We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Wally Santana/Associated Press

Here's how to get rid of those annoying startup programs on your PC

Do you really need Skype starting up every time you turn on your computer?

NO MATTER WHAT computer you use, you will install programs. Some will be useful, some will have more specific uses and others will be used sporadically.

Some that you install will automatically startup on your computer and depending on your viewpoint, this will either be useful or become an annoyance.

If it’s the latter, then you can disable it. Go into Start, select search (or click on the search bar if it’s located there) and search for ‘System Configuration’ or ‘msconfig’.

In this, you can look at the different services that are running on your computer and disable them if you want (be very careful about this).

We’re not interested in that. Instead, click on ‘Startup’ subheading and you will be presented with all the services that start automatically when you turn your computer on.

plugins

Some of these you will find useful, others may be programs you installed but only rather use when you call on them.

The ones you don’t want, disable them and leave the ones that are essential or that you didn’t install in your computer’s lifetime (Microsoft Security Client in this example).

It’s a small change, but it will speed things up for you a little every time you start up. Or failing that, the disabled programs won’t annoy you any longer.

Read: Are you sure you know what your smartphone camera can really do?

Read: Photographer back in court over monkey selfie

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
28 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Conor Power
    Favourite Conor Power
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 7:05 PM

    Nice tip but out of date. Startup programs are controlled from the task manager these days.

    93
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Greg McGarry
    Favourite Greg McGarry
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 7:52 PM

    Biggest speed enhancement will be obtained by replacing your old Skool SATA hard drive with an SSD. The SATA is like an old cassette tape, it works using magnetism. An SSD is like a USB stick -a silicon chip. Your PC can read & write data to an SSD far faster than SATA.

    36
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Conor Power
    Favourite Conor Power
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 8:05 PM

    Once you go SSD you would NEVER go back to spinning drive.

    24
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Allen Nicholson
    Favourite Allen Nicholson
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 8:12 PM

    SATA is the interface between the IO and the storage medium. The SSD will still be bottlenecked at 6Gb/s which is still way faster than a spinning disk.

    Hard drive — ~105MB/s
    SSD — ~550MB/s

    22
    See 2 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Brian Casey
    Favourite Brian Casey
    Report
    Sep 27th 2015, 11:05 AM

    This might seem like a stupid question but how do I check to see which one I have on my laptop?

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Liam Nolan
    Favourite Liam Nolan
    Report
    Sep 27th 2015, 11:52 AM

    Click into my computer right-click on the hard-drive icon this should tell you the model of the hard drive When I changed my hard-drive to a SSD my boot time went from 2 minutes to 25 seconds

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Rodger 5
    Favourite Rodger 5
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 7:24 PM

    Windows 10 start up speed is amazing, I wouldn’t bother messing with it.

    26
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Duck Knight
    Favourite Duck Knight
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 7:29 PM

    Do you not realise that as you install programs, many start up automatically even though you may not be using them. Obviously, you should disable them from start up

    33
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute family guy
    Favourite family guy
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 7:56 PM

    Still have windows 7 is windows 10 worth it??

    21
    See 7 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Conor Power
    Favourite Conor Power
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 8:06 PM

    Windows 10 is awesome.

    26
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Specialist Design Co
    Favourite Specialist Design Co
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 8:15 PM

    Stick with 7, since installing 10 my laptop crashes constantly. It’s a brutal OS

    25
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dave Manning
    Favourite Dave Manning
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 8:50 PM

    1 word… Yes!! and I’m not saying that just cause it’s free

    14
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Sheila Larkin
    Favourite Sheila Larkin
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 9:17 PM

    Everyone I know reverted Windows 10.

    I’ve stuck with 7. But then again, I hate change…

    8
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute family guy
    Favourite family guy
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 10:52 PM

    Have a few business programs so don’t really think they’d work on Windows 10.

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Keigh-Jhöe Aonbheannach
    Favourite Keigh-Jhöe Aonbheannach
    Report
    Sep 27th 2015, 12:05 PM

    Nope, Windows 10 is basically the same as Windows 7. Instead of installing programs, you install desktop apps, and you can get apps from the Windows Store (like Android and Apple app stores).

    But just for everyday use, it’s really not worth it.

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Aging Lothario
    Favourite Aging Lothario
    Report
    Sep 28th 2015, 9:47 AM

    I have to admit I have also been amazed at the speed at which Windows 10 boots up, honestly 8.1 could take up to two minutes sometimes, while Windows 10 is at a login prompt in about 20 seconds.

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ken Moy
    Favourite Ken Moy
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 9:38 PM

    A friend who gets his movies and music from let’s say, ‘dubious means’ heard Windows 10 have spyware for this and are reporting people who illegally download. Anyone know if this is true?

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute TheDoctor
    Favourite TheDoctor
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 9:49 PM

    Some torrent sites have blocked windows 10 from accessing their stuff. So, yeah I’d say it’s a good bet it’s true.

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ken Moy
    Favourite Ken Moy
    Report
    Sep 27th 2015, 11:50 PM

    Cheers Doc.

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mad Mike
    Favourite Mad Mike
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 8:45 PM

    Just buy a Mac.

    14
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute The Dublin Cynic
    Favourite The Dublin Cynic
    Report
    Sep 27th 2015, 10:28 AM

    The missus loves to see LiveJasmine every time she turns on my laptop

    12
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Bob McShane
    Favourite Bob McShane
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 8:48 PM

    use lunux. also available in mint flavour.

    12
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Bob McShane
    Favourite Bob McShane
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 8:48 PM

    or Linux. Ahem.

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Aidan Humphries
    Favourite Aidan Humphries
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 8:25 PM

    Just buy a MacBook. Don’t know how anyone can use Windozzze anything.

    11
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dave Davis
    Favourite Dave Davis
    Report
    Sep 26th 2015, 9:16 PM

    Yea, we know you don’t.

    22
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Fifty Shades of Sé
    Favourite Fifty Shades of Sé
    Report
    Sep 27th 2015, 10:08 AM

    Not everyone wants to give Apple more money.

    5
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Aging Lothario
    Favourite Aging Lothario
    Report
    Sep 28th 2015, 9:47 AM

    I would, but it would probably involve having to take out a bank loan.

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Andrew Brennan
    Favourite Andrew Brennan
    Report
    Sep 27th 2015, 10:36 AM

    Just get Kingsoft PC Doctor. Cuts out all (or delays) the unnecessary startups and Services. My PC now up and running in 12 seconds. AutoRuns is also very handy for deleting the dross from Startup also does magic on the Shell.

    3
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds