Identifying The Auto Startup Programs

The first step in stopping the auto startup is identifying exactly what is starting up and what its purpose is. To do so, you will use a cool little program called the system configuration utility, which is built into Windows XP, and the Google search engine (www.google.com), which can look up what the entries are for. First, you will need to start up the system configuration utility and write down what programs are listed. To do so, follow these directions:

1. Start up the System Configuration Utility by clicking the Start Menu and selecting Run. Then key in msconfig and click OK.

2. Once the System Configuration Utility has loaded, click the Startup tab.

3. Now that the list of the active startup programs is visible, make a list of all of the items listed with the name as well as the file that is loaded, which is listed under the command column.

4. Once you have your list made, you can start researching which programs should be removed from the list and which programs should stay. Because almost every computer has different programs starting up after logon, I recommend that you browse the Web and look for a specific program and what will happen if it is removed from startup. One interesting site to visit is a database of common startup programs called Answers That Work. It is located at can't present you with recommendations for each of the programs listed. If you can not find one of your programs listed on that site, just do a quick search on Google and most likely you will find several Web sites telling you what that program does and what removing it will do.