startup programs

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I am trying to find what programs NEED to run when the computer starts so I
can find out what programs I can shut off.I am talking about the icons that
are in the lower right corner of the screen. Thanks.
 
"ZEROTOLERANCE" <[email protected]>
wrote in message
I am trying to find what programs NEED to run when the
computer starts so I can find out what programs I can shut
off.I am talking about the icons that are in the lower right
corner of the screen. Thanks.
Click to expand...

First off, what programs are allowed to run at startup is
really up to you. There are certainly some obvious items such
as antivirus, firewall and antispyware programs that may "need"
to be running but beyond that, it's your decision. If you want
to prevent a program from loading @ startup the first place to
look is in the program's options or preferences menu. You can
also find many free programs available on the internet that
will give you control over startup programs. Here's one that I
often recommend.

Mike Lin's Startup Control Panel, Standalone EXE Version.
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

If you need help in identifying entries, take a look here,

TASK LIST PROGRAMS
http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm

Startup Applications List
http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php

Startups - Contents
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php#THE_PROGRAMS

Good luck

Nepatsfan
 
ZEROTOLERANCE said:
I am trying to find what programs NEED to run when the computer
starts
Click to expand...


None. The only programs that should start are those *you* want to start.
Obviouskly those should include your security-orieneted programs
(anti-virus, etc.) but everything else is up to you.

so I can find out what programs I can shut off.I am talking
about the icons that are in the lower right corner of the screen.
Click to expand...


First, note that you should be concerned with *all* programs that start
automatically, not just with those that go into the tray. Not all
autostarting programs manifest themselves by an icon in the tray.

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.
 
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