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Stopping programs from running at start-up is especially
daunting because there is no single place you can go to halt them
all. Some run because they're in the Startup folder, others because
they're part of logon scripts, others because of Registry settings,
and so on. But with a little bit of perseverance, you should be able
to keep them from running. - Start by cleaning out your Startup folder. Find it in
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Start
Menu\Programs\Startup, where username is your Windows
logon name. Delete the shortcuts of any programs you don't want
to run on start-up. As with any shortcuts, when you delete them,
you're deleting only the shortcut, not the program itself. (You
can also clear out the start-up items by going to Start >
Programs > Startup, then right-clicking items you want to
remove.)
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- Next, clean out your Scheduled Tasks folder. Go to C:\Windows\Tasks,
and delete the shortcuts of any programs that you don't want to run
automatically on a schedule.
Note: You can bypass all the programs in your Startup folder on an
as-needed basis. To stop XP from loading any programs in the Startup
folder, hold down the Shift key during bootup. No programs in the
Startup folder will run, but the items will still remain there so that
they will start up as they would normally the next time you boot.
Using the system configuration utility
Taking the previous steps will stop the obvious programs from running at
start-up, but it won't kill them all. The best tool for disabling hidden
programs that run on start-up is the System Configuration Utility. To run
it, type msconfig at a command prompt, and press Enter. (If that
doesn't work, first do a search for msconfig.exe; when you find the
file, double-click it.)
- To stop a program from running at start-up, go to the Startup tab in
this utility, and uncheck the box next to the program. It can sometimes
be difficult to understand what programs are listed on the Startup tab.
Some, such as America Online, are clearly labeled. But often, you'll see
a phrase or collection of letters, such as fs20. That's the name
of the running file--such as fs20.exe, which is Free Surfer mk
II, an excellent free pop-up killer.
- To get more information about a listing, expand the width of the
Command column near the top of the Startup tab. Expand it enough and
you'll see the start-up command that the program issues, including its
location, such as C:\Program Files\Free Surfer\fs20.exe. The directory
location should be another hint to help you know the name of the
program.
- When stopping programs from running at start-up, it's best to stop
them one at a time rather than in groups. You want to make sure that
you're not causing any system problems by stopping them. So stop one,
then restart your PC. If it runs fine, then stop another and restart.
Continue doing this until you've cleared all the programs you don't want
to run automatically.
Each time you uncheck a box and restart your PC, you'll get a warning that
you've used the System Configuration Utility to disable a program from
starting automatically. If you don't want to see that warning, disable it by
checking the box in the dialog itself.
After you've used the system configuration utility to identify programs that
run on start-up, you may want to try disabling them from with the programs
themselves. So run each program that starts automatically, and see if you
can find a setting that allows you to prevent it from running on start-up.
For more info, please fill the info below, call us on (714) 228-5444 or fax us at (800) 531-2944.
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