Startup order question!

I believe I've seen freeware that can be used to arrange the order in which programs start. If that is the case or if it can even just be edited with windows, what should have first priority, the firewall or anti-virus? Any links? Thank You!

 

Are you looking for a program like Startup Delayer?

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/startdelay.html

 

Exactly, thank you! I'll download and install this after work tonight. Now I just need to determine whether to set the firewall or anti-v to load first.

 

I'd suggest loading the firewall first. Some malware runs at a services level and can gain internet access before windows even finishes loading. The earlier a firewall loads, the better.

There's little to be gained by starting an AV any earlier than normal. PCs don't get infected during bootup. The only way malicious code would get into a system during startup was if it was being installed by already existing malware that also starts up early.
Rick

 

herbalist touched on something I was thinking about...

I would urge caution on tweaking when services are involved. Unless one has a good understanding of how they interact and depend on each other, a user could end up with a PC that is pretty messed up.

IMO, the items located in the startup tab of msconfig would be the only items I'd consider tinkering with...

 

I've seen this type of software. It's funny, they roughly work by installing themselves as the first to load, then assigns the other processes to run in the order you put them. Essentially, you're adding another process to startup. Best way is to not use them.

 

Hi, folks: I do find that this type of app does help startup-booting process more smoothly and orderly. You will notice those low-level apps not fighting one another to startup. Space them apart by few more seconds will ease up some traffic congestion problems. The end result , you save significant time by doing this.

 

I installed startup delayer quite some time ago. It's still installed but I'm not using it. From a security standpoint, there's not much to be gained from this. It could be useful if you have startup problems from too many things loading at once. IMO, that kind of problem is better fixed by getting rid of some of the entries.

You might also check out Mike Lin's startup control panel applet. Instead of specifying delays, it lets you choose what autostart location you want to use for different apps. It also allows you to disable startup items individually without losing the entries. It's quite useful for sorting thru startup problems.
Rick

 

For in-depth control of start-up sequencing, conditional start-up, etc, I use & recommend X-ecutor. Free for private use.