First Laptop - start up progs

my mother just bought a Acer laptop its from the TravelMate 2420 series

the laptop gots 256 MB ram but looking to upgrade but not right now

the problem is the sloow start up and the multi progs starting up with the laptop, is there anyone that can advise in how to make startup faster and advise which programs don't need to start up with the laptop

- AcerFan

 

If you want to know more about what programs, processes and services that run at start up, you can use the freeware utility called Autoruns 8.53 which shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login, and shows you the entries in the order Windows processes them.

Autoruns is very useful because it goes way beyond the MSConfig utility bundled with Windows. The programs which Autoruns display include ones in your startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys. You can configure Autoruns to show other locations, including Explorer shell extensions, toolbars, browser helper objects, Winlogon notifications, as well as all "auto-start" processes and services.

Additionally, you can try using another freeware utility in order to change or regulate what starts and doesn't. It is called Startup Control Panel and it's a simple control panel applet that allows you to configure which programs run when your computer starts. I use this utility in order check to see if anything new has recently sneaked into my startup folder without notifying me; and then quickly disable these "boot-up pests!"

Although it is less comprehensive than Autoruns, Startup Control Panel is useful because it is much easier to use and like Autoruns, it is very small and won't burden or overwhelm any system – while it’s running. You just set it and forget it!

Another useful freeware utility called Startup-Mechanic 2.7 will scan your system for known data mining, advertising, and tracking components, and help you to disable these tracking components. Startup-Mechanic will also search for and remove junk utilities and obsolete programs running, which can also free up RAM and significantly increasing your system performance.

All of these utilities above are compatible with all versions of Windows Operating Systems and are available as freeware; meaning that they are "cost-free" and fully functional.

Good Luck!