Sometimes I wonder how Microsoft gets away with it. I mean, you start your PC and every program that loads with Windows tries to be first in line for your precious processing cycles.
So that little specialty utility you use about once a month is wresting resources away from the programs that really need to start right away, such as your antivirus app. You'd think the company that makes the OS would let you set the order of your auto-start programs.
Last April, I wrote about Vista's Software Explorer, which provides more information than the System Configuration utility (Msconfig) about your PC's autostart apps. Software Explorer lets you disable or remove programs from your startup list, but it doesn't let you decide which to open first.
That's where R2 Studios' free Startup Delayer comes in. The utility gives you the ability to determine the order of your startup programs. You can even set the number of seconds each app waits before starting or let Startup Delayer do the timing for you.
Set the order of and delay between your startup apps with Startup Delayer.
(Credit: R2 Studios)I've been using Startup Delayer's Safe Mode, which prevents you from deleting any of your startup apps or making other system changes. Safe Mode also hides the system files on the list. To see your complete startup list and be able to delete some, choose Startup Delayer's Advanced Mode in its Settings window.
Choose between Startup Delayer's Safe Mode or Advanced Mode.
(Credit: R2 Studios)I didn't spend more than a couple of minutes rearranging the order of the programs on my startup list and setting what I considered appropriate delays between each. The next time I booted my PC, I was surprised how quickly Windows' hour glass disappeared. In the icon's place was a small horizontal bar at the top of the screen showing the startup program currently opening.
View a progress bar as each of your startup apps loads on Startup Delayer's toolbar.
(Credit: R2 Studios)There are plenty of nice touches in the program, including the ability to change the delay between each app's startup by dragging a bar on the timeline at the bottom of the main Startup Delay window. You can also start over or deactivate Startup Delayer with a single click.
Startup Delayer isn't the most elegant Windows utility you'll come across, but it sure will jumpstart your day.
I get impatient waiting for my Vista PC to boot up. I could just leave the machine in sleep mode, but going long stretches without rebooting can cause problems of its own.
Instead of relying on sleep mode to get my workday started faster, I make it a habit to open Windows' list of start-up apps on a regular basis to determine whether any rogue programs have slipped in, slowing my start-ups unnecessarily. It seems that every time I check the list, some entry catches me by surprise.
To view your start-up apps in XP, click Start > Run, type msconfig.exe, press Enter, and click the Startup tab. You can follow these steps to open the System Configuration utilities' Startup tab in Vista as well, but I recommend you use Windows Defender's Software Explorer instead. To open Software Explorer, press the Windows key, type windows defender, and press Enter. Then click Tools > Software Explorer, and choose Startup Programs on the Category drop-down menu.
On my Vista laptop, Microsoft dominates the list with nine entries. HP, the machine's vendor, is next with six start-up programs, though they're listed in five different entries, one of which isn't labeled as belonging to HP but rather as "Publisher Not Identified." The file name is "HPHCScheduler.exe" and it's stored in an HP folder, so it's not hard to guess who's responsible for it.
Select entries in Vista's Software Explorer to get more information about your start-up apps.
(Credit: Microsoft)As I worked my way through the Microsoft section of the start-up list on my Vista laptop, two entries caught my eye: Microsoft Media Center Tray Applet and Microsoft Userinit Logon Application. (The other Microsoft start-up apps were OneNote, Windows Explorer, Windows Defender, and four Rundll32 host processes--all either required by Windows or chosen explicitly by me to start automatically.)
I searched the name of the Media Center Tray Applet--ehtray.exe--and learned that it is used for viewing TV and other video. I also found out that it isn't essential and will start automatically when Media Center requires it, so the program doesn't really belong in my start-up list.
A similar search of the file name userinit.exe for the Userinit Logon Application made it clear that this is an essential Windows file that needs to start automatically. The program manages the boot sequence.
Figuring out what to do with the HP programs was tougher. The first two entries were for CyberLink's QuickPlay, a media player with functions similar to Windows' own Media Player, and Quick Launch Buttons, which activate the keyboard's multimedia controls.
HPHC_Scheduler.exe wasn't identified as an HP program in Software Explorer's start-up list, but it's associated with the HP Health Check Scheduler, the company's own built-in diagnostic utility. Likewise, the "hpwuSched Application" (which checks for updates from the company) and two HP Wireless Assistant utilities are worth retaining as auto-start apps.
After you've worked through your list of start-up apps, check your currently running processes. In Software Explorer, select Currently Running Programs on the Category drop-down menu. In XP, you can view the programs running on your PC by pressing Ctrl-Shift-Esc or Ctrl-Alt-Delete to open Task Manager and then clicking the Processes tab (not the Applications tab).
The entry that caught my eye on this list was "HpqToaster.exe." Like HPHC_Scheduler.exe, the program was not identified as an HP app but was stored in an HP folder. I searched the Internet for an explanation of this file but found out only that it may be a "gateway" utility used by other HP programs.
There's a good chance that "HpqToaster.exe" serves a valuable purpose and poses no risk to the security of my system, but I'll never know for sure. I don't understand why hardware and software vendors make it so difficult for their customers to figure out exactly what programs are running on their systems, and why they sometimes--or always--run without you starting them.
In researching these mystery executable files, I saw repeated references to problems related to them, such as security vulnerabilities with HP's Quick Launch Buttons. On the long list of Windows enhancements I'd like to see is a file-name library that describes what each executable file does and why you do--or don't--need it.
A lot of programs you don't need to start with Windows do anyway, or try to. And many that you try to prevent from auto-starting just re-enable themselves. Yesterday I described how to remove recalcitrant apps from Windows XP's auto-start list via the System Configuration utility, or Msconfig. Vista's new Software Explorer makes it easier to get rid of the unnecessary auto-starters on your PC.
(As I mentioned yesterday, the $30 WinPatrol, the free CCleaner, and many other Windows utilities can be used to prevent applications from starting with Windows. Here I'm focusing on the tools built into Windows.)
To open Software Explorer, press the Windows key, type defender, and press Enter, or click Start > All Programs > Windows Defender. Select Tools > Software Explorer, and choose Startup Programs on the drop-down menu (if it isn't already selected). Scroll through the list of programs in the left pane, and select one to see information about it, such as the date it was installed, whether it is part of Vista, and its location in the Registry.
Vista's Software Explorer provides information about the auto-start programs on your PC.
(Credit: Microsoft)You can either disable or remove the program from Vista's auto-start lineup. If an item is grayed out, click "Show for all users" at the bottom of the screen. When you disable a program from auto-starting here, you don't get nagged about any settings changes the way Msconfig bugs you with pop-ups about diagnostic and selective startups whenever you reset something.
In addition to startup programs, Software Explorer lists the processes currently running on your PC, the programs connected to the network, and Winsock Service Providers, which handle TCP/IP and other network protocols. You can end a process listed under Currently Running Programs by selecting the entry and clicking End Process. However, choosing the Task Manager button merely opens that utility; you have to navigate manually to the process's entry in Task Manager to see more information about it there.
Tomorrow: smoothing the transition to OpenOffice.org.
A couple of times a year, I check the list of autostart programs in Windows XP's System Configuration Utility (aka Msconfig) to see if any apps that I don't need to start automatically have snuck onto the roster.
The older my PC gets, the more important it is to avoid slowing down XP's start-ups as the OS loads programs I'll probably never use.
(Note that the $30 WinPatrol, the free CCleaner, and many other Windows utilities can be used to prevent applications from starting with Windows.
Here, I'm focusing on the tools built into XP. Also, the Software Explorer component of Vista's Windows Defender security application gives you a clearer view of the OS's autostart applications. I'll describe that program tomorrow.)
Msconfig-uring out CTFmon
To view your autostart apps in Msconfig, press the Windows key (or Ctrl-Esc), press R, type msconfig.exe, and press Enter. The last time I checked the list, I noticed an entry for CTFmon.exe. This is an extension for Microsoft Office XP, 2003, and 2007 that enables speech and handwriting recognition, as well as other language functions. Unchecking the program's option in Msconfig does no good because it returns to the list automatically the next time Windows loads.
Microsoft's support site describes a convoluted, multistep process for removing the program from your start-up list. You begin by deactivating it in Microsoft Office via the Control Panel's Add or Remove Programs applet, then you change settings in the Regional and Language Options, and finally, you delete two DLLs manually from the Run box.
"There's gotta be a better way," I thought, as I read through Microsoft's instructions. There is. Gerhard Schlager's CTFMON-Remover does the trick in a fraction of the time. Simply unzip the download file, double-click CtfmonRemover.exe, and select Deactivate CTFMON.EXE. Step through the short wizard, and the program is removed automatically (the option "Is the CTFMON.EXE installed?" switches from a green "Yes" to a red "No.")
The free CTFMON-Remover utility rids Windows' list of autostart apps of this little-used Microsoft Office extension.
(Credit: Gerhard Schlager)
Pruning your list of autostart apps
Uncheck the programs on XP's autostart list that you don't need to have on all the time. Candidates include iTunes, Adobe Acrobat, and utilities for cameras, printers, PDAs, and other peripherals you rarely use. (I noticed that my system was loading control programs for a printer I replaced six months ago.)
Of course, an entry such as the one on my PC for a discarded printer indicates that you're overdue in uninstalling the program altogether, either by using its own uninstall option off the Start menu, or via Add or Remove Programs.
If an entry in your autostart list is unidentifiable, enter the name in your favorite Web search engine, and look for information about it. That's how I found out that I didn't need "point32.exe", which is for Microsoft's IntelliMouse, nor "nwiz.exe", Nvidia's program for "enhancing" my graphics display with features I'll never use.
Just be careful not to uncheck the entry for an autostart program that your system needs to function properly. Keep the entries for your antivirus, firewall, and other security programs checked. Also leave active the listings for your network and Windows itself, as well as for printer and other peripherals you use frequently. When in doubt, leave it checked, though a Web search should shine a light on any mystery file names you find there.
Msconfig craziness
Whenever you make a change in Msconfig, the program prompts you to restart your system. To prevent the message from popping up in the future, check "Don't show this message again" before you click either Restart or Exit without restarting. The next time you start your PC, you'll see a message stating that the System Configuration utility started in "Diagnostic or Selective Startup" mode. Check "Don't show this message or start up the System Configuration Utility when Windows starts," reopen Msconfig, press the General tab, and select Normal Startup > OK > Exit without restart.
Tomorrow: Pare your list of autostart applications in Windows Vista via the Software Explorer.
One way to get Windows to load faster is by using the System Configuration utility (aka Msconfig) to disable programs that start unnecessarily when you boot the operating system. To view this list in XP, click Start>Run, type msconfig, press Enter, and click the Startup tab. In Vista, open your Startup list by pressing the Windows key, typing msconfig, pressing Enter, and clicking the Startup tab.
Be careful not to disable a program that your system needs to start properly. Paul Collins' Startup Applications List can help you determine whether a program is required, or if it can (and sometimes definitely should) be disabled. Play it safe by disabling the programs one at a time, and restarting your system to make sure everything's copacetic before disabling another and repeating the process.
After you uncheck an entry in the Startup list, it remains there, waiting for you to change your mind, I imagine. You can remove the unselected items by editing the Registry, but a simpler way is to use the free MSConfig Cleanup utility from Virtuoza. After you download and install the program, simply open it to view a list of the deselected items in your machine's Startup list. Check those you want to remove permanently and click Clean Up Selected to give the entries the boot for good.
The free MSConfig Cleanup utility removes unchecked items from Windows' Startup list.
Stop Msconfig from starting automatically
One of my Windows XP systems insisted on starting Msconfig every time it booted. I tried clicking Start>Run, typing Msconfig /auto, pressing Enter, and checking "Don't show this message or launch the System Configuration Utility when Windows starts," but the Selective Startup window still popped up whenever Windows opened, requiring me to click OK>Exit Without Restart.
I found a script written by Doug Knox called xp_nomsconfig.vbs that is intended to close the Selective Startup window once and for all, but it didn't work on my system, generating an error message about needing Administrator permissions to run the script. I opened the script in Notepad (right-click it and choose Open With>Notepad), and then noticed that it removed a particular Registry entry called MSConfigReminder. After opening the Registry Editor (click Start>Run, type regedit, and press Enter), I noticed that the entry wasn't located in the key referenced by the script, but was in another: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run (one level up from the key the script pointed to). I deleted the key, restarted the machine, and was delighted to see it start without Selective Startup appearing. Note that before you make any changes to your Registry, create a system-restore point, just in case.
Tomorrow: Troubleshoot Ubuntu Linux wireless-adapter woes.
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