Making Your Computer Load Faster

ver wonder why it takes your computer so long to start up after you log
on? After all, the system already loaded the majority of the operating
system components. Does your computer take longer to load after you
sign on than it used to take when you first brought it home? These are all
questions that you will find the answers to in this chapter. You can make
your system load faster by a number of methods. The last chapter touched
on how to make the system boot faster. This chapter will concentrate on
how to make the system load faster after the operating system has loaded
and you are presented with the sign-on screen. But first, the system startup
needs to be examined in more detail so that you will better understand what
you will be doing.
After you turn on your computer, it goes through the boot-up process,
which loads the main system components and drivers. Eventually, when
those are finished loading, the Windows shell is started and you will be
presented with the sign-on screen. Once the sign-on screen is displayed
and you sign on, the system begins to load the rest of the Windows shell
programs, such as Windows Explorer, which is the program behind the
spiffy new Windows XP navigation and look. Once that is finished
loading, the system moves on to starting up the applications in the
startup folder as well as other sneaky registry startup programs. Once
these applications are finished loading, your mouse will no longer display
the hourglass, and you are set to do whatever you want with your
computer.
This chapter will take you through the steps of speeding up all of the
different parts of the system startup. First to be examined will be ways to
speed up the logon process. Next to be discussed will be ways to get rid of
all those extra applications that run at start that further slow down your
computer. Additionally, interesting new features of Windows XP that are
not turned on by default and will make your system even faster are explored.
When you have finished reading this chapter and implementing the
suggestions given, your system will have a much faster loading time and
will be ready to use earlier than ever before.


Adjust the startup programs
After you sign on, the system finishes loading the system shell and then begins to load the
startup programs that you have installed and also some that you have not. Often when you
bring home a new computer it is filled with extra software that you do not need to be starting
when your computer, starts up. One example of this kind of software is Windows Messenger,
which was developed by Microsoft.
Every time I turn on my computer,Windows Messenger automatically loads and signs me
on to the network. I love Windows Messenger, but I do not want it starting up every time I
turn on my computer. It slows down my load and lets everyone know that I am on my
computer, which makes avoiding certain people impossible. On top of loading Windows
Messenger, and other visible programs such as antivirus software, a handful of other applications
will start up automatically. This section will help you see what programs are starting up
automatically and then will show you some great tricks to stop them all from starting up.


Identifying the auto startup programs
The first step in stopping the auto startup is identifying exactly what is starting up and what its
purpose is.To do so, you will use a cool little program called the system configuration utility,
which is built into Windows XP, and the Google search engine (www.google.com), which
can look up what the entries are for. First, you will need to start up the system configuration
utility and write down what programs are listed.To do so, follow these directions:
1. Start up the System Configuration Utility by clicking the Start Menu and selecting Run.
Then key in msconfig and click OK.
2. Once the System Configuration Utility has loaded, click the Startup tab, as shown in
Figure 9-6.
3. Now that the list of the active startup programs is visible, make a list of all of the items
listed with the name as well as the file that is loaded, which is listed under the command
column.
4. Once you have your list made, you can start researching which programs should be
removed from the list and which programs should stay. Because almost every computer
has different programs starting up after logon, I recommend that you browse the Web and
look for a specific program and what will happen if it is removed from startup. One interesting
site to visit is a database of common startup programs called AnswersThatWork. It
is located at www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm. At
that site, they can’t present you with recommendations for each of the programs listed. If
you can not find one of your programs listed on that site, just do a quick search on Google
and most likely you will find several Web sites telling you what that program does and
what removing it will do.


Removing programs from startup
The System Configuration Utility makes removal of items from the system startup very easy.
Once you know the item that you want to remove, uncheck the check box next to the item, Then, once you have unchecked all of the items that you no longer want to start at startup,
click the OK button. This will cause a new window to pop up that asks if you would like to
reboot now or later. Choose what is most convenient for you, as it has no effect on the changes
you just made.
Once you reboot, the program should no longer be loaded. This procedure will work for the
majority of the programs configured to start up automatically. You may notice, however, that a
few sneaky applications refuse to go down without a fight. This next section will help you
exterminate those.