Use MSCONFIG to Manage Your Startup Programs & Speed Up Your Computer

Home   MSWord   Digital Photos   Email Solutions   Free Downloadable Music
  

Type in a word or phrase to search all of Don's PC Help Pages >>>

To find something on this page, press Ctrl+F and type a word or phrase into the Find box that will appear.


Don Edrington Name Logo
Senior Computer Tutor Logo

  • Don's Home Page
  • About Don
  • Recent PC Help Articles


    • Digital Camera
      Help with Digital Pictures
    1. Pictures from Camera into Computer
    2. Getting Acquainted with Irfanview
    3. Basic Terms: View Size vs Print Size, etc.
    4. Virtually Free Photography - Naming Pics, Albums
    5. When Digital Camera Photos Can't Be Found
    6. Digital Photography for Not So Digital Seniors
      Crop, Resize, Align, Color Basics
    1. How to Crop and/or Resize a Photo
    2. Problem Enlarging Digital Pictures
    3. Understanding CYMK & RGB Colors
    4. How to Straighten (Rotate, Align) a Photo
    5. Darkrooms Replaced by Computers
    6. Be Your Own Photo Processing Studio
      Text in Pictures
    1. Adding Text to a Photo
    2. Text & Picture In a Word Text Box
      Displaying Your Pictures
    1. Printing Multiple Photos on a Single Page
    2. Displaying Your Photos as a Slideshow
    3. When Multiple Photos Don't All Fit on a Print-Out
    4. Print Yourself or Have Pics Processed Elsewhere?
      Online Pics - Emailing Pics
    1. Reducing a Digital Photo's File Size
    2. Red X Instead of a Picture
    3. Reducing the File Size of a Video
    4. Copying Images from a Web Site or an Email
    5. Understanding "Animated GIFs"
    6. Comparison of JPG and GIF Photographs
      Pic Formats - File Extensions
    1. Digital Picture Formats (JPG, BMP, GIF, TIF, etc)
    2. Difference Between "Drawing" & "Painting" Programs
    3. Digital Cameras & Megapixelss
    4. Choosing File Associations for Picture Files
    5. Understanding "Animated GIFs"
    Contact Information on Don Can Be Found Here.
    Use MSCONFIG to Manage Your Startup Programs
    & Speed Up Your Computer

    Today's computers are capable of doing many different things at once; however, having multiple programs open at the same time can cause each one to run more slowly. Worse yet, if programs not currently being used are running in the background, the ones you are using are slowed down even more.

    What might such a needlessly running program be? Well, a good example is RealPlayer. This media player is needed to hear songs whose file names have .RA or .RAM extensions. However, RealPlayer is programmed to start running the moment you turn on your PC — whether you plan to use it or not. Windows Media Player, conversely, is not so-rigged.

    Another example is AOL. Why have this big program open and running if you are not going to use it? Turn AOL on only if and when you need it.

    So are there any programs that should start running when one's computer is turned on? Well, Internet users should have their anti-virus program up and running. Also, an illustration below shows the items I prefer to have running at Startup time.

    Here's how to use MSCONFIG (Microsoft Configuration)
    to help control these programs:

    Go to Start>Run, type msconfig, and click OK. Click the Startup tab to see a list of programs with a check box next to each. It's not uncommon to find all of them (many with cryptic names) selected with checkmarks. By horizontally adjusting the "Command" and "Location" dividers, you can read a little more about each program.

    Most of us don't need more than two or three of these items checked.

    In any case, unchecking an item does NOT delete the program; you are simply telling it not to start running when you turn on your computer. Furthermore, any deslected item can be re-enabled whenever you want.

    If you are uncertain about what to turn off, deselect everything. Reboot to see how your PC is behaving. If anything seems amiss, return to MSCONFIG and checkmark whichever program you suspect might be the culprit. If uncertain, mark the first item in the list, reboot, and review the computer's performance again. Repeat the process as needed.

    In any case, do not assume that this is a one-time ritual. Software authors have sneaky ways of adding new items to the list, and re-enabling items you have deselected. For instance, I recently downloaded the latest version of Acrobat Reader, and found that Adobe had placed "Adobe Reader Speed Launch" on the list, despite the fact that I rarely use Acrobat Reader. Beyond that, AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) gets rechecked whenever I use it.

    © Donald Ray Edrington - All Rights Reserved

    Notice the illustration below for a view of my current MSCONFIG Startup list. Yours will likely not be the same, since we all use different programs.

    MSCONFIG List
    • AIM6 always re-checks itself after being used. Since I use it frequently, this is not a problem for me.
    • I use Stickies constantly and always want the program up and running.
    • AVG is the free anti-virus program I use. (A link to AVG can be found on my Home Page.)
    • I do NOT need the Desktop Weather Channel or Adobe Reader Speed Launch running full time.
    • A trial version of McAfee anti-virus came with my computer, but I don't care for the program.
    • I do like Google Desktop Search and use it often. However, having it run full time slows down other things I'm doing.
    • I have a free version of AOL, but rarely use it.
    • I certainly don't need huge programs like MSOffice or OpenOffice running constantly in the background.