SEPTEMBER - CUT CLUTTER TO IMPROVE WINDOWS FUNCTION

Has your computer slowed to a crawl? A big reason why Window slows down is the accumulation of programs that run in the background on your computer. None of this is spyware, adware, wormware, or viruses. Many programs installed from disk, programs downloaded from the Web, printer software and Microsoft applications contain computer code that inserts the programs into the startup menu. This is done so that the program icon will appear in the System Tray (right side of taskbar near time display), an inexpensive method of promoting the program. Non-essential programs in the startup menu gobble up system resources.

You can check what programs are running on your computer by looking in the Task List. You can bring up the Task List by:

In Windows 95/98/ME: press Ctrl+Alt+Del

In Windows NT4/2000/XP/2003: right-click on the Task Bar and choose "Task Manager"

If you see something you don't recognize, check out the online Process Library at
www.processlibrary.com
a site that lets users type in a listing and get an explanation. Or go to www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm
for an alphabetical listing with a full explanation of the process.

If you can't find any information at either of these sites, type the full listing into Google and search for more information on this process.

The simplest way to stop a program from running automatically is to disable this in the software program itself. Look for an option in the program (usually found in Preferences or Settings) such as Start (name of program) when I start my computer or similar option. If the option is found and is checked, simply remove the check.

Unfortunately, most software programs don't make it this easy. Fortunately, Windows has a method to select which programs you want to run at Startup called the Windows Configuration Utility or Msconfig.

Simply right-click on START, on the bottom left corner of your screen. Then click RUN, type msconfig in the box and press enter.

This will bring up a screen with numerous options. Go to the far right tab labeled STARTUP and click on it.

This brings up a list of all the programs your computer starts when loading windows. Go through them, and uncheck programs that do not need to be started with Windows. When you have made all your changes, click APPLY at the bottom, and then click OK. Now it will ask you to choose whether to restart your computer or to exit without a restart.

Click on "Restart". Upon restart, a message box will appear. You can accept the Msconfig changes by checking "Don't show this message," or click OK to launch System Configuration Utility and re-enter Msconfig to make further changes.