Programs that you may find running on your machine are often left there by startup programs.

You may see them when you go to Task manager, they will probably be listed in MSCONFIG.

Depending on what they are you may want to remove them. If you are unsure then leave them alone.

To remove them:

• you may have to edit the registry (generally HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/MICROSOFT/WINDOWS/CURRENTVERSION/RUN).
• They may be running from WIN.INI
• There may be a shortcut to the program in the STARTUP folder.
• If they are part of a virus then you may need to run a virus-scan
• If they are part of spyware then you may need to run ADAWARE/SPYBOT
• You may need to set windows settings or options in programs.

They slow your start-up time down, leave programs running on your machine which use up resources and can cause instability. Often they are not needed at all, sometimes it is better to run them when you need to rather than at every startup. Othertimes they are essential. Here is a list of the most common startups (this file is large (1.4mb) so it will take a while to fully open, then yo can search it by pressing CTRL-F). Here is the key for the startup-list

Key

• "Y" - Normally leave to run at start-up

• "N" - Not required - typically infrequently used tasks that can be started manually if necessary

• "U" - User's choice - depends whether a user deems it necessary

• "X" - Definitely not required - typically viruses, spyware, adware and "resource hogs"

• "?" - Unknown

 

This file was found at http://www.sysinfo.org/startupinfo.html, and the reason I am copying the information is that their web-site is often busy.

 

30/6/2004

These are the startups that I encounter , what they do, and if and how you can remove them...

 

Registry Name	File being run from registry	Msconfig Name	O/S Specific?	Description	How to Remove it.
n/a	n/a	ctfmon	x	Ctfmon.exe monitors the active windows and provides text input service support for speech recognition, handwriting recognition, keyboard, translation, and other alternative user input technologies. It comes from MS Office XP.	To uninstall the alternative user input feature, set the installation state to Not Available in Office XP Setup. Remove Alternative User Input Services from Text Services in Control Panel. Run Regsvr32 /U on the Msimtf.dll and Msctf.dll Files Run Regedit and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and remove ctfmon.exe.
Synchronization Manager	mobsync.exe /logon	mobsync	Win2K/XP	Microsoft Mobile Synchronization Manager. One annoying programme you will find running in W2K/XP is mobsync.exe. This is because it is set by default to synchronise your home page at log-on.	To stop this, run the programme "Synchronise" from your "Start/Programmes/Accessories Menu. Select setup, and uncheck the synchronisation options, then deselect the option to synchronise your home page. From explorer select Tools/Folder Options/Offline Files: deselect the "Enable Offline Files" option. delete the "Synchronization Manager" key from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/MICROSOFT/WINDOWS/CURRENTVERSION/RUN When you reboot you should find the programme is no longer running by default.
NAV Agent	\PROGRA~1\NORTON~1\navapw32.exe	navapw32	x	Nortons Antivirus	leave if you use Nortons Antivirus
?	?	nerocheck	x	Associated with "Nero Burning Rom" CD writing software. Constantly checks for driver issues	Remove it from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/MICROSOFT/WINDOWS/CURRENTVERSION/RUN and if you have problems then reinstall Nero.
EnsoniqMixer	\WINNT\system32\starter.exe	starter.exe	x	Ensoniq mixer is the replacement for the volume control that is installed with a Creative sound card.	leave if you have a Creative soundcard
TkBellExe	\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe" -osboot	realsched	x	Application Scheduler installed along with RealOne player.	Start RealOne Player Tools -> Preferences Automatic services in the Categories pane Uncheck the AutoUpdate option. Remove TkBellExe from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/MICROSOFT/WINDOWS/CURRENTVERSION/RUN Sometimes this does not work and the TkBellExe registry key is recreated/updated when RealOne is run - You may have to find and delete evntsvc.exe.
?	\Program Files\Zone Labs\ZoneAlarm\zlclient.exe	Zone Labs Security	x	ZoneAlarm Firewall	leave if you use ZoneAlarm. I run this from the STARTUP folder instead of having "Load ZoneAlarm at Startup" checked inside ZoneAlarm.