Personalized PCs

Start your computer faster: Msconfig

August 21st, 2006

A lot of people come into our shop and complain of a slow computer. “It takes too long to start or shut down” they’ll say. Today we will take a look at one of the most common causes for slower startup/shutdown times and take a look at how to fix this using Msconfig, the Microsoft System Configuration Utility.

Sofware vendors are very vein. They like to assume when you install their product into your computer, you are going to use it all the time. They would like to think your computer was built solely for running their application, whether it’s true or not. After running your home system for a while you will undoubtedly collect some of these programs. Inside some of the programs (in some cases as an option) the programming will add itself to your startup programs. Startup programs are pre-loaders for loading a program quicker and making it run more efficiently.

The major problem with this is; when you get too many of these programs in startup they are using a lot of RAM and all trying to start right with your computer. This will cause some lag time in the systems boot process, causing slower boot times.

There is a very simple fix for this problem. First, make sure when you install any program you look for an option for the program to be loaded on system boot. If you see an option for this, uncheck it, unless the program is a security program (anti-virus, firewall, etc.). Any security program should be left in startup as it means it is protecting your computer from the time it boots. This is needed for any on-access scanner (your anti-virus program).

To run msconfig, simply click on “Start” and then “Run”. The run console will pop up asking what program you would like to run. Type in msconfig and click “ok”.

Once you click “Ok” the Microsoft System Configuration Utility will open.

Now we will click on the startup tab (top-right) and see a list of programs starting with the computer.

Now we will uncheck any programs that are not related to Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware, or any other security program. You can usually spot these programs by looking at the command line in the startup tab. The command line tells you the actual command being run on the system to make it start. This usually says something like “C:Program Files{Program folder}{Program}”.

Once you have identified any security programs running on your system, uncheck everything else. When finished click “Apply” then “Ok”. The system will prompt you to restart. Doing so will reboot your computer with the new trimmed-down startup. When you first boot your computer you will be notified that you are starting in a diagnostic mode. You can simply check the box at the bottom “Do not notify me again or launch the system configuration utility”.

Now your computer should be starting up and shutting down a little (or a lot) faster.

Entry Filed under: Basic Maintenance