System Startup Cleaner

The startup management process is among the first steps to optimize your computer, because in order to make Windows boot faster you need to remove or disable startup items. Many applications create entries in system startup that can slow down your system, but not all of them are mandatory startup items, like antivirus entries or malware scanners, that need to start with Windows.

The startup management process is defined by three simple rules. First, all entries must follow some sort of order, so as not to put too much stress on hardware resources and also to gain time. This way you can force the programs that load important components (like antivirus programs that “eat” an important piece of your memory at startup) to start first and then have others follow. The second rule is to apply a delay time for each program loading at startup (this is the ideal mode, if you ask us). Finally, the third rule is to decide which applications to leave in startup and which to remove, and for this you can use a small startup manager that will do the job just fine.

WinUtilities Startup Cleaner, a component of WinUtilities, is a small tool that lets you add, remove, enable or disable Windows start entries, allowing you to optimize, clean and tweak the operating system. The program comes with a 30-day trial period, while the entire WinUtilities package costs $49.99.

The main window of WinUtilities Startup Cleaner lets you see the available items in the Startup Folder, Registry and Win Ini. An important aspect that needs to be mentioned is that the items are sorted by user: all users and current user. By using the default Windows applet, msconfig (Start->Run->msconfig), you can get about the same results.

The first test that we performed was to install a program that created a startup entry. Winamp does just that. To view the new startup item press the refresh button, because WinUtilities Startup Cleaner will not detect it upon installation (that is when WinUtilities Startup Cleaner is running and you install the item).

Adding a new entry is simple. In the main window select the Add option from the right click menu. For every item you can enter a name and select the application path. By default, the extension is EXE, but you can also use any other format if you wish (like BAT files, which can trigger a different action). Depending on the category you have selected (Startup Folder, Registry, and Win Ini) the location will be displayed in the Section box. Items can not be moved from one category to another.

For every entry that is displayed in the main window, WinUtilities Startup Cleaner provides detailed information that can help you understand the nature of the application. The Detailed Information window contains the following attributes: Language code, Comments, Company name, File description, File version, Internal name, Legal copyright, Legal trademarks, Original filename, Private build, Program name, Program version, Special build, Creation time, File size, Last access time, Last write time.

The Google it! and Find it in Explorer buttons are very useful in case you want to discover details about the selected item over the Internet or search within Explorer's location. These two options will make a difference when is comes to unknown entries.

For example, you have an application that doesn’t create any entries in your startup folder but it does add one that is not related to its functionality. This kind of entries should raise suspicions, and here is when the Google it! and Find it in Explorer buttons might do the trick.

Although WinUtilities Startup Cleaner provides plenty of control for system startup, it does not provide control over startup services, and advanced users might find this a limitation. But if you ask us, sometimes it is better this way. If you don’t know the exact nature of a startup service, it is best not to remove it. After restart you will be amazed by the damage that can be done if one service is mistakenly removed.

The User Interface is well designed and provides simple ways to enable / disable, add / remove items. We should mention that we would have liked to view mode details about every item in the main window rather than in the Detailed Information window. But we’re sure that the price reflects the entire optimization of WinUtilities Suite.

The Good

The Bad

The Truth