In this 4th part on our series of optimizing and speeding up your computer and laptops, we are going to stop items from loading as soon as you turn your device on.

Software developers love to have their programs and Apps grab some computer resources as soon as you turn your computer or laptop on. You really don’t need this stuff loading until you use the product. We are going to prevent some items from loading by stopping them with MSConfig.

MSConfig is a basic part of Microsoft Windows and has lists of what is running and started when Windows boots. It is a safe way to stop items from starting up when you run you computer because it doesn’t remove them. The program is still there and you can run it when you need it.

Let’s get to it.

Click on the Windows icon in the lower left or center (if you have Windows 11) of the task bar and where you can type start typing ‘msconfig’. Depending on the version of Windows you have you will either see “MSConfig” or “System Configuration” Click on it to run.

In the new window that appears click on the “Services” tab. Then at the bottom of the Window check the box to ‘Hide all Microsoft services’.

You will be left with a list of ‘Services’ that load and eat up RAM, CPU, et al, as soon as the computer is booted.

Scroll through the list and look for software or things you no longer use. You may still find an old printer or scanner (From our Part 3 segment). If you use an Android phone you most likely don’t need Bonjour or any Apple services to start. Adobe Reader tries to load here too.

Scrolling through some things will be apparent that you can remove the checkmark next to, others not so much. Simply open your favorite browser and search for the file. Be cautious what websites you go to. Remember, removing the checkmark doesn’t stop the program from running.

Below you can see I stopped some items like ‘DashClientService’, ‘Fortemedia APO…’, ‘GoogleUpdater…” and the ‘HP Print Scan Doctor Service’.

Once you have found the items you want to stop loading, click on the “Apply” button in the lower right of the window.

Now Click on the “Startup” tab at the top of the window, then the blue text ‘Open Task Manager’.

Once again, depending on your version of Windows you will get a new window that appears looking similar to the one below. Click on the “status” tab twice to make it easier to see what is currently disabled from running.

You will find all kinds of stuff running like Skype (they don’t even have that anymore), Edge (msedge.exe – why does that need to start when I turn on my laptop?) and so much more.

If you no longer use Dropbox or Google Drive or don’t want whatever it is to load on boot, just right-click on the item and select “disable”.

Once you have finished going through the list and selecting what you want to disable, click on the “X” in the upper right-hand corner to close Task Manager Startup, Click “OK” on the System Configurator window. If you made changes, you should be asked if you want to restart. So long as you don’t have any other things going on in the background, select “Restart”.

That is all there is to it, simple and safe.

If you find you have troubles running a program or programs, go back in and re-check the boxes. I do know that if you have the pay for version of Adobe products, they must be allowed to run in the background. There are other thinks like remote software, touch-pads on laptops et al.

Until we meet again, have a virus free week.