How to Jumpstart Your PC - Removing Startup Programs

Have you been finding that your computer takes longer to boot? Does it run sluggishly in normal everyday tasks? Then you may have to eliminate some memory-hungry but unnecessary programs that install themselves and run in the background.

Occasionally, you should check to see what is starting up with your computer and eliminate any frivolous or harmful entries.

How do you remove these items? Most entries are embedded in the Windows Registry, and if you eliminate them manually, you risk damaging other critical parts of your computer. Fortunately, there are some very handy utilities that allow you to view and disable the different startup processes safely and quickly.

One such program that will be demonstrated is PC Doc Pro, a nifty computer-maintenance package available from http://www.pcdocpro.com. This tutorial will assume that you have a working copy of the program installed and running on your system.

If not, then download it from http://www.pcdocpro.com/download.php

Step 1: Start the PC Doc Pro program by double-clicking the icon on your Windows Desktop, or selecting the correct shortcut in the Start Menu. Allow the software to load and get to the main screen, as shown below.

Step 2: PC Doc Pro includes a Startup Manager program which can be activated by clicking the "Advanced Options" button on the white bar as shown, and then selecting "StartUp Optimiser".

Step 3: Now you will be presented with a list of programs scheduled to run every time your computer boots. Many of these won't be necessary, and can be disabled. To disable a startup item, simply uncheck the white box next to its entry. In the example below, I've decided to disable the Windows Messenger (MSMGS) and QuickTime Task programs from automatically starting.

Step 4: To finalize the settings, press the exit button at the top-right corner of the PC Doc Pro window and close the program. Then, reboot your PC and the extra programs should no longer be visible or eating up memory.

If you're not sure what to do with any of the programs in your list, then check out this website (http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php), which will try to explain the function of almost any startup program you come across and recommend either disabling or keeping its startup entry.

Major Jane Raymond USAFA

MER/IT

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