Startup Processes

What are startup processes?

Today, computers come with more and more software installed for the end user, you, and not all of it is needed or even helpful for the functioning and productivity of your computer. There are some components of your computer’s software that want to be running all of the time, whether you are actively using that software or not. An increasing number of programs have begun to insert triggers into your computer’s startup process. This means that every time you turn your computer on, a number of different programs start with it in the background without asking for your permission. These programs are known as startup processes.

All of these processes and programs take some toll of your computer’s processing power and memory, and they use up additional resources that can result in your machine taking longer to start up than it otherwise would, and being slower when it is fully started up. In some cases, some startup processes can even cause your computer to crash. This article will teach you how to take back control of your computer and make sure you are not simply running a host of programs that offer no benefits to you simply because they were programmed to start when your computer did.

How do you manage the processes you would like to run when you turn on your computer?

The easiest way to manage the processes that run when you turn on your computer is to view them through the system configuration utility. The system configuration utility contains valuable information about different components of your system that are currently enabled or disabled, and provides you with options to modify or remove programs or sequences you don’t want running on your computer. You can access the system configuration utility by pressing the Windows key + R and typing in “msconfig”. You can also reach it by clicking the Start icon (replaced by the blue orb in Windows Vista and Windows 7) in the lower left corner of your screen, clicking Run, and then typing in “msconfig” there. A window will open with tabs for General, Boot, Services, Startup, and Tools. Navigate to the Startup tab and you will have a list of every single program that is currently set to load when your computer starts, as well as programs that were programmed to load in the past but are currently not programmed to load. To stop any program from reloading the next time your computer boots, uncheck the box beside the program’s name, click apply, and click OK. The next time the computer starts, the program will not load with it. You can reverse this by checking an unchecked box.

How do you know what to keep running and what you can safely turn off among your startup processes?

The best procedure is to type the name of the program into your favorite search engine (Google works well) and read what the program does. If it is an essential process, keep it. If it is something you don’t use, you can uncheck the box.