The Computer Slow Down

Chris Stegner
Service Manager

It is virtually a universally accepted fact that all computers will run slower than they did out of the box one year after they are purchased. There are many reasons for this phenomenon. One of the most prevalent reasons is that the computer has too many programs turning on in the background every time it boots. This is because almost every program that is installed on a computer has a little piece that the programmer things should be running in the background of your computer at all times. While this is not a bad idea, these small programs are rarely required, and they can stack up a bit over time.

So, what can you do about this software traffic jam slowing down your computer?

The answer is found in a made up word that is part of your Windows operating system. MSCONFIG is a program that Microsoft Windows uses to display in an organized and easy to understand way all of the things that your computer does when it first turns on.

To access this display simply bring up your RUN command. The easiest way to do this is to hold down the windows key on your keyboard and then hit the letter R.

You will get a window that looks like this.

Type MSCONFIG in the Open box and click the OK button.

There are some pretty important settings within this utility. It is not advisable to change any settings other than those covered in this article unless you know explicitly what you are doing. The MSCONFIG screen will look like the one pictured here.

Our first step is to click the Selective Startup button. Next click on the Startup tab at the top of the window. This will display a list of all of the programs that are turning on when you boot your computer. Most extremely important programs like antivirus or Windows updates do not appear in this list for safety purposes.

Uncheck all of the boxes that belong to programs that you do not want to turn on. In most cases we run across at ETC ComputerLand, it is okay to use the Disable All button at the bottom.

Once you have made your changes click the Apply button at the bottom and then OK. Your computer will want you to reboot to apply the changes.

You will get a little pop up window after rebooting informing you that some things were changed. This window can be closed and ignored.

If you discover that you have a program that you want to turn on that is now disabled simply repeat the steps above and place a check mark next to the desired program.

A small speed increase should be noticeable after an MSCONFIG is preformed.

MSCONFIG is just the first step towards optimizing a computers performance, but it is quick and easy enough for anyone to perform, and the best part is that you can undo any mistakes along the way.