Re: System Configuration Utility
- From: "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2006 12:20:05 -0700
PeeDee wrote:
My Internet service provider has just suggested that I uncheck all of
the programs listed under the Startup tab in the System Configuration
Utility (reached via Run using msconfig) in order to significantly
speed up the computer's start-up process. This is not the first time
that this suggestion has been made to me (and not just by my ISP).
So, I thought I'd ask whether anyone had an opinion on this step, and
how drastic it might be. I have added only two items to the list and
all others were there from the time I received the computer,
presumably part of the original loading process for WXP.
It's not the first time I've heard it either, but I still think it's
*terrible* advice.
First of all, some of those programs starting automatically are probably
critical for you to run. I'm thinkingof security-oriented software like your
firewall and anti-virus programs.
Second, other programs there may not be critical, but still may be useful to
you. Here's my standard advice on this subject:
On each program you don't want to start automatically, check its Options to
see if it has the choice not to start (make sure you actually choose the
option not to run it, not just a "don't show icon" option). Many can easily
and best be stopped that way. If that doesn't work, run MSCONFIG from the
Start | Run line, and on the Startup tab, uncheck the programs you don't
want to start automatically.
However, if I were you, I wouldn't do this just for the purpose of running
the minimum number of programs. Despite what many people tell you, you
should be concerned, not with how *many* of these programs you run, but
*which*. Some of them can hurt performance severely, but others have no
effect on performance.
Don't just stop programs from running willy-nilly. What you should do is
determine what each program is, what its value is to you, and what the cost
in performance is of its running all the time. You can get more information
about these at http://castlecops.com/StartupList.html. If you can't find it
there, try google searches and ask about specifics here.
Once you have that information, you can make an intelligent informed
decision about what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of.
And here's my standard advice on slow startup:
My personal view is that the attention many people pay to how long it takes
to boot is unwarranted. Assuming that the computer's speed is otherwise
satisfactory, it may not be worth worrying about. Most people start their
computers once a day or even less frequently. In the overall scheme of
things, even a few minutes to start up isn't very important. Personally I
power on my computer when I get up in the morning, then go get my coffee.
When I come back, it's done booting. I don't know how long it took to boot
and I don't care.
--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
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