NWA-PCUG Newsletter Article, March 2008
Improve PC Performance – Clean your Startup
By Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director;
Columnist, The Examiner, Beaumont, TX; Radio & TV Show Host

Iwilsker@apcug.net
(click to email author)


WEBSITES:
http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php
http://www.safer-networking.org - Spybot
http://www.iobit.com – Advanced Windows Care
http://www.answersthatwork.com – The Ultimate Troubleshooter

One of the most common questions called in on my weekly radio show (KLVI 560AM, 6-7pm Mondays, also streaming live over the net at klvi.com) is a question about degraded performance of Windows XP. Typically, one of my first responses is to answer the question with a question, “Do you have a lot of icons in the corner of your screen near the clock?” Almost without fail, the answer is yes, the caller has a lot of icons adjacent to the clock. My usual response is, “… you have too many programs loaded when you boot up your computer, and they are stealing your system resources. You need to clean up your startup.”

Many of us seem to always want to install new or upgraded software on our computers, and it is common for newly installed software to want to load itself whenever the computer is booted. This software adds a line in the startup that ensures that it is loaded. Only a few programs are required to load at boot, and the others have decided for you that it is more important for them to load and degrade performance, then have you load them only when needed. Also, having more programs loading at boot slows down the boot (and shutdown) process, because more programs are being loaded (or shutdown). Some software products, thinking that you will want to use them frequently, argue that by pre-loading the software at every boot will make the full program load quicker whenever you need it. This may be a good choice for programs used very frequently, but is a poor choice most of the time as software (or kernels of software) thus loaded take up valuable memory and consume some processing cycles of your CPU ship. Since there is less memory and computing power available for your desired applications, they tend to load and execute slower. Fortunately for us, there are several simple solutions that we can implement to clean up our startup, and restore the performance that we had when the computer was new, and less cluttered than it is now.

Built into almost all contemporary versions of Windows is an internal management function called the “System Configuration Utility”, commonly referred to as MSCONFIG. This Microsoft utility allows the user to control several aspects of computer operations, including manually managing the startup process. MSCONFIG can be loaded in XP by clicking on Start – Run – and then typing in the box MSCONFIG – and then clicking on OK. This will open the System Configuration Utility. By clicking on the “Startup” tab on the top of the window, the checked boxes will show what programs are loading at system startup. By unchecking any desired boxes, programs can be stopped from starting the next time the computer is booted. After unchecking any undesired boxes, clicking on “Apply” will incorporate the desired changes. While the System Configuration Utility is free and included as an integral part of XP, it does have a major disadvantages; that is that it does not adequately describe what each program is. There is a website, Paul Collins’ “Startup Applications List” (http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php) that lists over 15,000 startup items, a description of what each is, and a key describing whether the item is necessary or not. When used with MSCONFIG, this Startup Applications List can be a big help to those who want to control their startup manually.

Many users may want to control their startup, but prefer to have some help with the process. There are several programs, some free, that can be used to manage and control their startup functions, and provide detailed information on what each item is. Some utilities clearly indicate what is and is not necessary, easing the management process. One of my personal favorites, which is better known for another worthwhile purpose, is Spybot Search & Destroy, available for free download from www.safer-networking.org. Once downloaded, installed, and opened, the user should click on “Mode” on the toolbar, and select “Advanced mode”. A series of icons will appear on the left side; click on “Tools”, and another column will open on the left side. Click on “System Startup”, and checkboxes will appear that show what is loading at boot (current startup items will be checked). With a simple interface, safe and necessary items will be highlighted in green (leave them alone!), personal choice items will be in yellow or white, and dangerous or useless items (like viruses, worms, and Trojans) will be highlighted in red and should be unchecked or clicked upon and then deleted. It should be noted that any item unchecked can be rechecked at a later date if ever desired. On the right side of the Spybot window are two little triangles on a gray stripe; clicking on this will alternatively open and close an information window; when this right window is open, clicking on an item will display a detailed description of the item from the Paul Collins list.

Another very good startup manager is incorporated in both the free (Personal Edition) and paid (Professional Edition) of IObit’s Advanced Windows Care. Both of these versions are available for download from http://www.iobit.com. On the free Personal Edition, simply click on the Startup Manager on the main window; on the paid Professional Edition, click on Tools – Startup Manager. Once loaded, the startup manager will show the programs loaded at boot with a rating that indicates the degree of necessity of a program in the right column. Clicking on an item will display a description in the bottom left corner of the window, again using the Paul Collins database as a resource. Simply unchecking an item and then clicking “Apply” will implement the desired changes, and stop the unwanted programs from loading at boot. If they are ever desired later, re-checking the box will restore the items to the start process. Right clicking an item will display a context sensitive menu, one of the choices being to delete the item from the startup. Many users I have spoken with have been very satisfied with the IOBit products to manage their startup.

Another commercial program, the $30 “The Ultimate Troubleshooter” (TUT), is a British program widely respected for its ability to diagnose software problems on computers, and offer solutions. With a limited free trial version available, or the paid version, available for download at http://www.answersthatwork.com, this program contains what may be one of the best startup managers available, along with a host of other useful utilities. While very comprehensive with a wealth of information presented, the TUT Startup Manager is accessed by clicking on the “Startups” tab on the top of the window. For those who want decisions made for them, TUT shows each known startup entry with a red, yellow, or green icon directly adjacent to the now ubiquitous check box. Red means kill it, yellow is “users’ choice”, green means safe and leave it alone. Unknown items do not show a colored icon, but the abundant information presented to the user will allow him to decide if an item is necessary. Clicking on an item opens a window on the bottom of the screen that explains the item in detail. Right clicking on an item provides the user with a lengthy list of options for the user, including deleting the item. Simply placing the cursor over an item for a few seconds opens a context sensitive window which displays a summary of details about the item. For those who want to control their startup functions, plus almost all other functions on their computer, TUT is a very viable choice.

Do you want your computer to run better? Try one or more of the utilities presented here and take control of your startup. You may be happily amazed at how much better your computer performs.

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