MSConfig Startup Help

MSConfig startup is a small utility built into Windows that lets you change which programs Windows will start when it boots up.  Changing which programs run at boot up can really change how fast a system runs.  This is especially true when you use a lot of different software titles.

To open up the Windows Startup utility

• Click on the start button
• For Windows XP Click on run.
• Type in msconfig and hit enter.

To change startup items

• Click on the startup tab
• Look under startup items
• Click on any check mark of any program that you don't want to start when Windows starts.
• When you're finished, close the window.
• When prompted to restart or exit without restart, click on restart.
• After Windows boots up, make any other changes following the same steps.

If you're unsure what you want disabled at startup, do one at a time, reboot.  If you're missing something turn it back on.

If you really want to know what programs you are disabling

• Get the name of the programs exe file you are unsure about, along with the first word in manufacturer.
• Do a search on Google for the manufacturer and the name of the exe.  Often without even clicking a site, just by your search results you will find your answer.  Look below for an example.

An example search for me is located here.  As you can see without even going into any websites, this is a motherboard program monitoring utility made by Asus.