Tech Tips – Disable Startup Programs


Tech Tips / Friday, February 10th, 2012

I’m not your average computer user. I don’t buy desktop computers in one piece that will work out of the box and I don’t buy a laptop without finding some way to customize it and make it better. I like to add more RAM and bigger hard drives. I like to boot Windows 7, Ubuntu, and Mac OS X all on the same hard drive. I like to reformat and reinstall repeatedly. I think it’s fun.

The first thing I do after I freshly install an operation system is to keep unwanted programs from starting up when I boot up my laptop. I do this because they slow down my boot up. Also, some of them our downright annoying (I’m looking at you, Windows Messenger and Skype). Want to be impatient with your computer as I am? Keep reading to find out how to boot only the basics.

The first steps you should take to disable the program from running at startup is to open the program and find the “Properties” or “Options” menu (or something similar). In here, try to find a check box which will allow you to control the program running at startup. After you do this and save your changes, reboot to see if it worked. If the program persists to run at startup, follow these directions.

To disable startup programs in Windows 7 and Vista: Open the Start Menu, type MSCONFIG and press Enter. Navigate to the “Startup” tab. Sort through the list and find your unwanted startup programs. Uncheck the box next to them. Press “OK” or “Apply” to save the changes. Reboot your computer.

To disable startup programs in Windows XP: Open the Start Menu, choose “Run…”. In the Run dialog box, type MSCONFIG and press Enter. Navigate to the “Startup” tab. Sort through the list and find your unwanted startup programs. Uncheck the box next to them. Press “OK” or “Apply” to save the changes. Reboot your computer.

To disable startup programs in Mac OS X: Open “System Preferences” (found in the Apple menu). In System Preferences, choose “Accounts”. In Accounts, press the “Login Items” button. You may need to disable the security lock before you can change things. To do this, click on the lock icon in the corner. Type your password into the pop-up box. Click to highlight the program you want to keep from starting up, and press the minus sign button beneath the list of programs. Reboot your computer.

To disable startup programs in Ubuntu: I will assume that you have updated your computer to the most recent version of Ubuntu to do this. Press the Windows Key to open the Application launcher. You can also press the Application Launcher button located on the top of the left side dock. Type “Startup Applications” and then press enter. Find the program in the list you’d like to remove, and uncheck its box.

I would like to point out that if you aren’t sure what something does, you should not disable it from the startup process. Disabling the wrong program can cause more problems and possibly make your computer unable to boot.

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