How to Increase Computer Speed by Removing Startup Entries

Some startup programs can really slow down the computer. Startup entries act as a trigger. After turning on the computer and when the Operating system is loaded, the startup entries will start calling the programs associated with it to run in the background. Imagine if you have 15-20 startup entries. All the entries will trigger the activity of programs associated with it and the result will be all the programs consume a good portion of the available resources of RAM and processor, leaving nothing for the other active programs . Some startups are genuine entries which just want to run in the background. But some are entries which triggers malicious applications or even entries related to spywares or viruses. Sometimes you may find startup entry of software which was uninstalled before and it will create an error message whenever you start the computer. So removing the unwanted startup entry will only do good for the computer.

Tips to remember when you remove the startup entries

• Don’t delete entries related to security software’s. If you have multiple security software, then keep the one which is the main security software and remove the other one.
• Don’t delete entries related to wireless devices. In some cases removing it wont create any issues for the wireless device, but sometimes you may end up configuring the wireless device again if you disable it.
• If you are unable to determine about the startup entry, try disabling it in msconfig (Step 2) In case if you find that particular entry is needed in startup, you can always enable it.

Where to look for startup entries

Inside Folder

In XP

• For the individual user. Go to My computer, C: Documents and Settings, (UserName), Start menu, Programs, and Startup. Open the startup folder and remove all the entries which are not needed.
• For all users. Go to My computer, C:, Documents and Settings, All Users, Start menu, Programs, and Startup. Open the startup folder and remove all the entries which are not needed.

In Vista

• For the individual user. Go to Computer, C:, Users, (UserName), start menu, programs, startup
• For all users. Go to Computer, C:, Users, All Users, start menu, programs, startup

Inside MSCONFIG

In XP

• Click Start – Run – type msconfig – click “Startup” tab
• Select the startup entries to disable and click “disable all”. Restart the computer.

In Vista

• Click Start – type msconfig – right click on msconfig.exe and click “Run as administrator”
• Select the startup entries to disable and click “disable all”. Restart the computer.

(Note: On restart, you might get the msconfig window opened automatically. Click on “do not show this message again” for not getting the window opened when you start the computer)

Inside Registry

For XP and Vista

(take a backup before deleting the entries in registry. This will help you to retrieve the changes that you made to the registry)

Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE – Software –Microsoft –Windows –CurrentVersion –Run. Startup entries will be listed on the right side. Select the unwanted entry and remove it.

Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER– Software –Microsoft –Windows –CurrentVersion –Run. Startup entries will be listed on the right side. Select the unwanted entry and remove it.

The same can be done on RunOnce key which is just below the Run Key.

By following the steps, you should be able to speed up your computer.

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