Start Up Menu cleaning!

[Jennie@ifish]

Hi there--
I am on the Tech Comittee for the Outdoor Writers of America newsletter.
I wrote this, and thought I'd get some feedback from all of you.
Jen

---
Windows Start up Menu
I complained to my son that my fairly new computer was behaving sluggishly.
“It’s no wonder, Mom! Look what you have running in the background! Clean up your start up menu!”
My son shook his head in disgust at me, as he pressed Control Alt Delete, and scrolled down the list.
He walked out, not explaining to me, how to clean up the start menu!
I began to crave the familiarity of an electric typewriter.
Alas, I had 26 programs running in the background, while I was multi tasking three other active programs.
I squinted, trying to make out the names of these programs: qttask.exe, loadqm.exe… might as well have been speaking a foreign language.
What are these programs? Were they necessary for normal operation?
I went to www.google.com and typed in qttask.exe.
Google.com is my knowledge base. I have often kidded to household members that I can answer any question on earth with the aid of Google.com.
The first few results jumbled my mind even further. Suddenly, I saw a link of interest.

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Taskl...s/tasklist.htm

There, in front of my eyes, was an alphabetical directory to unlock the mystery to what all these programs were, including recommendations on whether I needed to keep them, or safely rid my computer of these programs.
Qttask was described:

“Apple’s Quick Time Tray Icon which enables you to start Quick Time from the System Tray (from version 5 onward). Given the extremely simple functionality provided, this Tray application is a resource hog in relative terms, as it has been measured to use as much as ¾ of a Megabyte of memory”.
Recommendation :
Disable using Startup Manager.

3/4ths of a Megabyte of memory! I wanted to get rid of it!
What, though, was this “Start Up Manager?”
Back to google.com, typing in “Start up Manager”, I, of course, found my answer.
I was hot on the trail!
Here was the link to download the program.

http://www.amicutilities.com/startup-genie/


I am often leery of downloading programs, but I bit my lip and began the process.
Am I ever glad I did!
This program is free for trial for the first 30 days, then requires a 19.95 full version purchase.
Start Up Manager is a fairly quick download. I believe it took me under 10 minutes on a dial up modem.
I rebooted and took a look. At first, I was lost in a maze of file names.

I decided to plunge forward.

With three windows open,
1. Control Alt Delete (Close Programs box).
2. Answersthatwork.com in my web browser.
3. The Start Up Manager program.

I began the process.
Scrolling through my programs, using control alt delete, I located, again, the programs running in the background. I began with that familiar “qttask.exe”.
There were some programs I knew I needed. I didn’t touch explorer or systray. Do not disable these!
The recommendation was to, ”Disable qttask.exe using Startup Manager”.
I located qttask.exe in the list that the Start Up Manager Program displayed. Finding it, I unchecked the box. Unchecking the box meant this program would be disabled upon reboot.
I rebooted my computer.
I couldn’t believe it! Already my computer seemed zippier! Was it my imagination, or had I actually “fixed” something?
It took me less than an hour to routinely go down the list, identifying programs, looking them up on the Task List, and following their recommendations regarding whether to keep the file running, or disable it using the Start Up Manager.
I was surprised to find that I could reduce my background programs from 26, to 11, and my computer seems to be running much faster!
Answersthatwork.com is jam packed with answers for your computer problems. The site is billed as “The Home of Practical Computing”. Feel free to visit their “Downright Useful Download” section.
Next, on my task list, is to find ad ware and spy ware programs that have been installed on my computer through downloads of other programs. This is also featured on answersthatwork.com in their free download area.
Answersthatwork.com has this to say about ad ware, and spy ware:
“Many software packages come with embedded third party software which sends information about your Internet behavior from your PC to specific companies!! This is called spyware. In other cases the embedded software pulls advertisements from a specific ad server whenever you are connected to the Internet and displays them to you. This is called adware and has the highest annoyance level possible! Software manufacturers use adware so they can let you use their software free of charge while they get their revenue from advertisers. Even when you de-install the original "carrier" software, the spyware or adware often still remains on your PC, sending information out every time you connect to the Internet. The potential for this type of software is enormous as it can easily be turned into something that sends information that is stored on your PC!! This is currently the subject of a major Internet security debate. And it gets worse, time and time again this type of software is found to be the cause of Internet browser crashes, PC freezes, illegal operations, etc...”
Sounds like something I’d like to be sure I am free of.
For now, though, I believe that I’ll rest in the knowledge that indeed, I have done something good for my computer health. I will be purchasing the full version of “Start Up Manager”.
Next issue I’ll let you know how the removal of ad and spy ware goes on my computer.

Note: I have found that in order to be efficient at computer work, you need to take risks. This means an occasional accident that may ruin your whole day. This may mean that you might need to reformat your computer, lose work time, mutter words you might not otherwise, and threaten to use your monitor as a boat anchor.
Learning to use and maintain a well run computer requires bold, brave moves!
Still, it’s a valuable learning experience, and this time, I was pleased with the results!

--end--

[ 01-28-2004, 06:33 AM: Message edited by: Jennie@ifish ]

[TheRogue]

Great topic!!

As we get further into the world of "memory is cheap", we get more and more memory-hog programs.

That sounds like a good program, I think it's worth it to me to go ahead and download it

BTW, something that many people forget about is to DEFRAG!!! I regularly run QuickClean (part of the McAffee suite), and then run Defrag at least once a week. I forget a week, and I can tell

TR

[ 10-16-2002, 07:45 PM: Message edited by: TheRogue ]

[Jennie@ifish]

Before you do, I got an e mail from the people at answersthatwork.com and they have a free version of this program.
I'd download the free one if I were you!
I'm going to edit my article and leave the other one out.
Thanks for the review!
Jen

[Deepslayer]

Thanks Jen. Are you practicing to take over Kimkamandos job?
:grin: ,Ed

[Crashin' Bait]

That "answersthatwork" site is great. Right off the bat it helped me id components from the backdoor.autoupder virus. Thanks Jen!

[Jennie@ifish]

Here is the final write.
I have to keep it under 500 words:

Windows Start up Menu
I complained to my son that my fairly new computer was behaving sluggishly.
“It’s no wonder, Mom! Look what you have running in the background! Clean up your start up menu!”
My son shook his head in disgust at me, as he pressed Control Alt Delete, and scrolled down the list.
After his comment, he walked out without helping me solve my problem.
I sighed, and began to crave the familiarity of an electric typewriter.
Alas, I had 26 programs running in the background, while I was multi tasking three other active programs.
I squinted, trying to make out the names of these programs: qttask.exe, loadqm.exe…
What are these programs? Were they necessary for normal operation?
I went to www.google.com and typed in qttask.exe. Google.com is my knowledge base for nearly everything.
Suddenly, I saw a link of interest.
http://www.answersthatwork.com/Taskl...s/tasklist.htm
There, in front of my eyes, was an alphabetical directory to unlock the mysteries to what all these programs were, including recommendations on whether I needed to keep or delete the files.
Qttask was described, in part, as:
“Apple’s Quick Time Tray Icon which enables you to start Quick Time from the System …this Tray application is a resource hog in relative terms, as it has been measured to use as much as ¾ of a Megabyte of memory”.
Recommendation:
Disable using Startup Manager.
3/4ths of a Megabyte of memory! I wanted to get rid of it!
What, though, is “The Start Up Manager”?
I found my answer in their “Downright Useful Downloads” area.
Start Up Manager is a fairly quick download at 626k. I believe it took me under 5 minutes on a dial up modem.
I rebooted and took a look. At first, I was lost in a maze of file names.

I had three windows open:
1. Control Alt Delete (Close Programs box).
2. Answersthatwork.com in my web browser.
3. The Start Up Manager program.

Scrolling through my programs, using control alt delete, I located, again, the programs running in the background. I began with that familiar “qttask.exe”.
The recommendation was ”Disable using Startup Manager”.
I located qttask.exe in the list that the Start Up Manager Program displayed. Finding it, I unchecked the box, meaning this program would be disabled upon reboot.
I rebooted my computer.
Already my computer seemed zippier!
It took me less than an hour to routinely go down the list, identify a program, and choose to keep, or disable it.
I found that I could reduce my background programs from 26, to 11.
There are several other downloads I’d like to try on Answersthatwork.com.
For now, though, I believe that I’ll rest in the knowledge that indeed, I have done something good for my computer health.
Next issue, I’d like to tell you about solutions to spy ware and ad ware.

Note: I have found that in order to be efficient at computer work, you need to take risks. This means an occasional accident that may ruin your whole day. This may mean that you might need to reformat your computer, lose work time, mutter words you might not otherwise, and threaten to use your monitor as a boat anchor.
Learning to use and maintain a well run computer requires bold, brave moves!
Still, it’s a valuable learning experience, and this time, I was pleased with the results!

[Pete]

The final article is really nice, Jennie. Very good writing. Excellent advice well delivered. Good Work!

My machine is much happier with startup manager keeping the memory thieves at bay ... and that makes me happy!

[Jennie@ifish]

---
Windows Start up Menu

I complained to my son that my fairly new computer was behaving sluggishly.
“Check what you have running in the background!” he said and while holding down the Control and Alt key, he pressed the Delete key. A list of programs running on my computer appeared, “Clean up your start up menu!” he concluded and left the room.
I sighed, and began to crave the familiarity of an electric typewriter. Alas, I had 26 programs running in the background, while I was multi-tasking three other active programs.
I squinted, trying to make out the names of these programs: qttask.exe, loadqm.exe, …
What are these programs? Are they necessary for normal operation?
I went to www.google.com and typed in qttask.exe. The Google.com search engine is my knowledge base for nearly everything. Immediately I saw a link of interest: http://www.answersthatwork.com/Taskl...s/tasklist.htm
There, in front of my eyes, was an alphabetical directory that explains what each of these programs is, including recommendations on whether the program is necessary or not.
Qttask is described, in part, as:
“Apple’s Quick Time Tray Icon which enables you to start Quick Time from the System […] this Tray application is a resource hog in relative terms, as it has been measured to use as much as ¾ of a Megabyte of memory.”
The recommendation for Qttask.exe is “Disable using Startup Manager.” 3/4ths of a Megabyte of memory! I wanted to get rid of it! What, though, is “Startup Manager?”
I found my answer in the “Downright Useful Downloads” area at www.answersthatwork.com. Startup Manager is a utility program that makes it easy to choose which programs start up automatically.
The Startup Manager program downloads quickly and is 626 kilobytes in size. Downloading takes under 5 minutes on a dial-up modem.
I installed Startup Manager, rebooted and took a look. At first, I was lost in a maze of file names. I had only three windows open:
1. Windows Task Manager (invoked by Control-Alt-Delete)
2. Answersthatwork.com web page in my browser.
3. The Startup Manager program.
With Windows Task Manager, I again located the programs running in the background. I began with that familiar “qttask.exe”. The recommendation was ”Disable using Startup Manager”.
I located qttask.exe in the list that the Startup Manager displayed. I unchecked a box so that the program would not be loaded upon booting up and I rebooted my computer. Already my computer seemed zippier! It took me less than an hour to go down the list, identify the purpose of each program, and decide to keep or disable it. I found that I could reduce the number of background programs from 26 to 11.
There are several other downloads I’d like to try at www.answersthatwork.com. For now, though, I believe that I’ll rest in the knowledge that indeed, I have done something good for my computer health.
Next issue, I’d like to tell you about solutions to spy ware and ad ware.

Note: I am working with Windows 98, second edition.
I have found that in order to be efficient at computer work, I need to take risks. This means an occasional accident that may ruin my whole day. This may mean that I might need to reformat my computer, lose some work time, mutter words I might not otherwise, and consider using my monitor as a boat anchor. It is prudent to back up critical files before undertaking these experiments, I believe.
Learning to use and maintain a well run computer requires bold, brave moves!
Still, it’s a valuable learning experience, and this time, I was pleased with my results!
--end

[will_e_fish]

Without zapping the hardrive and reinstalling Windows to get things right. I had to teach my daughter similar methods of tech approaches to the sluggish computer that was getting errors everytime she booted up. Uninstalling Software and going down to the keys of the registry to kill footprints left by bad installs ending all corruprtion then reinstalling. Being selective is what I was trying to teach her or "don't let the computer run you, you run it". There is not a program that can do this for you and everthing one could intall is not always compatible with everthing else that is running at the time of the install unless done properly.
Upon doing this all was back to a reasonable to normal state of running. So the lessons were invaluable. It might have been quicker to reinstall Windows but she now has a better ideas about avoiding errors and sluggish startup in the future.

[skrimmy]

Jen,

Something else that can have a huge impact on your PC's performance is a cluttered registry. When you install anything, whether is hardware or software, information is written to the Windows registry. Many times, when you uninstall a program, there are still "orphaned" bits of information left in the registry. They will slow down your PC's performance. There are third party programs to clean the registry as well as Microsoft's Regclean program. They will go through the registry, find orphaned lines of data and get rid of them. Just another trick to add to your bag of tech tidbits........

[Jennie@ifish]

The kind people from the Amic Utilities wrote me to say that they have a new release out. The link above has been updated to this:

http://www.amicutilities.com/startup-genie/

Try it out! I loved it when I ran 98 and below. I haven't tried it with XP, but I will!

Jen

[WheresMyBobber]

very good info jen, thanks for posting it. you can also do run/msconfig/startup to disable some things.

(typing one handed is hard)