Posted by Lisa/Tx on 11/29/07 12:47am
Msg #223509

Techie question: How do I select/deselect which programs

automatically launch every time that I start my computer? I am using Windows XP Pro. Thanks in advance for your help.

Reply by JK/TX on 11/29/07 1:32am
Msg #223515

I think you can go into your startup and select/deselect or go to the actually program and modifiy how it starts..... my kid had his "choice" programs doing that (my space, etc)

Reply by MichiganAl on 11/29/07 2:37am
Msg #223519

I don't have XP Pro, just XP. Should be the same.

Go to your start menu, select "run," type in "msconfig" and hit ok. Choose the "start" tab and you'll see everything that's starting up when your computer starts up. Check or uncheck anything you want to change. You'll be surprised how much junk is starting up that doesn't need to start (unchecking something doesn't mean it won't open when you need it).

Reply by Gerry_VT on 11/29/07 10:40am
Msg #223558

Re: I don't have XP Pro, just XP. Should be the same.

MichiganAl's suggestion is fine on XP if your account has administrator priviliges. If not, right-click start, then pick Explore. In the left pane, click on the "+" signs to expand your userid, then "Start Menu", then "Programs". Click on the "Startup" folder, and delete any programs you don't want from that folder.

Repeat the process, but this time do the "All users" account instead of your own.

OR, give the account administrator priviliges temporarily, use MichiganAl's approach, then restore the previous priviliges.

Reply by Gerry_VT on 11/29/07 1:23pm
Msg #223587

Further experiment

I found that with XP Pro, if I follow MichiganAl's method, the program that I don't want to start anymore is still listed in my registry, but the computer come up in a special mode that skips the items I unchecked. To really get rid of it I suggest the free CCleaner, available at www.ccleaner.com.

Reply by Ndwa on 11/29/07 1:38pm
Msg #223593

Try this

I've been using it for about 6 months. It's packed with everything you need to manage your computer.

http://www.glaryutilities.com/

Reply by Lisa/Tx on 11/30/07 1:02am
Msg #223703

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I am trying them

now to see which will work for me. Again, I really appreciate you taking the time to try and help me.