Selective startup

[CoReTeK]

I have another question...

I've recently installed a new hard drive on my computer (well on my stepdad's actually, I've got a mac ) and I'm trying to get it to run as smothly as possible because his last hard drive started making grinnding noises and was a total mess. I don't know much about computers but my stepdad doesn't even know how to change the screensaver! So I'm fixing it for him. I probably broke it anyway cos I use it loads more then him. Anyway now that I've explained why I'm asking so many questions...

At startup (when you here the windows gingle) it takes about 2 min to load up everything, this is a pain because I like to get stuck in straigt away and if I do that it just takes even longer for it to settle. I have done something to change this by running msconfig and selecting only a couple of items to startup when windows starts, but it tells me that the selective startup is for troubleshotting my system. Is this ok for the computer or is there a better method?

[codered6651]

CoReTeK if are you trying to stop some programs from starting at startup you should not use msconfig. This is only used to troubleshoot which you have been told. Use "services.msc" without quotation marks when you use run. A great place to go would be "www.blackviper.com" you didn't mention what OS you are using I assume it's ME since you're in this forum. I hope this helps you out.

[codered6651]

You can also go to www.pcmech.com and click on optimizations for tweek advise.

[GaryRouth]

Hi again CoReTek

A 2-minute startup is pretty poky, but part of that might be an antivirus program checking things and looking for updates [not a bad idea], and if the PC is on a little home network, that can slow that original startup time a bit as well.

Some folks use msconfig on a regular basis to weed out things they don't want to run. I find it very useful as well, but I like to go to the source of the problem & remove the offender permanently [usually through an "Options" or "Preferences" menu in the program's toolbar, or perhaps a Registry edit]. Having unnecessary things starting in the background is pretty common, especially on Win9x machines. A good background for the whole situation, as well as a very nice list of startup programs (where you can check what's starting in your PC, and see if it's necessary or not), is available at http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk = head to the Startup section. Weeding out unnecessary processes will also improve overall system performance. Since you're a Windows beginner, read the instructions carefully (especially if you decide to do any Registry edits). ---Personally, I find that the most common unnecessary programs loading at startup are Multimedia programs (RealPlayer, QuickTime, etc), Instant Messaging, MS Office background processes (completely unnessary under most any circumstances! = especially the generic "MS Office startup" and "FindFast" - I've never been able to tell any Office improvement with those two running - everything works just fine without them), and calendar/schedulers that start without you wanting them to! (like the Calendar from MS Works, which starts just by visiting the calendar once - even if you haven't asked it to keep track of anything!).

The new Macs are nice machines. I wouldn't mind having one [or two! .... might need to save up a bit first ]
. . . Gary

[P.S. ...you won't see any services if you're using Win 95/98. Not sure about WinMe, I don't have a WinMe box handy (& don't see them often). And for an easy way to see where the startup processes are starting from, go to Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information - and look to the item "Software Environment" on the left-hand pane. Then select "Startup" - you'll notice that in one of the columns displayed on the right-hand pane is "Called from" or "Started From" - information that can be helpful should a Registry be necessary to permanently stop the process from gumming up startup]

[p.s. #2 - I always forget something - remember to run antivirus/antispyware checks on the computer, too, just to be safe (they can slow things down quite a bit, too]

[Mesaeus]

A long startup time is often the result of spyware. So use Spybot and Adaware regularly, it might improve your startup time a bit.

Edit : I see GaryRouth beat me to it

[palloco]

Codered, I run w98 and I dont have that services.msc. I use msconfig to a quick check and then go to the source of the problem.
Apart from spyware look for virus, but dont let those tools start with windows if you want it to run faster.

[CoReTeK]

Very usefull website Gary, I just searched and followed the instructions and that was it.

Thanks a lot for all your advice!!

[GaryRouth]

Glad to hear it's OK now. Nice work!