Too Many Startup Programs!
Posted: January 5th, 2009, 11:55 am
One thing that's been driving me nuts lately while fixing other people's PCs is the insane number of Windows startup programs that I commonly see. A lot of the common (unnecessary) startup programs that I see are:
Google Updater
iTunes Help
Apple Quick Time Updater
Adobe Speed Launcher
Real Networks Updater
AOL
AIM Launcher
MSN Launcher
Yahoo Messenger Launcher
Dell Support Help
MusicMatch Jukebox
Java Update
OpenOffice.org Starter
Daum Messenger
Come on people, do you really need all those programs to start up and run in the background? It's no wonder some people say their computer is slow or starts up slow (even high-end PCs); you've got too many unnecessary programs launching at startup! When I clear out these unnecessary startup programs for people, most notice that their PC is running/starting up much faster.
Updater programs really don't need to be running all the time, since it Speed launchers are kind of a gimmick, as while the program in question may (or may not?) launch faster, they slow down other processes that are running. As for messengers, is it really that hard to launch them manually instead of having all of them startup at once?
The software developers are largely at fault as well, for being lazy and making many of their shoddily developed updater programs to start when Windows launches. Updates should only be checked when the software in question (i.e. iTunes, Adobe Reader) is actually running and when YOU ACTUALLY WANT THEM TO UPDATE, instead of checking for updates 24/7.
My solution to the problem is to use something like CCleaner (the "C" meaning "Crap") and check Tools > Startup to see all the programs that are launching all at once. The only startup programs that should be there are: Internet security software, hardware software programs (i.e. Mice, printer, sound card trays, graphic card programs), and most importantly, software that you WANT/NEED TO STARTUP AT LAUNCH.
Trust me, if you clean out unneccessary startup programs, your PC will run a bit faster.
Google Updater
iTunes Help
Apple Quick Time Updater
Adobe Speed Launcher
Real Networks Updater
AOL
AIM Launcher
MSN Launcher
Yahoo Messenger Launcher
Dell Support Help
MusicMatch Jukebox
Java Update
OpenOffice.org Starter
Daum Messenger
Come on people, do you really need all those programs to start up and run in the background? It's no wonder some people say their computer is slow or starts up slow (even high-end PCs); you've got too many unnecessary programs launching at startup! When I clear out these unnecessary startup programs for people, most notice that their PC is running/starting up much faster.
Updater programs really don't need to be running all the time, since it Speed launchers are kind of a gimmick, as while the program in question may (or may not?) launch faster, they slow down other processes that are running. As for messengers, is it really that hard to launch them manually instead of having all of them startup at once?
The software developers are largely at fault as well, for being lazy and making many of their shoddily developed updater programs to start when Windows launches. Updates should only be checked when the software in question (i.e. iTunes, Adobe Reader) is actually running and when YOU ACTUALLY WANT THEM TO UPDATE, instead of checking for updates 24/7.
My solution to the problem is to use something like CCleaner (the "C" meaning "Crap") and check Tools > Startup to see all the programs that are launching all at once. The only startup programs that should be there are: Internet security software, hardware software programs (i.e. Mice, printer, sound card trays, graphic card programs), and most importantly, software that you WANT/NEED TO STARTUP AT LAUNCH.
Trust me, if you clean out unneccessary startup programs, your PC will run a bit faster.