12 replies to this topic

[angiepangie8]

Ok I know this is a dumb question but I have to ask it anyway.

How do you eliminate a program from your startups?

I need the Deleting Startups for Dummies explanation!

[exile360]

Honestly, there are many different places that a program can start up from. Some start from placing a shortcut in the Startup folder under the Start\All Programs menu, some use registry keys, some start as a background service. There are programs, such as Startuplite: http://www.malwareby...startuplite.php , that will safely remove unneeded startups, and there are other programs, like Ccleaner that will show some of the startups and let you disable them, and there are also more advanced programs like Microsoft Sysinternal's Autoruns and Trend Micro HijackThis that let you go more indepth to disable startups, but you must be careful with those as you could end up disabling something that needs to startup, such as a driver or your antivirus or a necessary system process. To find out what a startup item is, Autoruns will let you right click on an item and do a web search to help you learn what the item is and what it does. As I said though, be careful not to disable anything that might be necessary for your computer to boot. If you need further assistance with an item and are unsure, you can post to this thread about it and I'll help you determine if it's necessary or not. Some good sites that you can search to help in determining what a process is: http://www.bleepingc...r.com/startups/ http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php http://www.answersth...es/tasklist.htm http://www.processlist.com/ http://www.theelderg...vices_guide.htm I hope I have been helpful, good luck and safe surfing.

[angiepangie8]

Thanks for your help!
I will check out Startup lite.

[exile360]

Greetings, you can use Autoruns by Microsoft Sysinternals: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinte...s/bb963902.aspx Just be sure you know what you're disabling. What you're looking for will probably be in the Logon tab in Autoruns.

[DaChew]

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310560

MSConfig is a troubleshooting utility used to diagnose and fix system configuration issues. In the Summary section Microsoft says "The System Configuration utility helps you find problems with your Windows XP configuration. It does not manage the programs that run when Windows starts."

Although it works as a basic startup manager, msconfig should not be used routinely to disable auto-start programs. It is a temporary solution and not a good practice for the following reasons:
When uninstalling programs while disabled with msconfig, they may not be uninstalled properly and manually editing the registry will be required to remove everything.
Msconfig will often leave orphaned entries when software is uninstalled. When used to switch back to normal startup mode, these orphan entries can result in boot up errors.
Msconfig allows malware related items to hide in your registry which you may not see or affect your computer until switched back to normal startup mode. This could then result in reinfection of the computer.
Msconfig does not list all applications loaded in all possible startup locations (some entry points are hidden and unknown to the user) and does not allow the complete removal of disabled entries from its list.
You should not use msconfig to disable startup applications related to a running service. Doing so alters the registry and there are services that are essential for hardware and booting your system. When you uncheck a service in msconfig, you completely disable it. If you uncheck the wrong one, you may not be able to restart your computer. You should only disable services using Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services. With the Services Management Console (services.msc) you cannot disable services that may be vital to boot your system.

credit QM7?

[kalimba]

Oh my, I've been running on selected startup forever.
If I go back to normal startup, will all my viruses come back???
Advise, please !
-kali


Msconfig allows malware related items to hide in your registry which you may not see or affect your computer until switched back to normal startup mode. This could then result in reinfection of the computer.

[julio99]

kalimba, on Apr 1 2009, 01:01 PM, said:

Oh my, I've been running on selected startup forever.
If I go back to normal startup, will all my viruses come back???
Advise, please !
-kali


Msconfig allows malware related items to hide in your registry which you may not see or affect your computer until switched back to normal startup mode. This could then result in reinfection of the computer.

Use CC (crud cleaner). Click on tools, click on startup and you can disable startup entries from there. It's also freeware

[mbam daz.]

hi. im going to ask a silly question here.i have ccleaner and revo and autoruns.lets just say for example that i configured the start-up entries in all 3 progams in a different way.for example i stop my anti-virus in ccleaner but dont in autoruns.who has primary function there.thanks.

[exile360]

They do the same thing, if you've disabled an entry with CCleaner, it will not show up in Autoruns and vice-versa.

[ShyWriter]

[ Please Delete - Graphic portion of post no longer available ]

~Shy

[TechSniper]

Autoruns from Microsoft is one of the best ways to delete a program from startup entries....It could be a little difficult to use for a beginner pc user..

You can always go for start -> run -> msconfig in Windows to access the startup list in that case.

[JCT1300]

Winpatrol is a great program for disabling or relabeling startup programs.