How to Change Startup Programs on Your Computer

How to Change Startup Programs on Your Computer

Do you have a slow computer? Too many startup programs
hogging it down? If you have this problem, you need to check
and edit the startup programs on your computer. This how-to
will show you the steps required to do this for computers
using the Windows operating system.

!! Steps !!

* Choose between doing this manually or with the help of a program.
Either way, you need to look up what you can disable and what you
need to keep enabled, but using a program to help you might save
some time.

!! Manually !!

The PC Review startup programs list page. Avoid disabling something
critical to your system. Before starting, open up a window or tab on
your browser to http://www.pcreview.co.uk/startup. This site contains
a database of startup programs, and it shows what can be disabled and
what can't. Open up the _Run_ dialog box by:

* Opening the start menu and clicking "Run" or
Pressing the Windows Key and "R" at the same time.

Type in _msconfig_ in the text box, and click "OK" or press
"Enter".

* A dialog box will pop up with various tabs. By default, it's on
the General tab.

* Click on the startup tab. This shows the different programs that
start up when you turn on your computer.

* Get to work disabling the programs that you don't want starting up
automatically. For example, if iTunes keeps starting up
automatically, just uncheck iTunes.exe. Remember to check the
database mentioned in step one before disabling.

* Once you've finished disabling automatic programs, click "OK".

Be aware that startup programs are also stored in a folder called
"Startup". Click on the start menu, go to "All Programs", and
select "Startup". Chances are that there is nothing in there, but
there could be some programs, so it's worth checking.

* If you don't want any of those programs to start up, simply
right-click the file(s) you don't want and select "Delete".

!! WinPatrol !!

www.WinPatrol.com Go to http://www.winpatrol.com and download
WinPatrol. This is a small, free program that automatically checks
the startup programs and lets you disable them. This program has a
plus version as well. If you do not get the plus version, you will
not be able to see the advanced information on each of the startup
programs. That's okay though, you can just go to
http://www.pcreview.co.uk/startup and look it up.

* Install the program.
If it's not already open, go to the Start menu, "All Programs",
"WinPatrol", then "WinPatrol Explorer".

Leave it on the startup tab, that's what you need.

* All you have to do is select the programs you don't want and click
"Disable" to make them stop automatically starting up.

!! Tips !!

* Be sure to use common sense when disabling the programs! For
example, if it's iTunes.exe, you can tell that that is related to
iTunes. Just don't overestimate your common sense.

* If for some reason www.pcreview.co.uk/startup doesn't have what
you're looking for, you can always try using a search engine, such
as Google, to look for the information you need.

!! Warnings !!

* As stated before many times, _do not_ disable startup programs
that you are unsure of. This can lead to disaster.

!! Relateds !!

* Start Up a Computer

* Alter Startup Programs in Windows XP

* Make Windows XP Startup Faster

* Change the Startup Programs in Vista

* Tackle Excel 2007 Startup Problems

!! Article Tools !!

* Read on wikiHow

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