Windows 9x - Startup Manager
- — 08 April, 2001 15:33
Most people know that the fewer programs you have running in the background, the better performance and less trouble your system will give you.
Some programs take the initiative when you install them and proceed to make themselves run every time your operating system is booted. Have a look in the tray area of your Taskbar (near the clock) to see how many program icons have taken residence in memory on your system. But that's not all - press once to see how many more have loaded.
How do you get rid of those unwanted background applications? Windows 98 users should already know about the wonderful utility called msconfig that comes with the operating system. This handy utility allows you to select or deselect items that automatically start when Windows starts - and it gives you way more control than just removing shortcuts from the StartUp folder.
Windows 95 users, though, have it a little tougher in this regard. There is no easy way to stop unwanted programs from running at startup. Fortunately, there is a freeware program that will give you the ability to take control of the situation.
Startup Manager allows you to view all programs that load up at boot time and gives you the opportunity to disable them. It has an easy-to-use interface and even allows you to make changes by simply using the right-click menu, as shown in the picture above. It is available on this month's cover CD, and the author's Web site is at www.delphifreestuff.com.
