GoneWest

Click Start>Run>"msconfig">start up items

.......and I get a list of 42 items - numerous of which are from deceased (removed) programmes or are duplicated entries. Power profile, for example.

How do I get rid of the unwanted ones - and how can I figure out what the unrecognisable ones actually do?

SLF 999

If you right click on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen and then click properties you will get a box up and click on start menu programs, then click on remove this will let you delete the ones you dont want or of course you could delete all of them and then start doing adds for the ones you want. Please be careful as you could remove something that you want at startup eg Norton anti virus etc.

GoneWest

SLF - close, but no cigar.

Following your clicks gave me a list of PROGRAMMES that are in my machine.

What I am trying to get rid of are the little "links" that appear as small icons in the system tray...things like "power profile", "motive monitor", "audio HQ", "Alogserve"...all sorts of unknown stuff.

Power profile is even in there twice.

Somebody help me get rid of these creatures.

stickyb

SLF999, Sorry, you are way off there.

If you want to disable these start up items then simply untick the box next to them on msconfig. Be careful though, don't make more than one change at once, amke sure you test load your system after every change, etc, etc, etc.

Don't worry about the power entry, it's alsways like that.

Cheers

SLF 999

Sorry didnt quite pick up the problem correctly, see what you mean now.

GoneWest

stickyb...and SLF....

Whilst I understand how to disable the items - what I want to do is REMOVE the entire item from the list..check box and all

Trickiest part is finding out what some of the little monsters actually do...

What does CWINDOWS\COMMAND\SULFNBJ.EXE do?? or
CWINDOWS\scanregw.exe/autorun
msdtcw -start
cwindows\SYSTEM\ssdpsvr.exe

I've copied the upper and lower case segments exactly as shown....

Another question is, "Do I NEED any of these?", surely, if you can turn them on and off at will - then they cannot be desperately important to the running of the machine..and all could be 'called up' by manually starting the relevant program when required? Yes/No?

Again, this suggests that I should be able to remove these items and not do any damage to the running of the machine.

Brit Abroad

Check out this web site for a description of the most common programs that run in the background.

http://www2.whidbey.net/djdenham/Uncheck.htm

The ones written in red are essential and should in no circumstances be removed, the ones in yellow can be removed in certain conditions, the green ones can be de deleted no problem.


Hope this helps

GoneWest

B.A. - it certainly goes a long way to helping...thanks very much.

Now - would still like to know how to exterminate the entries that I never want to see again.

HandyAndy

GW

Understand your dilemma and it’s a fact that if too many programs are loading at start-up it can slow down your system, although you mention that some programs are already uninstalled.

Believe your problem is registry related and you may need to clean up your registry – I find “RegCleaner” (h**p://jv16.org) very handy, so to speak.

Another useful utility is PC Magazines TrayManager. This is a utility that sits in your System Tray and “holds” all your program icons, so you only have visible the icons you want – cut’s down on the clutter.

Already suggested was to run msconfig but if your program wasn't in the StartUp folder, check the Registry.

Go to Start | Run and type regedit. Go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion section. Look for the Run key, which contains a number of strings--programs Windows loads. You can delete keys at your discretion. Make a backup of the registry first in case you delete anything that’s needed by Windows. Restart Windows without restarting your computer – it can be quicker.

Note:
When you need to restart Windows, here's how to cut short the sometimes lengthy reboot process. Launch Notepad and type the following line:

@EXIT

Save the file as CWindows\Desktop \Restart.bat. An icon for the file will show up on your desktop. Right-click on the icon; choose Properties, then the Program tab. Make sure the "Close on Exit" option is enabled. Click the Advanced button, and make sure that the MS-DOS mode option is selected and that the "Warn before entering MS-DOS mode" option is deselected. Click OK to close both dialog boxes. A second icon (Restart.pif) will be created. Double-click on this icon whenever you need to restart Windows.

If nerves jangle when using Regedit, you may wish to just deselect from msconfig if the programs are listed there.

Whatever route you take, you will definitely need Explorer and Systray.exe.

Hope this helps.
HA

GoneWest

Handy,

Thanks for the message - I'll print it and stare at it for a while whilst plucking up courage to do it.

Doesn't "regedit" have a sign at the front saying "Here be demons"? Scary place to play.

I may rent a guru and get him to follow both your message and the one from B.A.

Thanks guys.

Squiddley

There is a great little program called "StopStart" which I stumbled across a while ago. Have a read HERE for some sound advice.

This page links to the program as well as a pretty comprehensive list of commonly encountered startup programs which can/can't be done without.

Hope it helps.