Limit Programs Running In Background

How do I identify and limit programs running in the background on start up?

On Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:42:58 -0500, Lisa wrote:

> How do I identify and limit programs running in the background on start up?

Process Explorer
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/s.../bb896653.aspx

AutoRuns for Windows
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/s.../bb963902.aspx

On Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:42:58 -0500, "Lisa" <> wrote:

> How do I identify and limit programs running in the background on start up?


First, note that you should be concerned with *all* programs that
start automatically, not just with those that go into the system tray.
Not all autostarting programs manifest themselves by an icon in the
tray.

On each program you don't want to start automatically, check its
Options to see if it has the choice not to start (make sure you
actually choose the option not to run it, not just a "don't show icon"
option). Many can easily and best be stopped that way. If that doesn't
work, run MSCONFIG from the Start | Run line, and on the Startup tab,
uncheck the programs you don't want to start automatically.

However, if I were you, I wouldn't do this just for the purpose of
running the minimum number of programs. Despite what many people tell
you, you should be concerned, not with how *many* of these programs
you run, but *which*. Some of them can hurt performance severely, but
others have no effect on performance.

Don't just stop programs from running willy-nilly. What you should do
is determine what each program is, what its value is to you, and what
the cost in performance is of its running all the time. You can try
google searches and ask about specifics here.

Once you have that information, you can make an intelligent informed
decision about what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of.



--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

I'm still unclear as to what I need to do to determine which programs are
starting automatically. Can you be more specific?

"Ken Blake, MVP" <> wrote in message
news:...
> On Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:42:58 -0500, "Lisa" <> wrote:
>
>> How do I identify and limit programs running in the background on start
>> up?
>
>
> First, note that you should be concerned with *all* programs that
> start automatically, not just with those that go into the system tray.
> Not all autostarting programs manifest themselves by an icon in the
> tray.
>
> On each program you don't want to start automatically, check its
> Options to see if it has the choice not to start (make sure you
> actually choose the option not to run it, not just a "don't show icon"
> option). Many can easily and best be stopped that way. If that doesn't
> work, run MSCONFIG from the Start | Run line, and on the Startup tab,
> uncheck the programs you don't want to start automatically.
>
> However, if I were you, I wouldn't do this just for the purpose of
> running the minimum number of programs. Despite what many people tell
> you, you should be concerned, not with how *many* of these programs
> you run, but *which*. Some of them can hurt performance severely, but
> others have no effect on performance.
>
> Don't just stop programs from running willy-nilly. What you should do
> is determine what each program is, what its value is to you, and what
> the cost in performance is of its running all the time. You can try
> google searches and ask about specifics here.
>
> Once you have that information, you can make an intelligent informed
> decision about what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of.
>
>
>
> --
> Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
> Please Reply to the Newsgroup

On Tue, 30 Dec 2008 07:21:05 -0500, "Lisa" <> wrote:

> I'm still unclear as to what I need to do to determine which programs are
> starting automatically. Can you be more specific?


There's more than one program that will display the list for you. The
one I recommended below is MSCONFIG. It isn't the best, but it's the
easiest for most people, because it's part of Windows and you already
have it.



> "Ken Blake, MVP" <> wrote in message
> news:...
> > On Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:42:58 -0500, "Lisa" <> wrote:
> >
> >> How do I identify and limit programs running in the background on start
> >> up?
> >
> >
> > First, note that you should be concerned with *all* programs that
> > start automatically, not just with those that go into the system tray.
> > Not all autostarting programs manifest themselves by an icon in the
> > tray.
> >
> > On each program you don't want to start automatically, check its
> > Options to see if it has the choice not to start (make sure you
> > actually choose the option not to run it, not just a "don't show icon"
> > option). Many can easily and best be stopped that way. If that doesn't
> > work, run MSCONFIG from the Start | Run line, and on the Startup tab,
> > uncheck the programs you don't want to start automatically.
> >
> > However, if I were you, I wouldn't do this just for the purpose of
> > running the minimum number of programs. Despite what many people tell
> > you, you should be concerned, not with how *many* of these programs
> > you run, but *which*. Some of them can hurt performance severely, but
> > others have no effect on performance.
> >
> > Don't just stop programs from running willy-nilly. What you should do
> > is determine what each program is, what its value is to you, and what
> > the cost in performance is of its running all the time. You can try
> > google searches and ask about specifics here.
> >
> > Once you have that information, you can make an intelligent informed
> > decision about what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of.
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
> > Please Reply to the Newsgroup

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup