How to Change Startup Programs on Your Computer

Paste your parsed code here. Paste your parsed code here. Is your computer running more slowly than it used to? It may be because you have enabled too many startup programs, that is, programs that launch automatically when you start your computer. These programs can bog down your system resources, and removing them can free up space.

This article provides methods for users of Windows, Mac OS, and GNU/Linux.

Method of Windows 7

1.) Open up the Run dialog box by:
Opening the start menu and clicking "Run" or
Pressing the Windows Key and "R" at the same time.

2.) Type in msconfig in the text box.
Then click "OK" or press "Enter".
A dialog box will pop up with various tabs. By default, it's on the General tab.

3.) Click Startup.
Click on the "Startup" tab. This shows the different programs that start up when you turn on your computer.

4.) Disable programs.
Get to work disabling the programs that you don't want starting up automatically. Be careful not to disable anything important. Look up programs first if you are unsure.

5.) Click "OK" once you've finished disabling the automatic programs.
For example, if you don't want iTunes starting up automatically, just uncheck iTunes.exe.

6.) Check the Startup folder.
Be aware that startup programs are also stored in a folder called "Startup." Click on the start menu, go to "All Programs," and select "Startup." Chances are that there is nothing in there, but there could be some programs, so it's worth checking.
If you don't want any of those programs to start up, simply right-click the file(s) you don't want and select "Delete."

Method of Windows 8

1.) Open the task manager.
You can do this by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del or by searching for it using the search bar in your Charms menu.

2.) Click the Startup tab.
You will see a tab in the Task Manager window which says "Startup". Click it.

3.) Disable programs as necessary.
Be careful not to disable anything important. Look up programs first if you are unsure.
More options are also available if you right-click on the item.

4.) Add programs.
You can also add programs by adding shortcuts to the Startup folder on your computer. The address for the startup folder should look something like this: "C:\Users\Tuklu\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup". Just replace "Tuklu" with your user name for your PC.

Method of Mac OS X

1.) Go to your computer's dock and access "System Preferences."

2.) Click "Accounts" in the Menu.

3.) Click the "Login Items" tab.

4.) Click the item you want to remove and click the minus button.
If you want to add something, press the plus button and select the application.

Method of GNU/Linux

1.) Edit the scripts in /etc/init.d.
This directory contains a number of start/stop scripts for various services on your computer system.

2.) Use rcconf if you want software help.
This tool configures system services in connection with system runlevels. In other words, it will help you turn services on/off using the scripts in /etc/init.d.
If you're running the Ubuntu operating system, you can use the settings from here: System -> Preferences > Startup Applications.

Tips:

• Be sure to use common sense when disabling the programs. For example, if it's iTunes.exe, you can tell that that is related to iTunes. Just don't overestimate your common sense.


• Another totally free software toolbox is CCleaner, available from Majorgeeks.com or from the author at Piriform.com Software. On the Tools tab, you can stop startup programs from running (both ones in the Startup folder and ones starting from elsewhere), as well as uninstall unwanted programs.


• A free alternative to WinPatrol is Autoruns from the Sysinternals suite. It has the same and more features as Winpatrol and it is free. (Sysinternals is part of Microsoft.)


• If for some reason www.pcreview.co.uk/startup doesn't have what you're looking for, you can always try using a search engine to look for the information you need.

Warning: Be sure that you have a good idea of the process. Even though there is nothing in startup that your computer needs in order to run, you may temporarily lose access to some of your software if you are not careful.

Paste your parsed code here. Paste your parsed code here.