What start up applications should be running?

[Rain-shine]

My PC takes an AGE now to load up. I use ccleaner and defrag reguarly and have deleted loads of redundant files etc. On checking the applications running on startup i have 40! This seems like loads to me. Is there a definitive list of ones you should NOT remove as don't want to be playing about in this dangerous area incase i damage my pc.
:| thanks in advance Laura

 

[JohnW_NetPay]

thats a tough question... as pretty much every bit of hardware has a load of stuff that starts when windows loads up. And also the software virtual drive and so on have a fair few applications and then libraries that need to be loaded.

So it depends a lot on what software and hardware you have attached.. so therefore no.. no definitive list sorry

Whats the set up you have???

 

[Scalloway]

You could try this site. There are currently 26425 startup items in their database!

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/startups/

 

[Faevilangel]

in ccleaner you can remove the ones which shouldn't be running at the start (most programs want too for some reason).

tools > startup and highlight the black ones and you can disable them

Ideally you should only have 1/2 programs on start up which are security stuff such as your anti-virus.

Nothing else really needs to be run, including "updating" programs, which check for updates for their software (itunes is good for this). Just disable everything and you're good to go.

 

[JohnW_NetPay]

But remember things like but not excluding...

Camera
Printer
Java

Will all have software running in the background.. I am on a work machine at the moment and still have 30 background processes running.

 

[Rain-shine]

in ccleaner you can remove the ones which shouldn't be running at the start (most programs want too for some reason).

tools > startup and highlight the black ones and you can disable them

Ideally you should only have 1/2 programs on start up which are security stuff such as your anti-virus.

Nothing else really needs to be run, including "updating" programs, which check for updates for their software (itunes is good for this). Just disable everything and you're good to go.

I don't seem to have any "black ones". Does this mean that the ones that are currently running are essential?

 

[JohnW_NetPay]

Maybe not bad... probably not essential either... most if not all bloatware these days installs something that always runs regardless...

 

[amcordesign]

Several Startup programs are critical to running your computer - don't disable them unless you know for sure they're not necessary.

Here's how I check the Startup Programs Running on my computer:
Go to Start button
Click on Run
Type in msconfig
Hit Enter or OK

 

[Nord20]

I would go through them one by one and google each one - this will tell you what it is and you can then decide if you really need it on start up or not.

 

[CSHTech]

Generally, you'll see the obvious ones you can untick, such as toolbars, etc. but be aware that some update programs such as for Adobe Reader and Java are needed as they can be security problems if not updated. A lot of Manufacturer startups are bloatware but again, some are useful so Google them just in case.

Some startups are necessary for the system to run, so be extra careful if it is a Microsoft program. Similarly your antivirus and obvious ones that you need, should be left alone.

If you do run into problems, just re-enable each one the next time you boot and see if it fixes the issue. If you cannot get into Windows, just F8 whilst booting and re-enable that way.

Good luck!

 

[CD2 Solutions]

cutting down startup processes is a tricky process (no pun intended), but can make a big difference, especially when there are so many. the key is just to be careful. if our computer is critical, be extra careful, if its not critical, you can be slightly more cutthroat about it. above all else, check what the process is with google/similar before stopping it from starting, better to have a slightly slower system than a broken one.