, just recheck it in MSCONFIG.

Also note that MSCONFIG tells you where the start up command resides and where it is located in the registry. Many times programs you uninstalled never came out all the way and they are still starting or trying to start. With this info you can go right to the folder and/or registry key and delete the garbage. Word of Warning, do a system backup (checkpoint) before doing this so you can undo anything you did - just in case.

Remember, you need to check the MSCONFIG periodically because software vendors are notorious for adding things to it. Also make sure your favorite applications, in their set-up, have "Start with Windows" unchecked. Finally, check Start-Programs-Startup to see if anything is in there you don't want to start when you boot up.


Submitted by:
Joe P. of Clarks Summit, Pa.

I have to echo Eng. B's recommendation for Mike Lin's startup utilities. Check out what he offers at http://www.mlin.net/ . One of the first utility programs I install on new systems is his startup monitor program. It runs in the background and gets your approval every time some software tries to add programs to your start up list. His Startup Control Panel clearly shows you what applications are registered and active in the startup panel. It is easy to see which support legitimate applications you want (virus, mouse, network, etc) and those that are annoying memory hogs and spyware.

Here is a website that may help you.
http://www.michaelpreslar.com/sysinfo/startuplist.php

Try to find a copy of Startup Cop, published by Ziff-Davis in 1999; try a Google search. It will allow you to add or subtract startup programs at will. That way you can temporarily disable startup items to determine if there is any effect on your system. Then if everything works out well (there is no bad effect on your system) you can make the changes permanent.

I just want to get rid of what was called TSR programs in Windows 98 from running by the clock in my system tray. I did what you said to do and could not get config to work.. What am I doing wrong????

I'd like to thank you Lucien for the help....i have an anti virus program as well as spybot and adware programs now to continue writing down what i have in there and what all i need to remove....again TY
Nikki k

my problem is that if I take anything out of misconfig as soon as I re-boot or click on the general tab it all just gets clicked on again. I can't find my way around this
Thanks
Phyllis

The answer was intersting but very dangerous. Dont delete programs unless they are causing you problems and / or if you are running out of disk space. Go to the sys information and check what is being loaded up when you start windows. If there is stuff there you are unsure of uncheck it one at a time then reload windows and see what happens and weather or not it improves windows performance. If you uncheck something that is critical reboot in safe mode and re-check it. Many programs you install seem to work themselves into the start up configuration and take up memory.

michael (Sydney)

I have tried and tried to do something about the start up program.. I have gone to the add/remove in control panel.. and when I click remove on most of them..nothing happens. So now what do I do?