Windows Startup: Four Microsoft Tools That Optimize Your PC!

Not an autostart manager has Windows, but four (!) – There is usually no more effective software PC tuning! COMPUTER BILD introduces the secret helpers.

Autostart programs load at each computer startup and then block RAM, partly put the CPU under load. The memory load enforces the outsourcing of main memory data on the hard disk with weakly equipped PCs – you notice: The PC reacts strongly delayed. Tidying up the startup will help. You also prevent the autonomous start of any viruses or computer worms. Or of alleged auxiliary tools that annoy everyday life. Depending on the version of Windows, certain factory installed tools will do the cleanup. This article looks back at old times and shows why the operating systems Windows Vista and 10 are very diverse.

The classic: MSconfig

MSconfig seems to be getting old, at least in the area of Autostart: You can clean it up by using Windows XP and Vista. 7. Press Windows-R and type msconfig. The so-called system configuration program starts in which you switch to the System Start tab. Here are the check marks of the programs to which you want to issue a PC start ban. Time-saving: To start msconfig with the Startup tab, use the msconfig -4 commands (to access the fourth tab) after pressing Windows-R for the Run dialogue. 

Contained in: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 
Optimizes the autostart in: Windows XP, Vista, 7

The Exot: Windows Defender

Microsoft’s anti-espionage program, the Windows Defender, celebrates several premieres in Windows Vista: unlike XP, you did not have to install it any more. In Windows 7 Defender is still on board as anti-spyware, from Windows 8 as the base virus protection – but each deprived of the Vista-exclusive autostart optimization: Under Tools> Software Explorer, the listed startup program entries can be deleted or deactivated. The deletion is something special because the other onboard resources presented here disable only (so interventions are easy to take back). 

Contained in: Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10 
Optimizes the autostart in: Windows Vista

In the Tile OS: Task Manager

With Windows 8, MSconfig has lost some of its relevance: It is still dedicated to maintenance tasks, such as enabling diagnostics system startup. However, the autostart does not control it anymore: the tab Systemstart refers to the task manager. You can start it under Windows 8/10 via MSconfig link (“Open Task Manager”) or faster via Ctrl-Shift-Escape. On the Startup tab, you’re right. It’s cool that you can switch to new ones by right-clicking on the column categories: “Disabled (time)” upgrades an MSconfig specification that shows Windows Vista and 7 at the factory. Here you can read on which date and at which time you have deactivated an autostart in the past. 

Contained in: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 
Optimizes the autostart in: Windows 8, 10

Windows 10 2018: Settings app

No substitute, but a supplement: With the April 2018 update for Windows 10, an autostart optimization moved into the settings app. It does less than the Task Manager on the corresponding tab; however, if a virus has locked the Task Manager, the Settings app will still work with the Startup Tuning section under Apps > Startup. For a detailed comparison with Task Manager, read ” Windows 10 1803: New Autostart Optimization via Settings App“. Although Microsoft adds an existing optimization feature (Task Manager, classic desktop program) to a similar one (Preferences app enhanced) and thus favours duplications (so-called redundancies), Windows 10 is particularly diverse in terms of the startup – similar to the Vista released in 2007. 

Contained in: Windows 8 (formerly called PC Settings), 10 
Optimizes the autostart in: Windows 10 1803