Tweaking for Speed: Using msconfig

Tweaking for Speed

Using msconfig to reduce background programs at startup

If you were pointed to this page you have too much running and need to reduce mainly what loads at startup, especially in the background. Although msconfig - officially named System Configuration Utility - will do that well, you should assess what you have and explore some other options first. Before you start:

1.	Determine your Windows version. If you have 98, 98 Second Edition, Millennium Edition, or XP go on to the next step. If you have Windows 95 or 2000 you will not have msconfig natively - but you can get it and install it easily. It's one file you can get from http://www.techadvice.com/specs/files_st.asp?fnid=174 for 95 and http://www.thetechguide.com/downloads/msconfig.zip for 2000. The 9x version will work in 2000 but will give errors when started (albeit inconsequential ones you can dismiss). The version best used for 2000 is the XP version as they are based on the same core and the file names used are the same - so no errors. Once you have the file just copy it to your C:\Windows\System or C:\WINNT\System32 directory.
2.	Start your system cleanly from a full shut down.
3.	Identify all the icons next to your clock - that's called the System Tray. If you use Windows XP be sure all the icons are showing by right clicking the Taskbar and choosing Properties, then the Taskbar tab, and uncheck "Hide Inactive Icons". After you know what program they go to, go into their settings and see if you can change the settings to not run at startup (like uncheck "Start when Windows does" or "run at startup"). Some items may just need to be set not to show in the System Tray which will make them use slightly less memory (those that need to be running). Some items you may want to leave are the speaker icon (system volume) and your anti-virus.
4.	Check what is in your Startup folder - go to Start>Programs>Startup. Most all things there can be taken out. Most there will start when needed by the program that would use them. The one exception I know is Adobe's Gamma Loader.
5.	Next determine the system based things you don't need, like Power Management. This function is what allows your system to shut off your disk drives, monitor, and other things when the system is partly or totally idle. To do this you need to go into Control Panel and go around the sections like Power Management, Display, and others and look for items you don't need and can disable. Some of these features wouldn't even be able to be shut down in msconfig, so you will be getting that little bit more.
6.	Lastly, in Windows 95, 98, 98 Second Edition, or Millennium Edition hit Ctrl+Alt+Del just once and make note of all the items showing in the Close Programs dialog other than explorer and systray. In Windows 2000 or XP, hit Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager and check the Processes tab list. This will help you hunt down what programs are running and you need to remove from startup.

Now that you have removed quite a bit the 'nice' way, we get down to the trickier and more brutal ways to remove startup items. Another feature of this exercise is that you will find out what things may be running that you flat don't want - spyware, adware, and even virii and trojans. Now to get down to using msconfig:

1.	Go to Start>Run and in the Run dialog box type in 'msconfig' and hit Enter.
2.	System Configuration Utility will pop up (if not read the notes at the beginning of the page). It has several tabs (like on a Rolodex) but you will only really need one - the Startup tab. Click on that tab and you will see the list of what runs at startup. A little explanation will help here;

At the very left is a name of what runs. It may be literally the name of the program as would be listed in the Start Menu or Program Files folder, or it may be the executable file (.exe) that makes the program happen, or even some vague reference like "run=". The first case makes the work easy, the second takes more work, and the third is usually not a good thing.

On the right is the 'path' of what is running at startup. It is the directory location (or path to it, hence the term) of the file that is running. This will help with items that don't have clear names. Sometimes the path isn't there, and that's not a good sign.

Starting from the top of the list, uncheck items that you know clearly you don't need to run at startup - likely those with the actual program names. Next for those items you are not sure about check the lists at these pages

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm

http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php

or just do a search for the file name at Google - just the result descriptions may give you the clue you need to know. Another trick is to search for the file name without the .exe and look for a file of the same name with .hlp - that's a help file, and you can run it (double click) and just read what the program is. Some notable entries to keep or remove: remove Task Scheduler (for maintenance that few people actually use anyway), the second Load Power Profile listing if you use Power Management or both if you don't; keep Scanreg, Systray, Task Monitor.

Once you have removed all the items you have determined you can and should from the list, click the Apply and OK button. It will ask to restart - if you are doing as you've read you need to say no and bookmark or print this page and then go ahead and reboot. Once you have rebooted you should notice a change in the speed of your system. If anything that should be working doesn't, investigate the entries you removed and see if putting them back makes it work again. If you found any virii/trojans/adware/spyware in your list now is the time to remove them.

For virii go to

http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/

http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall/start_corp.asp

http://www.bitdefender.com/scan/licence.php

For trojans

http://www.simplysup.com/tremover/download.html

For adware and spyware

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

Any programs you can remove from Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel, do so. You may want to restart if you found and removed any nasties.

If you are using 2000 or XP you can go into Administrative Tools>Services and edit items you see in the Services tab of msconfig. You should edit the Startup Type in the Services snapin before attempting to remove them via msconfig. Here's a list of the items there explained to help decide what you can remove:

For Windows 2000

http://www.techspot.com/tweaks/win2k_services/services-3.shtml

For Windows XP

http://www.techspot.com/tweaks/winxp_services/services-3.shtml

One last important detail for 2000 or XP: when you edit startup in msconfig it applies to the current user, but not necessarily to all users. In most cases you will find you will have to edit startup for each user, as each user has their own registry including the section governing startups. Only items applied to the Default User and All Users will apply to all users, and usually must be edited from the Administrator account (not an administrator, but the built in named account).

Hopefully you will now not only have a much faster running computer but a little more understanding of what's what on it. Happy tweaking!

For those doing my "Keeping the Old" tutorial: Cleaning out Windows

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