Is this true?

Someone once told me to go to START, RUN, MSCONFIG, STARTUP and click on Disable All. That then when I started my computer that it would ask me to okay what entries was needed in StartUp. I never did this because I was afraid that I might disable an entry I really needed. Just trying to find out if what I was told was correct. All replies are appreciated and I will thank you in advance.

John

 

Whoever told you that wants their head examining!

Yes - there are certain start up entries which are installed by some apps which can be disabled at start up but you need to know which ones are safe to disable. Disabling all will more than likely cause problems not only with certain apps but with Windows itself.

If you're not sure then leave them enabled and leave them alone.

 

In XP, the only thing that needs to start is the security applications ( AV... ). Everything else is an option only you can decide.

AV is all I have and it's been that way for years

 

Me too - just Sandboxie and no other entries checked.

philby

 

After a fresh install of Windows, with Java,media players,etc,there are always a lot of things to disable.
They leave their unchecked entries behind in the msconfig dialog box,
and just look messy.
MSConfigCleanup is a small utility that allows you to remove these
empty entries,and neaten things up.
You can find it at major Geeks and Softpedia.
It is free.

 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\MSConfig\startupreg

Or you could kill the unchecked entries manually from the above key.

philby

 

That is certainly better,as it avoids adding a program
you will so seldom need.

 

For XP I prefer this one
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml
I like the ability to also create startup entries from running processes, among other things. I put a context menu for this in 'My Computer' so it is easy to start. I never use msconfig or the like.

Sul.

 

Personally I would have to agree with Ade 1 in most cases. Perhaps if you are an uber-geek you can do something like this but for most its a very bad idea. I tend to follow the advice of Black Viper and disable anything he indicates as safe unless I know I will need it. Otherwise I leave it alone.

Black Vipers website can be found at http://www.blackviper.com/