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I cannot remember the steps to get into Startup and change it. Help?

Okay, so you want to change your startup programs I take it? There are a couple of different ways to do this, so I’ll take you through my favorite techniques.

Managing Startup with MSCONFIG

Despite its odd name, the System Configuration utility (msconfig) is easy to use. However, it’s hard to remember the name. Think of it as “Microsoft Configuration” and it might help. If you have Windows XP, go to the Start button and click on Run. Type in msconfig and press the Enter key. If you have Windows Vista, type msconfig into the Start button’s Search bar and wait for the msconfig.exe icon to appear. Click the icon.

This opens the System Configuration utility. Now, click the Startup tab. Here, you’ll see a list of all programs that have been enabled to startup automatically with Windows and their current status (enabled or disabled). Remove tick marks to disable any item that you do not want to load when you turn on your computer. Pay attention to details as you disable items. For example, you wouldn’t necessarily want to disable your antivirus program unless you had two such programs installed and use one as a secondary service only. Likewise, research any unfamiliar programs to be sure that they are not essential for your computer.

Managing Startup with Windows Defender

If you have Windows Vista or have downloaded Windows Defender on your XP machine, you can use Windows Defender to manage your startup programs. Go to Tools > Software Explorer. Choose Startup Programs in the Category dropdown. Each program is listed and grouped by manufacturer. In addition, each startup program shows a classification which gives you clues about its relative safety and current setting. I like this tool because if you click an item that you’re unsure about, details appear in another pane. Among the details are:

• File name
• Display name
• Description
• Publisher
• Digitally signed by
• Classification
• SpyNet voting
• And other details

Startup choices for individual startup items include: Remove, Disable, and Enable.

Managing Startup with Windows Explorer

Finally, you can use Windows Explorer to manage startup programs, too. Right-click the Start button and choose Explore. Windows Explorer will launch. It should launch directly to the Start Menu folder, but if it doesn’t navigate to: Users\User Name\App Data\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu. Once in the Start Menu, click on Programs > Startup. You can drag and drop shortcuts into and out of this folder. This is a much more basic choice than msconfig.exe or Windows Defender and it is limited in its use. It’s fine for quickly dragging a shortcut to your favorite program though.

AOL and Yahoo Messenger come on when I log onto my computer. I would like to not have these two come on at the same time. I can’t seem to get to the setting to have them turned off at start up. What am I doing wrong?

While it is convenient to have specific programs included in your list of startup programs, I can see where you might not want to have both your AOL instant messenger and your Yahoo instant messenger starting up at the same time. I am going to tell you how to remove programs from the Startup Items list as well as tell you to replace them in the list should you change your mind later.

How to Disable Instant Messenger Programs from Running at Startup: Windows Startup Folders

• Navigate to the “Start” button and right click on it.
• Select the option “Explore” from the list that appears. Windows Explorer will then open your Start menu. If you do not see the Start Menu folder, you’ll need to navigate to: users> UserName> App Data> Roaming> Microsoft > Windows > Start Menu.
• Once inside the Start Menu folder, select “Programs.” This will open a list of all of the programs that set to start when you startup the computer.
• Look through the list and select the program that you wish to delete from the startup program list. In your case, select either AOL instant messenger or Yahoo instant messenger. Right click on your choice and click on the option “Delete.”

How to Disable Programs from Running at Startup: System Configuration Utility

Alternatively, you can also use the System Configuration Utility, or msconfig tool, to disable programs from running on startup. Follow these directions:

• Navigate to the “Start” tab and selecting “Run.”
• Type “msconfig” in the box.
• Press “Enter.”
• In the dialog box that appears, select the “Startup Items” tab that is located on the right-hand side.
• Remove the check in front of the program that you want to remove from the list of startup programs. In your case, either AOL instant messenger or Yahoo instant messenger.

Note that in Windows Vista, you click on “Start,” type “msconfig” inside the Search box, and click on the “msconfig” icon when it appears. Then, follow the same directions in order to change your startup options.

How to Enable Programs to Run at Startup

• Navigate to the “Start” tab in the lower left-hand corner of the screen.
• Select the option “Explore” from the list of choices that appear. Find the program that you want to load automatically, usually in the Program Files folder.
• Browse through the list until you locate the program that you want to automatically open upon startup.
• Right click on the name of the program and select the option to “Copy” it.
• Navigate to the Start Menu as you did earlier and click “Programs” followed by “Startup.”
• Next, right click a blank area of the main pane and choose “Paste.”