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#1
February 21, 2012, 02:26:49 AM
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Cleaning up the startup items
You know, I was feeling that the computer starts up awfully slow these days. So I decided to get started in disabling unneeded startup services and programs. Hmm...
Let's see... we're beginning with this:  94 processes including Task Manager, with 40% of the memory taken up. Hmm... 40% of 4GB is about slightly less than 2GB, which is a lot. So I decided to fire up the trusty MSCONFIG, a.k.a. System Configuration. The first time, I disabled everything that can be disabled, no prisoners taken, no questions asked. I reboot, and I was greeted with a really classic-looking interface... and 15 processes. That few processes. But the system runs really strange, even though it's fast, I pretty much only have Windows and the graphics driver loaded. Most stuff won't work properly, and audio services are not loaded at all. I revisited System Configuration immediately, and this time I left Microsoft services alone. Another reboot is in order. 49 processes. Still not bad for Windows 7, huh? And the system is fully usable in this way, and it starts up a lot faster - I don't have to wait as much on the desktop before all loading activity stops. But I lack protection and full audio hardware support, so I decided to add back in MSE and Realtek Audio Manager or something. 52 processes ain't bad, huh?  Remember, kids: Always check whether you need that startup program or service! |
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#2
February 21, 2012, 11:15:56 AM
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Windows Audio and Windows Audio Endpoint Builder need to be reenabled. The Windows Themes and Desktop Window Manager services need to be reenabled in order to get Windows Aero back. Without Windows Aero, window rendering is handled by the CPU instead of the GPU and you end up with LESS performance. Please reenable Windows Management and Instrumentation if you've disabled it. The negative impact won't be obvious at first, but it's there.
My system has 8GB RAM and about as much % physical memory and idle CPU used and 90+ running processes too. But I DID disable a handful of startup entries and processes. They total perhaps 10. Do NOT go around disabling everything not immediately needed. I learnt this the hard way. Some services may appear useless, but at some point a program or windows update will want to make use of it. WHEN IT WILL FAIL TO DO SO, YOU ARE OFTEN PRESENTED WITH A CRYPTICAL PROBLEM, AND SOME FAILURES MAY LEAVE INCOMPLETE UPDATES. You may see odd error messages, missing features, grayed items, and failing installs or updates, and most of the time you'll get either no hints at all or really odd errors or behaveior(here's a simple example: disabling Windows Management and Instrumentation likely stopped your Windows Experience Index score and license info from showing in System Properties, or disabling Print Spooler will cause Word to crash when going to the options page which configures printing, again, with no explanation). UNLESS your processes are using a lot of idle CPU or RAM, disabling them will do NOTHING to speed up RUNNING PERFORMANCE. Yes they can and will speed up some STARTUP performance, but the cost of not having them run may be too great. Here is a list of what I disabled on my machine. I strongly recommend you leave everything else alone. And yes even this list is biased. I disabled HomeGroup and IP Helper because I don't have an IPv6 router. Average users that might depend on the feature will see it's suddenly disappeared and get NO explanation.  Startup entries are the safest thing to disable. Stop any scheduling, listener, quickstart, updater, or tray agent entries that you know isn't needed. For example, RealPlayer puts a scheduler and updater in startup, and Adobe puts a Speed Launcher and another useless thing I forgot. Last edited by Searinox; February 21, 2012 at 11:30:23 AM. |
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#3
February 21, 2012, 02:46:08 PM
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Hehe. I already remarked all Windows service, in case you haven't read the middle part. And now I have Aero running. I think it starts up waaaaaaaaay faster than before simply because there isn't much to load this time around.
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#4
February 21, 2012, 08:29:58 PM
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Mine takes around 6 minutes from POST til the last icon appears into the tray. XD But I'm okay with it. My machine sometimes doesn't reboot for weeks.
Last edited by Searinox; February 21, 2012 at 08:31:02 PM. |
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#5
February 23, 2012, 05:10:54 AM
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Now it's complete in around 50 seconds. |
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#6
February 23, 2012, 11:51:38 AM
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#7
February 23, 2012, 06:46:46 PM
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 None of my computers lasted at good performance for over 5 years. Most of them are dead by that point, but this desktop might become a serious contender. 3 years and still going strong (and meets/exceeds minspec of latest games, to boot!) |
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#8
May 30, 2012, 02:07:38 AM
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Another example of how bad service tweaking can be. My router doesn't support ipv6 although my ISP does, and world ipv6 day is close anyway, so I decided to activate one of the transition technologies - teredo tunneling. I spent HOURS trying to figure out why the heck, despite everything done as supposed to, my tunnel wasn't working. Turns out the IP Helper Service I disabled likely over 2 years ago after installing Windows was the culprit. I was given no clear errors or indication of that. More than 2 years after disabling it, the service finally got back at me. So take great care at what you disable.
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#9
July 30, 2012, 10:05:01 PM
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Semi-bump but i'm just scouring through the tech board cause I can.
If you have a computer you can upgrade easily and really want it to load EVERYTHING up faster, I cannot recommend anything more than sinking some money into a solid state drive. I have my OS running on a 120 GB one and oh my god is it fast. On my laptop it takes probably over 5 minutes from power button to everything fully running, but from pressing the power button on my desktop to everything loaded up probably takes less than a minute in total. The four Windows 7 lights even go away and the password screen loads up before they can all meet in the middle and form the Windows logo it's so fast! |
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#10
July 31, 2012, 01:57:08 AM
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