Discuss Detroit » Archives - Connections II » Computer Q: msconfig « Previous Next »
Top of pageBottom of page

Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936

Post Number: 832
Registered: 01-2005
Posted on Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 9:11 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Jeez, my computer has been acting a little funny lately, so I booted up "msconfig" to see what was getting booted up on startup, and crap, I've got about three dozen items checkmarked. As usual, I have no idea what most of them are. Anybody have any advice on the ones that MUST be on that list at startup (before I start deleting!)????
Top of pageBottom of page

Ddaydave
Member
Username: Ddaydave

Post Number: 432
Registered: 04-2005
Posted on Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 9:43 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I delete them all except my antivirus and a couple of others I want to run at startup ..did all those programs ask if they wanted to be added ...no and most will add themselfs again there just wasting memory and making your computer slower to boot up .
sometimes I do a google search to see what they really are ..here are 2 useful programs I found to monitor that the first one is very small http://www.mlin.net/StartupMon itor.shtml and the second one is winpatrol http://www.winpatrol.com/ nothing gets by my winpatrol even new viruses not yet detected by my antivirus. http://www.download.com/WinPat rol/3003-8022_4-10564061.html
Top of pageBottom of page

Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936

Post Number: 833
Registered: 01-2005
Posted on Sunday, October 01, 2006 - 12:30 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thanks a bundle, Dave....I'll give them a try. Much appreciated.
Top of pageBottom of page

Livernoisyard
Member
Username: Livernoisyard

Post Number: 1531
Registered: 10-2004
Posted on Tuesday, October 03, 2006 - 7:39 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Look into the services too in msconfig. If you do not network, kill those. There are others that suck CPU cycles/RAM.
Top of pageBottom of page

Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936

Post Number: 836
Registered: 01-2005
Posted on Wednesday, October 04, 2006 - 12:30 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Livernoisyard, I have three "services" in my msconfig. I unchecked them, then re-booted. When I'm back up, damn, those "services" have re-checked themselves. Any hints on how to kill them for good?

I'm not computer illiterate, but once in a while I hit a stumper. :-)
Top of pageBottom of page

Krawlspace
Member
Username: Krawlspace

Post Number: 273
Registered: 04-2004
Posted on Thursday, October 05, 2006 - 8:22 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

A couple suggestions:

If you are curious about any items launching on boot, simply Google the file names msconfig displays. Many times you will find they are add-ons from multimedia programs, printer software, and the like, or sometimes they are indeed malware.

To be sure what is going on I suggest a very small but powerful tool called HijackThis.
You can find the free download for it at bleepingcomputer.com.
You run a quick scan and it will detail all running background processes hidden or not. You can try to weed out the troublemakers yourself or you can post a log file the scan provides back to bleepingcomputer for a professional analysis usually within 24-48 hours. Those guys have helped me flush out dozens of my friends computers which had slowed to a crawl.
Top of pageBottom of page

East_detroit
Member
Username: East_detroit

Post Number: 767
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Friday, October 06, 2006 - 5:52 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Get a Mac.
Top of pageBottom of page

Bobj
Member
Username: Bobj

Post Number: 1170
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Friday, October 06, 2006 - 9:12 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I went through that whole thing with ms config and unchecking things only to find them back very soon.

I took my computer to a computer fix it guy and that helped for awhile - but it all came back and I ended up with a new computer.
Top of pageBottom of page

Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936

Post Number: 840
Registered: 01-2005
Posted on Friday, October 06, 2006 - 12:19 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Bobj, I think that's what I'll be looking at; this old Compaq is showing its age anyway.

Now to try to find a tower with a floppy A drive. They just don't make 'em any more. If I can't find one, I'll have to buy a flash drive to transfer files, I guess.
Top of pageBottom of page

Jimaz
Member
Username: Jimaz

Post Number: 725
Registered: 12-2005
Posted on Friday, October 06, 2006 - 12:24 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Ray1936, look for a portable USB diskette drive. They're very handy.
Top of pageBottom of page

Pam
Member
Username: Pam

Post Number: 536
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Friday, October 06, 2006 - 12:25 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


quote:

Now to try to find a tower with a floppy A drive. They just don't make 'em any more. If I can't find one, I'll have to buy a flash drive to transfer files, I guess.




Dell sells a floppy A drive you can get as a plug in accesory. (At least they did as of 2 years ago when I got my computer from them)
Top of pageBottom of page

Bobj
Member
Username: Bobj

Post Number: 1171
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Friday, October 06, 2006 - 3:11 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Ray,

I had an old Compaq with Millenium as the operating system. The IT guys where I work told me that system was prone to problems like that.
Top of pageBottom of page

Krawlspace
Member
Username: Krawlspace

Post Number: 274
Registered: 04-2004
Posted on Saturday, October 07, 2006 - 9:58 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

You can pick up a floppy drive at Best Buy for $25.
It comes with a 6 inch drive bay chassis which allows you to easily install it into a standard expansion slot on the front of the PC. (where you would expect a CD or DVD drive to go) While new computer builders save some pennies by not adding the drive, the motherboards still have the cable port for the floppy drive. It's really just a matter of plugging it in. No drivers or software needed. I build systems as a side job and have converted several off the shelf models this way.

Before you go and buy a new system however, you should see if there are some components that you could upgrade instead. If it is less than 4 years old and is running XP, you could save a bundle. If your system is slow, adding or replacing a stick of RAM could do wonders. Also, if you use graphic heavy apps, are you using the on-board video of the motherboard or do you have a separate video card? If you have a card, how fast is it? Lastly, backing up all your critical data and performing a reformat and reinstall will help smooth things out as well. As you said it is a Compaq PC you probably don't have a separate XP disk, but a Compaq System Restore disk. This disk restores your PC to it's original state when you bought it. Down side is you would have to reinstall all your added programs and Windows updates. There is a small program I use called Installed Program Printer which gives a print out of all programs currently installed on your PC to use as a road map after a reformat. While these steps do take time, they could save you a bundle if you are on a budget.

Again, as I do this kind of work as a side job, I would be happy to take a look at your system, or give you any recommendations you may need. You can email me here.
Top of pageBottom of page

Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936

Post Number: 844
Registered: 01-2005
Posted on Saturday, October 07, 2006 - 11:46 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Krawlspace, thanks a bundle. My computer is in my den in Henderson, NV. Need directions to get here???

(Just kidding....thanks for that kind offer anyway, as well as the hints and tips.)

BTW, running near normal now after I got an adware seeker and booted a ton of junk.
Top of pageBottom of page

Livernoisyard
Member
Username: Livernoisyard

Post Number: 1576
Registered: 10-2004
Posted on Monday, October 09, 2006 - 7:46 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Which apps or services keep rechecking themselves? I noticed that Real Audio used to be "good" at that. Older versions of RA would even attempt to turn off or uninstall their competitors until they agreed to halt those "features."
Top of pageBottom of page

Ddaydave
Member
Username: Ddaydave

Post Number: 434
Registered: 04-2005
Posted on Monday, October 09, 2006 - 8:19 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

instead of real media player I use real alteranative http://www.free-codecs.com/dow nload/Real_Alternative.htm its lower on the resoures and doesn`t add itself the the start up. I don`t use anything that does except my ant-virus ... instead of yahoo, aim, msn messenger I use gaim its kind of like trillain but open source and free
Top of pageBottom of page

Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936

Post Number: 847
Registered: 01-2005
Posted on Monday, October 09, 2006 - 10:07 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Well, those three "services" listed at start-up are no longer there, Livernoisyard. Since I downloaded and ran a spyware program and deleted a bunch of s**t, looks like they disappeared.

Ddaydave, I got rid of real player and am just using the windows media player. Works real fine for the little bit of stuff I use.
Top of pageBottom of page

Livernoisyard
Member
Username: Livernoisyard

Post Number: 1585
Registered: 10-2004
Posted on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 - 6:58 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Some of that spyware can really slow down your system. You might want to clean your registry and get rid of a lot of deadwood. There are some apps which have a thirty-day evaluation period, so it won't cost anything.

Winamp (also free in its basic form)is my default audio system. But I have others.

Add Your Message Here
Posting is currently disabled in this topic. Contact your discussion moderator for more information.