Startup Nags?

Whenever Windows loads, some processes are initialized. Some of these elements may not be system related and anti virus real protection or automatically initializing your email client are started with Windows. This way you will no longer have to launch each program and minimize it to system tray as the operation is done automatically.

However, some processes are simply loading with Windows and eating up valuable resources for nothing. Take for example Open Office's quickstarter. Although it is an easier way to open a text document or spreadsheet, I never use it because it serves me better to launch the program from a desktop shortcut. Eliminating the process from the startup list is much more convenient in my case.

GMail Notifier however is an application that I need to be running permanently, so keeping its process in the startup works better for me. In order to clean up startup a little, all you have to do is type msconfig in Run>Start Menu and eliminate any process that you do not really need to be loaded with Windows. This way, more computer resources will be unlocked and used to speed up the programs you really need.

But the nag of System Configuration Utility provided by Windows is that you cannot add new programs to the list, but only remove the existent ones.

Softwares like StartUpTuner: Xtra are a viable solution for adding as many processes in the startup list as you want. Backtracking the operation is possible and the user can eliminate any unwanted items in a snap. StartUpTuner: Xtra comes absolutely free and besides the startup management provided, it will also run a little optimization of your computer as well.

The interface is very nice and simple and offers all the information necessary for a neophyte to understand all about the startup processes. Providing the user with the location of the selected process may help the user decide faster over the keeping or eliminating of the item.

There are two main menus available (Auto-Run and Clear History). Auto-Run displays all the processes that are loaded with Windows and in the right lower part of the application window, there is the path to the location of the executable. I am sure that most of you remember what you are installing on your computer and know what are the softwares used for. Based on the name of the application, you can decide upon keeping or removing the process.

The options in the Auto-Run menu include Add, Identify and Refresh buttons. Add lets you include executables of installed software in the startup. Identify option is designed to allow you to learn a little bit about the processes running on your computer. Some of the startup items may as well be a sort of malware. Identify function will automatically google the name of the process in the default web browser. All there is left to you is to choose the right search result and learn about the unknown element. This option is useful as Windows processes almost never have "normal" names and a "cftmon.exe" process will not tell too much to a newbie.

Clear History menu supplies some extra utilities you can use on your computer. The user can clean different areas of the computer like Windows Explorer Recent File List, Run history in Start menu or temporary Windows XP files. Similar cleaning options are available for IE (Internet Explorer) - temporary Internet files, cookies and typed URLs.

May I remind you that cleaning IE cookies and typed URLs will result in a not so easy use of your web browser? After enforcing these cleaning options, you will have to type in every URL from the beginning and the same will happen with the login data as it will be lost. A good idea would have been allowing the user to choose which URLs and cookies to keep.


The Good

Unlike a regular startup manager, StartUpTuner: Xtra comes with a set of cleaning tools that will help you maintain your privacy by eliminating Windows and IE temporaries.

Identify function and the path to the executable provided by the software will give beginner users a chance to safely free up some computer resources.

The Bad

Trying to perform a full clean of Windows XP history, the "unhandled exception" error message was displayed and the operation was brought to a halt.

The Truth

If you stick to the startup manager, then you've got yourself a very good program. Attempting to free some space on your computer by using the Clear History menu's options is not working properly. However, the application is free so you have absolutely nothing to lose.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action:


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