msconfig - A useful tool to speed up your PC

If you have been a Windows XP user & have been recently finding your PC to run slowly, then you should definitely know about msconfig - System Configuration Utlility. The shortest way to access is by typing msconfig at Start->Run.

If you are a techie you might already know about it & this post is not relevant for you. For the not-so or semi-techies there are lot of documents available on the Internet to know about msconfig, but the basic thing which you need to know about this utility is accessing the Startup tab. This tab lists all the services (the CHECKED ones) that are scheduled to start after a user logs on. These services are inaddition to the one already set in Start->Programs->Startup. So if you are clever enough & have discovered a specific service through the Task Manager eating up your memory, you could possibly locate it here & uncheck it from auto-startup. You could also turn it on once again by checking it. This is just a brief description on the msconfig utility. There are loads of stuff on the net to explore. One nice link is http://netsquirrel.com/msconfig/index.html . Do check this out.

(Trick - In this post I would also like to share a small trick with you - if you are not sure about the outcome of deleting a specific program from Start->Programs->Startup, you could possible browse the Startup folder in Windows Explorer, go to the program shortcuts properties & check on HIDDEN. Windows XP is built in such a way that program shortcuts which are hidden in Start->Programs->Startup do not start automatically. Try this trick, it works!!!).