Cleaning up the System Startup Registry items

In my previous post, I wrote one of the many tricks on how to customize and speed up your Windows load time. As mentioned in the previous post, this writing will be on how to cleanup those deactivated items from your MSCONFIG utility. In case you want to activate some of those deactivated startup items, it is recommended that you leave them as it is. It is not necessary that you have to delete them from your Registry. As I felt that those deactivated items dirtied the MSCONFIG, thus the reason for writing this trick. Maybe someone is out there among you who felt the same like I do.

As usual, I am not to be blamed in any way for any disastrously outcome to your system. Do the trick at your own risk and not mine. Lets get on with it again.

Please note: You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group to be able to do this procedure. I am using Windows XP SP2 for this trick.

What is REGEDIT?
REGEDIT (short for Registry Editor) is an advanced tool for viewing and changing settings in your system registry, which contains information about how your computer runs. In Windows, system configuration information is centrally located in the Registry.


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Precaution: Although Registry Editor enables you to inspect and modify the registry, making incorrect changes can severely damage and break your system. In case if some thing may go wrong, always backup your Registry (Start > Run > Type regedit > File > Export > Save).

Methodology:
1. Click Start.

2. Click Run.

3. Type ‘regedit’ or ‘regedit.exe’ (without the ‘’)

4. The Registry Editor (regedit.exe) will popup (refer to the above REGEDIT picture).

5. Click on the [+] of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

6. Click on the [+] of SOFTWARE.


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7. Scroll down and click on the [+] of Microsoft.


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8. Click on the [+] of Shared Tools.

9. Click on the [+] of MSConfig.


(Click to enlarge)

10. Click on the [+] of startupreg. A list of all the Startup items as shown in MSCONFIG Startup tab will be available underneath the startupreg.

11. Right click on each of the deactivated Startup items, click Delete and Confirm.

12. Close your Register Editor.

13. Open up your MSCONFIG and lookup the Startup tab. Viola!

RELATED UTILITY:

Startup Control Panel
Startup Control Panel is a nifty control panel applet that allows you to easily configure which programs run when your computer starts. It's simple to use and, like all my programs, it's very small and won't burden your system. A valuable tool for system administrators!

Download | More Info

Speeding up your Windows Startup

Disclaimer: Follow the trick at your own risk. I am not to be blamed in any way for any disastrously outcome to your system.

Many of us are impatient individuals. This unique behavior is often exposed when one starts and wait for the Windows powered Operating System to load up. Most often than not, you become frustrated with the start-up process and sometimes would like to smash the system. You feel the way you felt more so when you have to do some important work on your tormenting tortoised computer.

There can be several factors why your computer takes a long time to boot or startup or slow. It can be because of many softwares running the background prcoess, huge resources consuming softwares, lofs of programs in the startup, spywares, adwares, trojans, viruses, lack of maintenance, etc. Oli has written a good insight into What Really Slows Windows Down. It is worth a read.

There are different methods to enhance the speed of your system, one of which is what this writing will be about – playing around with the start-up of your Windows operating system. However, this is not comprehensive or advanced as I left out many other methods of a work around to fasten your Windows startup.

We will not be using any third party software but will be contented with the system tools provided by Microsoft in its operating system – MSCONFIG. If you are in need of a more advanced utilities than MSCONFIG, refer to the end of the page.

Please note: You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group to be able to do this procedure. I am using Windows XP SP2 for this trick.

Methodology:

MSCONFIG:
System Configuration Utility (Msconfig.exe) automates the routine troubleshooting steps when diagnosing Windows configuration issues. You can use this tool to modify the system configuration through a process of elimination with check boxes, reducing the risk of typing errors. You can always check and uncheck the startup items.



1. Click Start

2. Click Run

3. Type ‘msconfig’ (without the ‘’)

4. The System Configuration Utility (Msconfig.exe) will popup (refer to the above MSCONFIG picture).

5. Click on the Startup tab. You will get something like the image below (Click on the image to enlarge). The checked items are the program installed in your system and that are loaded when you start your computer for easy accessibility to them. You can locate most of them (represented by their program icons) on the right side of your Windows Taskbar. Some programs run in the background process and you will not be able to locate them in the Taskbar.



6. Click on the Disable all.

7. Checked (Enable) the programs that you want to load when the Operating System starts (For example, anti-virus or anti-spyware programs).


8. Click Apply.

9. Click OK. And when prompted to Restart your system, click Restart to restart your system.

Next on line - how to clean up those deactivated Startup items you see in the MSCONFIG Startup tab. That would involve using the REGEDIT (Registry Editor) in Windows.

OTHER STARTUP UTILITIES:

1. AutoRuns for Windows v8.61:
This utility, which has the most comprehensive knowledge of auto-starting locations of any startup monitor, shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login, and shows you the entries in the order Windows processes them. These programs include ones in your startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys.

Download | More Info

2. StartupList:
A simple tool that lists all and every auto starting program on your system. You might be surprised what it finds, this is way better than Msconfig. Commonly used to troubleshoot malfunctioning systems, trojan/viral infections, new spyware/malware breed and the likes.

Download

3. StartUpLite:
StartUpLite is a lightweight program that can disable or remove all known unnecessary startup entries from your computer and thus quicken the startup procedure of your system.

Download | More Info

Other Relevant Links:

1. Process Library
ProcessLibrary.com has extensive reference guide for anyone who needs comprehensive information on system processes. The explanations are accompanied by exhaustive advice on whether these processes are important for the stable and secure running of your system. It also recommends if you should terminate processes or leave them untouched.