Most of you would be aware of the usual places to look for programs that are auto-starting – such as the Startup folder itself and the Run and RunOnce registry keys. Using MSCONFIG.EXE we can examine the components that execute from these locations.
However, there are numerous other components and locations to be aware of, including:
IE Browser Helper Objects
Scheduled Tasks
Sidebar Gadgets (Windows Vista)
Services and Drivers
Print Monitors
This is where Autoruns becomes almost indispensable. Autoruns is a free XP and Vista toll developed by Sysinternals (now part of Microsoft). The beauty of Autoruns is that it shows you absolutely everything that’s loaded a startup, including services, drivers, applications and more. Using the tabs, you can view items in individual segments, or you can view all entries in one list under the Everything tab.
Each entry details the publisher name along with a brief description of what its function is. If you’re still not sure what and entry relates to, right-click it, select Search Online and a browser window will appear complete with web search results relating to that specific entry.
For example, if you’ve installed Apple iTunes, you’ll see a service called Apple Mobile Device that has a Startup Type of Automatic. However, if you don’t have an iPod or other Apple-based portable media player, this service isn’t required. To find out a little more about the service, right-click it and select Search Online. Now right-click the service and select the Process Explorer option. The Process Explorer utility will load and you’ll be taken to the Apple Mobile Device properties window. Under Physical Memory, the WS Private entry (this details how much memory the service is hogging) shows it’s only using 872KB, but if you want to squeeze every last bit of performance out of your PC, it’s worth turning it off.
You can disable the service in Autoruns by removing the tick from the box next to it, or use the Window’s Services utility to change the Startup Type to Disabled. If later you buy an iPod, do remember to return this setting to Automatic.
Since Autoruns is designed to highlight those items that are run as soon as you boot into Windows, it won’t display those services that have Startup Type of Manual, even if they’re running. To view all services, you’ll need to use the Windows Services utility, which is accessible under Administrative Tools within Control Panel. Each service is listed, along with its Startup Type, status and a brief description. By right-clicking a service you can change its status and, by selecting Properties (or double-clicking an entry), change its Startup Type.
All said and done, knowing which services can safely have their Startup Type altered isn’t always easy, and if you’re not sure about one, it’s best to simply leave it alone.
http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/Autoruns.zip
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