There are lots of boot-up programs--Soluto, Argus, etc. What's the best?

Argus Boot Accelerator, Startup Control Panel, Soluto,
Startup Delayer, Boot Log XP, Quick StartUp, StartUpLite, Starter, Autostart and Process Viewer, WhatInStartup and others no doubt--a lot to choose from. I'm open to getting several if they're worth having.

I have a horrendously protracted startup, and sometimes the startup fails--a freeze. I hope maybe I could get some improvement in performance even after the startup.

Windows XP
Home Edition
Version 2002
32-bit
Service Pack 3

Dell DIMENSION DIM2400
Intel(R)
Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.66GHz
2.66 Ghz. 2.00 GB of RAM
Hard Drive Size 111.72 GB
Free Space 35.0 GB

 

I don't know any of the programs you listed.

I myself use CCleaner to control my startup list; it's very easy to disable or remove any of the startup items.

 

I typically use Startup Control Panel Stand Alone version with Windows XP.

If you really want to get down to the nitty-gritty, Microsoft Autoruns is a great tool.
You should just disable an item first rather than deleting it.

Be careful with what you do and make backups before making any changes - System Restore Point, partition image and/or registry
backup.

 

conceptualclarity...

I tried Argus, Start Delayer, and Quick StartUp. The free versions of these don't give one the ability to include system processes in the boot order, so maybe it's a little bit skewed here, but I found that I ended up a little worse for the experience of trying these than I was before.

I wanted to delay the startup of SmartDefrag2, because it runs a defrag on boot sometimes with no delay. I don't mind it running on boot, but not right in the middle of the boot sequence! Anyway, SD2 is a little quirky as I am finding is not unusual for Iobit software and now the actual interface for the defragger opens on boot. I've tried all the settings in SD2 to fix the problem with no result, so I think I will be looking for a new "silent" defragger if I can find one.

There seemed to be a consistent thread with using these boot manipulators. The idea is good enough, but each one of the ones I used made unwanted changes to the Startup folder (the one with the shortcut on the start menu). Wouldn't recommend any of these as a solution to a bloated startup.

I guess there isn't a shortcut to just making tough decisions on which programs to keep and which to remove if there are too many on a PC. It can be difficult, and this is true of decisions with what to start up, also. Again, startup manipulation seems like a good idea...wish one of these programs stepped out from the others.

BTW, I, like pwillener use CCleaner to adjust the startup routine. It's easy to use and it's a very solid function of CCleaner for me...

 

What I most clearly recollect from my XP days is that no matter how good your housekeeping is it just gets progressively slower and slower, and the only really effective way out of it is the dreaded reinstall. Pita I know but the transformation makes it worthwhile.

 

Judging from the topic of your more recent thread, you are still working on this problem.

I want to suggest this BleepingComputer resource.
How To Use The Startup Database

 

The fact that you've only got about 31% free space left on your hard drive doesn't help matters much either.

But, you might also try Auslogics Disk Defrag. setting the algorithm for moving system files to the beginning of the disk. Then run a full optimization. It made a difference in my XP boot up time.