Lately I have been having issues with my startup and shutdown taking forever. I think it is due to having a bunch of things running the background that I don't need, but I'm not sure how to determine what I need and what I don't. Do you know of a website or anything that will tell me which processes are necessary to have running all the time and how I should turn them off so they don't run automatically when I start the computer?
Right now when I look at the Windows Task Manager, I have 65 processes running but the only windows I have open are Outlook, 1 IE window, 1 Firefox window and Yahoo IM. I can tell what some of the processes running are but not all (like 7 different svchost.exe) and I would like to eliminate as many as possible.
Delete your temp files, uninstall software you no longer use, run a CHKDSK and a defrag and check for spyware.
65 processes is not particularly unusual and svhost is a system process. You're better off just uninstalling what you no longer need; that should clean up your startup processes.
If you're a battery, you're either working or you're dead....
Coppermine wrote:Delete your temp files, uninstall software you no longer use, run a CHKDSK and a defrag and check for spyware.
65 processes is not particularly unusual and svhost is a system process. You're better off just uninstalling what you no longer need; that should clean up your startup processes.
Where do you go to delete temp files on a PC? Are you talking about other temp files than IE, like in Outlook or Microsoft Office stuff?
Coppermine wrote:Delete your temp files, uninstall software you no longer use, run a CHKDSK and a defrag and check for spyware.
65 processes is not particularly unusual and svhost is a system process. You're better off just uninstalling what you no longer need; that should clean up your startup processes.
Where do you go to delete temp files on a PC? Are you talking about other temp files than IE, like in Outlook or Microsoft Office stuff?
Do this...
Go to Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Cleanup
That will give you options on what can be deleted to free up space.
Also, if you use Firefox (and I see you do), open Firefox and go to Tools>Options>Privacy>Cache and click "Clear cache now."
Firefox's "cache" is the same as IE's Temporary Internet Files.
If you're a battery, you're either working or you're dead....
check here http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist ... sklist.htm or just google the name/process. you will usually find a website with a description and recommendation what to do (leave alone, delete, or disable). if you have spybot, managing your startup progs is pretty easy. in advanced mode check under tools for system startup. uncheck things you want to keep but dont want running on startup, delete things you dont want to keep.
My wife's computer is a PC and it is VERY slow. I'm going to try this stuff tonight and see if that helps. That's the one I'm asking about here. My Mac running Firefox is still aces 18 months after I bought it.
I installed spybot on it a while ago, plus she has Norton 2005. I just ran a check last night and she had one virus, but nothing major.
What I don't understand is why your caches should slow down startup so much. Maybe there are other programs getting crammed into the startup sequence? I checked the Startup folder and there are only three things in there (can't remember them now and I'm at work), but nothing in there raised any red flags for me.
Thanks for the tech help, Copper and ACS. It's great that you guys are willing to answer questions like this, especially when I know you get these at work a lot and they drive you nuts because they're so basic. Again - thanks.
performance degradation cannot be avoided and will happen on every PC. i find doing a clean windows installation the best method, once 2-3 yrs. if you can also, make sure you have ample RAM. it always helps, especially boot / shutdown times.
BitterDodgerFan wrote:performance degradation cannot be avoided and will happen on every PC. i find doing a clean windows installation the best method, once 2-3 yrs. if you can also, make sure you have ample RAM. it always helps, especially boot / shutdown times.
Good point but if you don't know how to do a clean install:
BTW for those of you who aren't afraid to fiddle with your PC try http://www.tweakxp.com there are some great performance tips in there. Pretty easy to follow. Just double check before you start fiddling with the registry
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by BeefSandwiches » Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:06 am 
