What Starts With Windows Runs With Windows

Most of you know that having a plethora of programs starting with Windows isn’t a good idea. Most of you know that those programs have to load with Windows thus slowing your boot up times. But did you know that what starts with windows runs with Windows – and each of those applications continually saps memory from your computer? And also the more programs you have starting with Windows the more programs have to shut down before Windows will shut down or restart. They can increase the time your computer takes to shutdown or reboot — by a substantial amount. So what starts with windows not only runs with Windows, what starts with Windows shuts down with Windows too.

Through our Cloudeight Direct Computer Care program we’ve been fortunate enough to have helped hundreds of people with their computers. And one of the most common things we both see is that most people have far too many programs starting with Windows. And we understand why. Most people are tentative about removing a start up program for fear it will cause a problem. For example, they don’t want to disable a printer application from starting with Windows because they’re afraid they won’t be able to print something when they need to. They’re afraid to turn of Adobe Reader because they think they’ll not be able to read PDF file when they need to. And we understand their trepidation because it does seem logical. But it’s not true. Printers which are properly set up will print on demand. Adobe Reader will fire up when it’s required whether it is running in the background or not.

A good rule of thumb to use is this: If it’s a Microsoft product (some can be disabled but you’d need to use caution) or a security program (anti-virus, anti-malware, anti-spyware) leave it alone and it start with Windows. It is necessary. If it’s related to you graphics card or touchpad on your laptop or your mouse – leave it alone. Yes sometimes these can be disabled if you know what you’re doing, but if you’re not sure it’s best to leave these alone. Many graphics cards have their own Control Panels which start with Windows and therefore run with Windows – but when is the last time you remember using your graphics card’s control panel? If you’re sure that’s what is starting and you never use your graphics card’s control panel you can disable it. But be sure you’ve researched it before you disable it — or anything you are not sure of.

Everything else – chat programs, greeting card makers, image viewers, image editors, camera card software, printer software, computer manufacturer’s applications, etc. can be disabled without worry. And remember too, disabling start up programs does not remove the programs from your computer or change them in any way.

As a general rule, you should have no more than five or six items in your Windows startup programs list. There are several programs which you can use to help you determine what you can disable in your start up programs list. Here are three of them – not in any particular order – you can use to reign in your burgeoning start up programs list.

1. MSCONFIG – You already have it. It comes with Windows. You can access it on any Windows computer by pressing and holding down the Windows Key and pressing the R key. They type MSCONFIG and then press Enter. Click on the Start Up Tab and remove the checkmarks from any program you don’t want to start with Windows. Then press “Apply” and “OK”. You’ll get a “restart” dialog that will ask if you want to restart now or later to implement the changes you made.

2. WinPatrol – One of the best start up managers is included with WinPatrol. WinPatrol has many great features, but it’s startup manager is probably it’s best feature. The free version works great and allows you to disable start ups quickly and easily. The PLUS version of WinPatrol gives you even more features — and the big PLUS is — gives you much more information that can help you make the correct choices when disabling start ups. You can learn more (and download) WinPatrol at www.winpatrol.com .

3. CodeStuff Stater — The venerable granddaddy of all start up managers got a huge facelift last year. The current version not only allows you to disable start up programs but also services. Additionally Starter enables you to get more information about any start up or service by right clicking the item and choosing “Search the Internet for (program or service name)”. Starter has always been one of our favorite start up managers – and the new version is even better than previous versions. You can learn more about and download one of the best freeare programs ever created by visiting this page  http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/System-Tweak/Starter.shtml . Also click the link on that page to read a Softpedia’s very excellent review of Starter.