XP startup file?

[absinthe]

Hi all. Quick (and easy) question . . .

Simply put, what's the best/easiest way I can exercise control on what's in the Startup file for Win XP home/pro? Sounds like a newbie question, I know, but it's been some years since I've been concerned about it, probably a couple of versions of Windows ago, anyway. Frankly, I just can't remember what I used to do. Seems like there was a command line that was useful. MSConfig, maybe?

I've got 3 machines on a home network plus a 4th for work. I've been using StartupList.exe, and with the proliferation of Spyware I want to keep the sys tray as clean as possible. Is there a good free (or not free) utility I could download to help manage what starts up with XP? Something that might help to remove unwanted things, and maybe even manage registry entries?

Yeah, I've been lazy. I don't perform maintenance like I should, and I end up reformatting and and reinstalling windows about every 12 to 18 months. Gonna try to keep things lean, clean, and moving fast this time.

Thanks,

=Aaron

 

[johnjkr1]

Remove all the programs you do not want from add/remove, then use msconfig for the rest.

 

[nullshark]

Yup, START, run, msconfig, startup tab for most startup items.

Also, you can uninstall some things that Windows doesn't want you to (like MSN, for example) if you open \Windows\Inf\sysoc.inf in notepad and remove the word "hide" from the apps you want to display and/or uninstall. (Just delete the letters h-i-d-e on the lines you want to show up in Add/Remove Programs, everything else is unchanged.)

 

[monzie]

The EASIEST way (imo) is to run Spybot press the TOOLS tab and then the System Start-up tab...........how many people haven't got Spybot?

 

[absinthe]

Thanks for these helpful replies! I'm going to save all these posts for future reference.

Funny, I've actually been using SpyBot for some time now, and I couldn't find the <Tools> tab until I realized that the shortcut that installed itself on my desktop was for the SpyBot "easy mode" only. I've switched that out now. What a fantastic little free app. It will even let me tick off a check-box to disable an app, then restart, to see if it's needed before I completely remove it. Better yet, it seems to have a database that will tell you exactly what most files are and whether they're essential. And that's in addition to all the other things it has, like the Secure Shredder, a list of BHOs, etc., etc.

Thanks again!

 

[monzie]

Your welcome......and I bet you aren't alone in not realising just how useful Spybot is.