I tried to find an answer in another post, but couldn't find one, so I apologize if I'm repeating a thread.

My operating system is Windows XP. Whenever I go to boot up, several programs boot up as well, and go into "waiting" mode, I guess. Their little icons show up in the bottom right hand corner, next to the clock. I find that the more programs I install, the more little icons are added to that space, and therefore the longer it takes my computer to boot up. How can I remove programs from the startup files?

Thanks ahead of time!

djsgal,
In your Control Panel, you should see an option to "Uninstall/Change Program". You will also see a SEPARATE option to view all of your "Start-Up Programs". They may be worded a bit differently, I am Vista OS, but you should be able to find what you need. Just go into the "Start-Up" portion and follow the directions. There may be some, however, that won't allow you to remove them. I hope this helps. Sandy

Thanks for the reply, Sandy; unfortunately, I couldn't find the "start-up" portion you described. I found the Change/Remove programs part - but I don't want to uninstall the programs, I just don't want them to "do their thing" upon start-up. I also found a section called Taskbar and StartMenu, but it's for customizing the appearence of those 2 items. Any other thoughts?

Thanks ~

I believe the controls for programs that start up with Windows have been made more accessible in Vista. In XP though, they are a bit more hidden.

Press the Start button and select 'Run'. Type msconfig into the box that comes up and press OK. Select the 'Startup' tab. It's here that programs starting up with Windows are shown. Unticking the box next to a program will stop it running (requires a re-start of the computer).

It's often difficult to tie up an entry description to a particular icon in the Systray (the bit where the clock and icons sit), so you have to be careful about which programs are prevented from starting. You wouldn't want to stop your security programs from running by mistake for instance.

Nonetheless, you can get a fair idea of what an entry is by reading its name and looking at the location path and description (usually in 'Program Files). To see the location path in full, go to the grey part of the window above the entries and slide the divisions about.

If you are unsure about anything, type the name of the startup item into a search engine. This will usually bring up a number of 'What is it?' sites that give descriptions of processes and offer advice on whether they can be stopped from running or not. There are also utilities that help with startup programs. 'Startup Inspector for Windows' is one. I haven't tried it personally but have seen it recommended elsewhere.

When Windows starts up after an alteration in msconfig, a message will pop up saying that you have used the System Configuration Utility. Tick the box in it and then press OK. This message should still show each time a change is made in msconfig but not each time Windows starts.

Before making changes in msconfig, it might be worth a close look at the Options of the running programs. There could be a tick box within a program that prevents it from starting with Windows. It might be best to create a Restore Point before carrying out any alterations in msconfig ..just to be on the safe side.

Thank you, TW, that did it! I only unchecked the programs that I knew what they were, and everything else seems normal now. Thanks again!

"I believe the controls for programs that start up with Windows have been made more accessible in Vista. In XP though, they are a bit more hidden."

I had a feeling that might be the case, TW, but glad you knew what djsgal was looking for. I am not familiar with XP, but I figured it was worth a shot. That's one of the things I really like about the Vista, that it is SO easy to find most things, as they are set-up in logical places for the most part. Of course, what's "logical" to me is sometimes questionable! I'm just glad you got the answer, dsjgal. Sandy