Smart Computing Article - Clean Up Your Startup

Subscribe Today | Contact Us | Register Now

Home | Tech Support | Q&A Board | Article Search | Subscribe & Shop

Clean Up Your Startup

Email This

Print This
View My Personal Library

PC CPR April 2003 • Vol.9 Issue 4 Page(s) 33-35 in print issue	Add To My Personal Library
Clean Up Your Startup Organize & Accelerate Your System’s Boot Process

It may finally be spring now, but that doesn't mean everything has thawed out. For instance, your PC starts up so slowly that you think it just might still be frozen in a block of ice. You can remember a time when your computer started up in a relatively short period of time, but now you wait and wait while Windows starts. We'll show you how to thaw out your computer's startup time by trimming the contents of your Startup folder and other files.

Before You Do Anything Else. Before we dive into any of the more involved ways to remove items from the Windows startup process, we should mention that some programs let you turn off a startup application from the program's Preferences or Options dialog box. For instance, you can configure MS Messenger to not load Windows Messenger at startup. Usually you will find Preferences or Options by clicking a program's File or Tools menu.

Back up, back up, back up. We simply cannot stress this enough. If you have any doubt about the programs you are removing from your PC's startup routine, back up your system. To speed your system's startup, you will remove program shortcuts, edit configuration files, and possibly even edit the Registry (a database that contains information about user preferences and system configuration in Windows 95 and later). Some files are essential to Windows' operation; you don't want to accidentally delete such a file and have no way to restore your system. Also, keep in mind that some items should remain part of your regular startup routine. For instance, during startup, your computer loads drivers necessary to operate various pieces of hardware. It may also load programs, such as Symantec's Norton AntiVirus, that run in the background to protect you from viruses, worms, and Trojan horses.

If you have a backup utility, such as Roxio GoBack 3 Deluxe ($49, http://www.roxio.com), use it to back up your system. If not, you have a couple of other options. One is to use Win98/Me/XP's built-in Microsoft Backup utility, although Windows doesn't install this program by default (see "Microsoft Backup" on page 116 for more information). WinMe and WinXP users have another option in the form of Windows' System Restore utility (see the "System Restore" article on page 132 for more information).

Startup Folder. Just how does your startup routine get so cluttered with unnecessary programs? Many programs include a component that loads every time you start Windows. For instance, when you install Microsoft Money, it adds a shortcut to your Startup folder that launches MoneySide, an application that accompanies Money. Some of these startup programs are useful, but others you probably don't need every time you start your computer. The easiest way to clean up your startup routine is to weed out the Startup folder.

Find the Startup folder by clicking Start and Programs (or All Programs in WinXP). Right-click Startup and click Open in the resulting context menu. Examine the contents of the Startup folder for programs that unnecessarily waste valuable startup time. In general, you don't need to keep programs in your Startup folder that you don't use often. You may also want to remove programs from the Startup folder if you have quick access to them already (for instance, from the Start menu or a Desktop icon).

Use the Start menu to locate the Startup folder, which often contains programs that can slow down your PC's startup process unnecessarily.

The next important thing to know about the Startup folder is that the icons you see are not the actual program files but shortcuts to the program files. Therefore, deleting an item from the Startup folder leaves it intact on your hard drive, but it prevents it from starting automatically each time you start your computer. Because the Startup folder contains shortcuts, a handy way to eliminate a program from the startup routine while keeping quick access to it is to drag the desired shortcut from the Startup folder to your Desktop. You now have a Desktop shortcut to the program and, more importantly, the program won't consume valuable seconds of Windows' startup time.

Another approach is to place removed Startup shortcuts in the Recycle Bin, but wait to empty the Recycle Bin until after you know that your computer works properly without them.

How do you know which programs are safe to delete from the Startup folder? If you know what the program does, evaluate whether you really use the program every time you use your computer and whether you really need it ready to go all the time. If not, you can probably remove it from the Startup folder. For instance, if you do not want MS Money's MoneySide dialog box to appear on-screen every time you start your PC, right-click its icon in the Startup folder and click Delete.

If you aren't sure what a program is or does, take the time to research it. Don't make hasty decisions about what to keep and what to discard. Instead, try to learn more about the application. Begin by right-clicking the program's icon, clicking Properties, and clicking the General tab; you might find clues to the application's purpose here.

As you can see, there are several icons in the System Tray. Each of these icons represents a program that loads during Windows startup and continues running in the background.

If you still aren't sure what a program does, try using a search engine, such as Google (http://www.google.com) or Yahoo! (http://www.yahoo.com), to search for more information. For instance, we weren't sure what the QAGENT program in our Startup folder was, so we went to Google and typed QAGENT "Startup Folder" in the search field and clicked the Google Search button. The first site in the search results list told us that QAGENT was an item commonly found in the Startup folder, but we still didn't know what it did. The second search result was a Smart Computing Learning Series article that said QAGENT is the Quicken Download Manager utility. A second search, this time by typing "Quicken Download Manager," returned information from Intuit's Web site that explained that Quicken Download Manager controls the invisible, background downloading of financial data in Quicken. As such, if you have a dial-up connection or only want Quicken to retrieve data when you tell it to, you can probably remove QAGENT from the Startup folder.

After you delete program shortcuts from the Startup folder, you should click Start, Programs (or All Programs), and Startup. Do you still see the deleted program Shortcut in the Startup context menu? If so, you can remove it by right-clicking the program and clicking Delete in the context menu. A dialog box will inform you that you are deleting the shortcut only and not the file itself. Click Delete Shortcut to remove the Start menu shortcut.

System Tray. We mentioned Windows Messenger earlier. After installing MSN Messenger, you will see the Windows Messenger icon in the System Tray. The System Tray is located in the lower-right corner of the screen on the right end of the Taskbar. Any icons you see in the System Tray represent TSR (terminate-and-stay-resident) applications that automatically launch during startup. These programs run in the background, ready to appear when you need them. Of course, loading and running these programs consumes system resources and slows your startup routine. Examine your System Tray and determine which items you really need there.

Use Windows' System Configuration Utility (also known as Msconfig.exe) to disable System Tray items such as Windows Messenger.

You will, of course, see the System Tray clock. Other common System Tray items include some proprietary mouse or Web cam applications; multimedia applications, such as RealOne Player; and antivirus utilities, such as McAfee VirusScan. Some of these programs should remain in the System Tray. For instance, you want VirusScan to continue running in the background while you use your computer to protect you from viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. On the other hand, if you can access a mouse configuration utility, such as Logitech MouseWare, from the Start menu, you probably don't need it running in the background, waiting until the day you decide to reassign your mouse buttons' functions.

The mistake many people make when removing items from the System Tray is to right-click their icons and click the appropriate command (such as Close, Exit, Remove, or Disable). This closes the program so it no longer runs in the background. However, the next time you start your computer, the program will load again, appear in the System Tray, and run in the background again. Obviously, this won't speed up your startup routine at all. To remove programs from the System Tray, we will have to look at Windows' System Configuration Utility, also known as Msconfig.exe.

System Configuration Utility. This utility contains files and program settings that may otherwise be hidden, and you guessed it: Startup items are often among these hidden settings. To launch the program, click Start and Run. Type msconfig.exe in the field and click OK. In the resulting dialog box, click the Startup tab. You will see a list of files that may load each time you start your computer. Any that are activated (and therefore loading when your computer starts) have a check mark in the corresponding checkbox. To remove a Startup Item from the startup routine, click to deselect its checkbox. This does not remove the program; it only disables it so it doesn't load during startup.

Again, if you don't know what a file does, research it online. We typed ctfmon Msconfig into the field of a search engine and found many results. We learned that ctfmon is related to speech recognition in Microsoft Office XP. We also learned that although you can remove it, it is usually best to leave it in the Msconfig file to avoid problems with Office XP. We did another search and learned that Msmsgs is what loads Windows Messenger in the System Tray. We deselected it so the messaging service only runs when we want it to. Just remember that if you cannot find information about a startup item, do not remove it. When in doubt about something, it's best to leave it alone.

If you're confident and careful, you may want to try editing your Windows Registry to remove pesky startup items.

If you use WinMe/XP, you are done using Msconfig.exe. Click Apply and OK. Then restart your PC to see if you like the changes.

If you use Win98, you should check the SYSTEM.INI tab. Although all three OSes have this system file, only Win98's system files are likely to include startup items, such as drivers, that are for DOS applications (each new version of Windows has fewer ties to old DOS programs).

Begin by clicking the WIN.INI tab. Then click the plus sign (+) next to [Windows] to expand the Windows folder. Check the Load= and Run= lines, which indicate items that load during startup. Again, research any items that you do not recognize, then click the corresponding checkbox to deselect any lines that you do not want to load during startup. This disables but does not delete the lines. Click Apply and OK, then restart your computer. If startup is still slow, you may want to also check the System Configuration Utility's SYSTEM.INI tab. Click to expand the Boot and Drivers folders to check for lines that you don't need. Disable them in the same way that you disabled lines in Win.ini. Do not disable anything unless you are confident about what you are doing.

The Registry. When all else fails, you may need to edit the Registry to remove items from Windows' startup. This should be a last resort, however, unless you are experienced and comfortable working with the Registry, as removing the wrong items from the Registry can cause major problems and even make your system unbootable. If you plan to edit the Registry, it's a good idea to create a backup copy first (see "Register Here" on page 23 for more information). If you took our earlier advice and are already taking precautions to back up all your system files, it's also a good idea to have a startup diskette on hand right about now. (See "Help Is Just A Diskette Away" on page 16 to learn more.)

To open the Registry, click Start and Run, then type regedit in the Open field and press ENTER. Click the plus sign next to the HKEY_ LOCAL_MACHINE entry in the left pane of the Registry Editor window to expand the directory. Scroll through it until you find the subdirectory SOFTWARE, then click its plus sign. From the expanded Software directory, use the same procedure to expand MICROSOFT, then WINDOWS, then CURRENT VERSION, and then RUN. To remove files from startup, click the appropriate Registry key in the right pane and press DELETE. Again, do not alter the Registry unless you have backed up your system in some way, know which files you want to delete, and feel confident doing so. If you see Registry keys that are unfamiliar, you may be able to search the Web to find information about their functions (and how critical it is to keep them). When you are done editing your Windows Registry, restart your computer.

Off To A Good Start. Hopefully, your PC will now load much more quickly and efficiently than it did just a short time ago. Getting faster startups from your PC requires some patience and some research, but we think you'll find that weeding out your startup items is well worth the effort.

by Kylee Dickey

Want more information about a topic you found of interest while reading this article? Type a word or phrase that identifies the topic and click "Search" to find relevant articles from within our editorial database.

Home Copyright & Legal Information Privacy Policy Site Map Contact Us