[MariaT]

Hi, my question is how do you know what processes you can disable? My computer is running slow when logging on and logging off, I am not sure if having too many running processes can cause this problem or not.

[Advertisements]

Read this and note the warnings -- the author generally believes (as I do) that the Windows XP Services should be left alone, but he does give you a recommended setting for all of them.
http://www.theelderg...vices_guide.htm

What's more likely to be slowing yours down more than someone elses is additional processes and startup items running in the background, placed there by programs you've installed -- you can see and optionally disable these by using the built-in Configuration Tool. Click 'Start>Run.
Type MSCONFIG and click OK.
Click the Startup tab and it lists all the applications that start with Windows.
I have 8 items here and my system starts up and shuts down in a very reasonable 10 secs. max, and that's without altering anything in the Services since installing XP SP2.

If your Startup list shows many more than my 8 items, it's likely you don't need some of them, though that would depend on just what is installed and your ability to identify what each item does and how essential or non-essential it is.

Another 'slowdown' culprit is a heavily fragmented C drive, so run Disk Defragmenter before you go any further.
In extreme cases I also know that a failing disk (the one with Windows on it) can cause startup/shutdown delays through fragmentation which cannot be remedied because the Defragmenter usually won't run to completion, so the fragmentation (and therefore the sluggishness) just gets worse and worse.
If you can defrag yours okay, then it's probably a healthy disk.

Edited by pip22, 26 November 2006 - 11:16 AM.

[pip22]

Read this and note the warnings -- the author generally believes (as I do) that the Windows XP Services should be left alone, but he does give you a recommended setting for all of them.
http://www.theelderg...vices_guide.htm

What's more likely to be slowing yours down more than someone elses is additional processes and startup items running in the background, placed there by programs you've installed -- you can see and optionally disable these by using the built-in Configuration Tool. Click 'Start>Run.
Type MSCONFIG and click OK.
Click the Startup tab and it lists all the applications that start with Windows.
I have 8 items here and my system starts up and shuts down in a very reasonable 10 secs. max, and that's without altering anything in the Services since installing XP SP2.

If your Startup list shows many more than my 8 items, it's likely you don't need some of them, though that would depend on just what is installed and your ability to identify what each item does and how essential or non-essential it is.

Another 'slowdown' culprit is a heavily fragmented C drive, so run Disk Defragmenter before you go any further.
In extreme cases I also know that a failing disk (the one with Windows on it) can cause startup/shutdown delays through fragmentation which cannot be remedied because the Defragmenter usually won't run to completion, so the fragmentation (and therefore the sluggishness) just gets worse and worse.
If you can defrag yours okay, then it's probably a healthy disk.

Edited by pip22, 26 November 2006 - 11:16 AM.

[MariaT]

Thank you for your reply. It is much appreciated. I did look at the running processes, did see two that I could disable.