HOW TO OPTIMISE YOUR SYSTEM WITH MSCONFIG

One of the most common problems that Windows users face is conflicts and system resource problems caused by to many programs automatically loading at boot-up.

It has become a particularly popular programming practice to have ones program tell windows to load it automatically at boot. The problem with this practice is that Windows will eventually run out of resource space and start slowing down. You will often find these auto loading programs also cause Windows to crash and cause errors.

We often see systems with several apps running just to alert the user when an update is available or to remind you to register a program. These are just not required for normal operation. It's like mosquitoes, one is not much of a bother but 100's is a problem and 1000's can be a life or death problem.

The Startup group is also a popular place for spyware and malware to hide.

Microsoft has provided a tool in Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows XP to help you take control of the programs being loaded at boot. The program is called MSCONFIG. To load the MSCONFIG program click on the Start Button and select Run. In the dialogue box, type in MSCONFIG. (Click to see image #1)



This will load the MSCONFIG application. Select the Startup Tab (Click to see image #2). You will now see a window much like the one shown below.

Each line in the windows represents a program that is loading at boot up. The check box to the right of each line is the method that we use to load or not load each of these program lines. Quite simply: if the check box has a check in it, the line will load at boot. If the check box is empty the line will not load at boot. Should you uncheck a line and then find out after the fact that you indeed do want that line to execute at boot up, all you have to do is go back and re-check the box and the next time you boot your computer the associated line will load. That's all there is to it. Even if every line is unchecked, Windows will still load and operate.

For Windows 98 a useful tool to check the amount of resources after boot is the Windows Device Manager. To find the Device Manager click on the Start Button, move to Settings, over to Control Panel and click. This will open the Control Panel. From here double click on the SYSTEM icon and then select the PERFORMANCE tab. (Click to see image #3) Check out the line title System Resources. At boot up a reading of between 85% and 95 % is good. Below 75% would be undesirable.

For Windows XP the tool we use to get an idea of how much Windows resources are being used at boot-up is the Windows Taskmanager > Performance Tab. (Click to see image #4). What we like to see here is low 200's or better. Probably the biggest culprits are virus protection programs and security suites. Often these programs will push you well over 300 or worse. The higher the number the slower the system will respond.

It is worth noting that Windows has a finite amount of memory allocated for System Resources. Simply adding memory will not add to the System Resource space.