I Just Bought A New Computer With XP On It And Need To Know The Bare Essencials For Start Up?

Question

Please if you are a tech and could tell me what I need and don't need in the startup for msconfig ,just the bare bones of what I need that are required of xp to run please let me know.Also I bought the dell 9300 and there are many programs that i am sure I don't need and or will use.If you have bought a dell and there are extras that you know that exist on the machine i would appreciate you telling me what can be uninstalled .I am an old man and know that things run better on computers with little or no extras,I would like to have as many replies is I can so that I can establish and overall opinion.I thank you in advance you are very kind

Answer 1

As for the startup tab....when you first install windows, there wouldn't be anything checked off in the startup tab. However, you may actually want some processes to lauch. If you're using an anti-virus for example, there would be a could processes associated with that. Or, if you have other utilities which control a peripheral device such as a scanner or fax.

Hard to tell what specific items you personally might want to eliminate but windows will be able to run regardless of what you uncheck.

As for the services tab....that's a little trickier. You don't necessisarily use all of them all the time but you may need them later on. A good example would be the COM+ event system. You're system will run even if it is disabled but you would run into problems using an anti-virus program. A good idea is to run through the list one by one and try to identify what service they provide. If you have indexing turned off...then feel free to disable that in the startup. Do the same for anything else you're confident you don't need. If you can't figure one out...google it and see what you come up with.

Remember, you're not actualy deleting any services so if you run into a snag you can always reset a process to load again.

Another basic maintenance check is to run through the options of programs which you install. Most software tends to launch itself on login by default but you can usually uncheck that in the prefrences menu.

Answer 2

Beware! I am moving and can't find the exact paperwork on "Starting UP XP for the FIRST time on a computer" but it warns against high speed start-up (dsl/cable) without first installing an anti-virus program. Dial-up is OK. There is a worm that comes thru the OE just by opening it. Using a wireless router is OK for high speed access is OK. Just don't use a hard-wire type high speed connection (Ethernet or cable or USB). Most computers come with at least a free trial of some type of anti-virus program so if you start up windows and have your network configured, make sure the anti-virus program is running.

Then in msconfig you can go to your start-up and eliminate everything except the anti-virus program. (someone already covered that in their answer more completely).

Then as you explore the different programs you want to use and see what their start-ups consist of you can eliminate what is running and maybe slowing you down by accessing Task Manager.

I have a Dell Inspiron and 2Sony's with I bought right before the DUO processors came out and when I notice it slowing down, I just go to misconf and reset my restart to compensate for programs I played with but don't use as a rule. I'm not sure but I think it's the only way you can keep a lot of them from starting on start-up, unless they offer a preferences tab on the individual start up page.

Ram seems to make more of a difference in how fast and smoothly programs interface with each other. I have 1gig and suggest 2gigs of RAM to improve processing. Most new graphic programs need at least 1 gig.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

I have a 9300 and have just reinstalled Windows XP media edition with all the drivers (a clean install). I didn't find extraneous software and such on it. This is a very fast machine and before I added a virus checker it really booted up speedily. It is still quite fast however and as a techie who has had lots of computers I can put your mind at rest about the wasted resources -- it's fine the way it is.

Answer 4

Wipe out the entire startup tab in msconfig. Nothing in there will cause your pc harm, and if the program IS essential, windows will bypass your settings to work properly anyways. Also, if you go start-control panel-administrative tools-services, you can find on the web lists of these services you can stop and disable. I don't have the link right off, try yahoo search "windows xp services tweaking" and that should help. Many services take resources away from your pc but aren't at all necessary.

Answer 5

If the serial volume is on the area of the computer, bypass borrow a CD. Its the license volume no longer the CD that makes you criminal. to respond to your different question, for now i might want to maintain on with XP. surprisingly in the adventure that your device isn't more recent, would not have various memory on the video card, or various gadget memory. Any of those issues will make vista run reeeeaaaallllyyyyy sssssslowly.

Answer 6

Very little in the startup tab "needs" to be run other than your Antivirus program files or other security features. Here's a link to a searchable database of startup files with suggestions for disabling or enabling. refer to the KEY at the top of the page enter a file name in the search box to get an idea if you want it to run...
http://startup.networktechs.com/search.php