Registry Question

I am using WeatherPulse to monitor Weather. For some reason, every time I start my PC two instances of WP start. One automatically closes, so it really doesn't result in a problem. But I am seeing this in the registry. Does this look right? Should there be these two almost identical keys? Should I delete one of these?

 

I'd remove WP, clean up the registry, and reload WP. If problem persists, then I'd try another software. It's normally best to auto load only essential applications (like AV and FW) during boot. This will greatly improve system reliability.

You can create a batch file to auto launch these non-essential applications after a successful boot.

Go to your car an turn on ALL bells and whistles (lights, blower, AC, radio, etc). Now shutdown the engine and restart the car. Note that these items are disabled while you crank the engine.

 

Yup! Either that, or simply uncheck the dupe in Msconfig > Startup

 

Thanks. But which one? Does it matter?

 

uncheck that one.

 

But how do I tell which one that is??

 

The reason one of them closes automatically is probably because it notices one process already running.

Simply uncheck either of the two, and you should be OK.

 

Well spotted, Derek; I must remind myself to read the fine print as well...

 

Thanks, DVK. I've never used HJT before, but it seems to work OK. I found the entry you noted above, checked the box, pressed "fix".

 

nod32_9 guest: I read your post the other day, and made a note to come back here this weekend when I had time to address it. You have a very good idea here that makes sense.

I'm going to try setting this up this weekend, although I must admit I'm not an expert at batch files. But I believe I can stumble my way through it.

Question for you (or any other authority on this issue). I assume I should start my firewall and AV normally. Looking through the list of items in my signature, are there any others that I should start normally, and not via a batch file?

Note: Obviously, some of these I don't start every time I start my pc, such as AdAware which is an on-demand scanner.

Thanks!

 

Yes, you should auto load the AV and FW. I don't see the need to run anything else during the critical boot cycle. You can disable non-essential proggies under MSCONFIG\STARTUP, SERVICES, and START\PROGRAMS\STARTUP. You may need to go into the properties and/or options tab of some programs to disable the auto launch feature.

Keep it short and sweet during PC boot. My WXP Pro partition uses 62MB of Peak Commit Charge (windows task manager\performance) after a clean boot. Physical RAM load is under 190MB 90% of the time. I auto load ZA Pro 4.5.594 and Avast Home email scanner (no full-time monitor).

You should also delete all items in your Prefetch folder (C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch) once a month. Reboot and windows will create a new NTOSBOOT-B00DFAAD.pf list. The Prefect folder will improve the PC boot time and launch time of some applications. If you're only interested in improving the boot time, then you can empty all items in Prefetch, reboot, and wait about 1 min for windows to load NTOSBOOT. Now go into SERVICES and set TASK SCHEDULER to MANUAL mode. This will lock the Prefetch folder in this state. Reboot PC. Note that some programs like NAV requires TASK SCHEDULER to run for proper update of the virus definition file.

 

Thanks again, nod32_9.

My main interest is to "improve system reliability", as you originally stated. In that case, shoule I worry about the prefetch folder? I assume deleting items in prefetch folder will not hurt anything?

 

There is no harm in deleting the contents of the Prefetch folder. System stability and performance will improve if you don't auto-load non-essential tasks. My system doesn't need Task Scheduler, so I set it to MANUAL mode. If you encounter problem in MANUAL mode, then change it to AUTO. The goal is to load ONLY the essential programs required for proper operation and security.

We know that W2K/WXP is a stable OS. The trick is to come up with a very small number of programs that will get along with each other, and run them only when necessary. It's much easier for the user to isolate a problem if there is only a small number of applications running in the background. Additionally, the system will have extra resources and CPU clock cycle to crunch numbers. Having too much UNUSED physical memory can hurt performance because windows needs to use more CPU clock cycles to manage the additional unused RAM.

You are a BETA tester each time you load a program. I have several good image files for backup. Until someone breaks down my primary defense (FW/AV), I see no need to further secure my OS.

Those with children should set up a dual boot system with TWO independent primary C partitions. The kids get to boot into a LIMITED USER account. You can always clean up windows by reloading a good image file.

 

Thanks, nod32_9.