The following information is pulled straight from our guide. This chapter is only a tiny piece of the wealth of information contained within, but it serves as a good example of how we explain information. This chapter will speed up boot times in Windows XP and Windows Vista and help free up computer resources (i.e. memory).

This chapter may reference other chapters and those chapters are available in the full version of the guide. Each section of the guide is broken down into two subsections: Windows XP and Windows Vista. Choose the appropriate section based on what version of Windows you have.

Chapter 5 - The Startup Folder

Overview:

The startup folder is a folder just like any other folder in your list of programs.  However, any item in this folder will start automatically when your computer starts.  How do items get into the startup folder? Unfortunately when a program is installed, it sometimes puts a reference to itself in this folder. Hence, when your computer loads up, the program loads up as well, even if you had no intention of using that program at that particular time.

Most of the icons that are seen down by where the time is, are a direct result of this folder starting programs automatically. The drawback is that these programs constantly using valuable computer resources (i.e. memory). The idea behind removing programs from the startup folder is that they will not load when your computer loads and they will not bog down the computer. 

It is our belief that if you are going to use a program, you will start that program when you need it.    The more programs that load when the computer starts, the slower your computer will be. It's that simple. Removing programs from the startup folder does not remove the program from your computer.  It just stops the program from loading when the computer starts.

The process for removing programs from the startup folder in Windows XP is different from removing programs in the startup folder in Windows Vista. Please choose your operating system to continue: