Background Programs...!

[Fozzer]

Hi Lads, Lasses, and fellow Infidels... ...!

In my Win '98 SE, when pressing the CTRL+ALT+DEL it brought up a list of about a dozen programs running in the background.

I could safely shut all of them down except Explorer and Systray, before loading up my Alien Blaster programs...

Now that I've also got Windows XP Pro installed, my list of background running programs totals 39 or more....!!!

Which ones can I safely shut down, or to put it another way, which ones are important to leave running for Windows to function correctly...?

Many thanks... ...!

Paul....(What's a Pope?)... ... ...LOL...!
Tee-Hee...!

[Scottler]

Paul...check out FSAutoStart.  You can configure it to start any game you wish, and it will shut down those which you want to shut down.  It uses the profiles created by a gentleman named Black Viper (blackviper.org I think is his site) to determine which are safe to kill and which aren't.

The program will take a few minutes to configure initially, but once you set it up, you never have to do it again.  It lists each one and a recommendation of whether or not to have FSAutostart shut it down for you.


It's a FANTASTIC program.

http://www.kensalter.com/fsautostart/

[WebbPA]

Definitely use FSAutoStart.

The Black Viper site is http://www.blackviper.com/ but it's temporarily down for repairs.

[ATI_7500]

http://www.theeldergeek.com/services_guide.htm
http://www.beemerworld.com/tips/servicesxp.htm

Just shut 'em down forever...you won't need them anyways.

[Fozzer]

I've got "Startup" installed in both versions of Windows...
...but I still need to know which ones, (of the 39), to safely shut down in Win XP...(boxes to tick)... ...!

Ta all... ...!

Paul.

P.S. Hi Lads....just installed "fsautostart" from Flightsim.com...
I'll see how it goes...
Ta, again... ... ...!

[Scottler]

Foz- when you run FSAutoStart, click on the button that says "Services".  (I think that's what it says.)  Then you'll have to go down the list and as you mouseover each one, to the right it will tell you what to do with it.  Any problems, just shout.

[Politically Incorrect]

Also as mentioned above check out BlackVipers site, he lists all the services that XP has now including the SP2 changes, tells you which you want to just change the setting as to how it works and which to just disable all together.
But most importantly the CORRECT way to do it!!

His site is very informative and well researched info, I have done everything that he recommends and my computer is not only faster, I think is even more stable, well worth taking the time to read through all the info he has!!!!!!!
You will be amazed that a mojority of those "39" aren't even needed for you use of a computer

Good luck and happy tweaking!

[the_autopilot]

You will be amazed that a mojority of those "39" aren't even needed for you use of a computer

I definitely recommend blackviper's site as well.

You'd be surprised how much junk runs for no reason. The main reason why there is all those services is becuase of support. MS wants compatibility.

Go to the services config panel and you'll see services that support legacy devices or smart cards or tablets, the like.

Many of it you don't need and can disable with no effect.