Only for the technically inclined, Microsoft’s Autoruns is the best way to ferret them all out so you can decide which you want to allow to run and which to stop. And there are plenty of other services and programs you run that you don’t really need. A surprising number of programs invisibly run system updaters, which constantly look for updates to software you’re running, without telling you. One reason that your aging system gets sluggish is that as you install programs and use your PC over time, more and more services and programs end up running in the background without your knowing it. Again, the result is a smoother-running PC. Examine them all, decide which are unnecessary and disable any you don’t need. There’s a lot more to this program, including showing all the services that are running on your PC, displaying all of your ActiveX controls and Internet Explorer helper programs, and showing your scheduled tasks. Later on, when you need the programs, they’ll already be running in the background for you. Why do that? Because you might not need those programs right away, and by delaying their start, Windows will start up more quickly. It lets you tell some programs not to launch when Windows boots, and instead delay their launch for up to an hour. The Delayed Start feature is especially nifty. You’ll get a PC that’s zippier starting up - and potentially zippier running as well, because if the programs aren’t running in the background, you should have more memory and CPU power available. Select each program you don’t want to run at start-up and click the Disable button. Run it, and it displays a detailed list of all the programs that start when you boot your PC, including the developer, the file name and much more. This freebie from BillP Studios helps you stop unnecessary programs from running on start-up, and in doing so, speeds up your PC. Two of the following downloads help you get a handle on sneaky apps, and a third keeps the rest of them properly patched. Unpatched software can also cause problems. For even more advice, see How to make Windows XP last for the next seven years.Ī big cause of PC slowdowns is software that runs in the background or at start-up, often without your knowledge. Editor’s note: Got an XP machine? All the software in this roundup is XP-compatible.
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