Startup Paranoia

Too many Good Booters suffer Startup paranoia. They believe Startup programs are the most significant cause of their computer losing its out of the box verve.

It’s true an excessive number of Startups and/or Startups that are slow to start can contribute to slowing down a Boot to Desktop and because many run continuously in the background, can contribute to sluggish computing activities. But Startups are not necessarily the only nor often the most significant contributor to computer lethargy.

The good news is managing (disabling and enabling) most Startups is not a difficult task.

However before disabling a Startup, consider this:

1. There are many necessary system Startups dedicated to initiating Windows. Should you eliminate a necessary Windows Startup guess what - when you next reboot, Windows will not start up.
2. There are startups dedicated to insuring all the default features of your hardware and favorite programs initiate. The consequence of eliminating their Startups is obvious.
3. There may be programs and utilities you might like to be up and running or have shortcuts in your Notification Area when you arrive at your Desktop to begin your daily activities.

When I arrive at my Desktop I want several of my programs up and running. As the folks in the JG Wentworth ad would say - They’re my programs and I need them now! But because I’ve designated the programs as startups, I must be willing to accept the extra few seconds it takes for my Desktop to completely initiate.

Example: My Post-it notes program is a notoriously slow startup. But because it posts to my Desktop all my to do’s particularly of all my honey do’s, I tolerate its slow start up.

And when they’re all up and about, be willing to tolerate a bit of system slowdown.

To view most of your Startups, click Start, Run, type in msconfig and click OK. On the msconfig panel click Startup. Most of your startup programs will be listed.

By un checking the check box to the left of any one of the start up programs, you can prevent it from starting up. Conversely, if you want to activate or reactivate a start up program in msconfig, because all your startup programs (checked or unchecked) will always be listed you need only check a checkbox.

The problem for a novice can be knowing what startups are absolutely necessary. So if you’re a novice, I recommend consulting with your technician before attempting to eliminate a startup.

Here’s wishing you a Good Boot.