Too Many Startup Programs!

[Yoon]

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.

[Hadvi]

I have all those programs shut down XD, or I dont have them at all =P. makes my comp much faster and I mostly fix my computer myself. not that im a computer genius or something.

[ascot]

Wow, just MSN starting here. I used to have more start-up programmes on my old PC, but even with those... It's nothing comparing to the list Yoon wrote... I'd get annoyed with all the windows appearing all the time whenever I turn on the pc.

[Slayer]

i use both CC and Register mechanic to speed up my pc since they both do diffrent jobs
i also find defraggin works well for speed so i got this slow computer back to what it should be at

[Demon]

I've noticed the same, my friends' and especially dads comp has tons of starting programs. The first thing I do is tell them to get a program to remove the programs from startup.
The startup programs I have are firewall, anti-virus, windows sidebar and MSN, and my comp starts up so slow after choosing user and typing password. When I bought the comp around 8 months ago, it used to start up in max 5secs, now it takes 15secs or more.

[Ghost B3N]

wow you dont need all those programs @.@
you dont need all of those!!
and just to be sure. you dun need that manny things to start up!!!
some updates are ok i ques.

When i start my computer, i just have my virus scanner start, and look for updates.
some things look for updates updates (like java), and i have deamon tools start up cause i want it.

MSN and such, i just start those when i wana use em. Same with all other programs i use :p

[Yoon]

It's sad, I actually know people who buy a new computer every year, just because their computer is getting "slow", usually because they've acquired tons of startup programs from the shit they downloaded, along with picking up a few virus/trojans from unsafe web browsing. They could have either: 1.) do a cleanup their startup programs & virus/trojan removal or 2.) do a reformat. The sad reality of it is that they only use e-mail and surf the web and have no need for a "better PC."

Some people just need to know that computers need to be maintained for them to run optimally, just like cars do.