The Genie Expert

For the most streamlined operation, it's essential that your computer has as few programs running in the background as possible. You can tell a bit about how much junk is running behind the scenes by looking at the system tray (the area next to the clock on the taskbar). The more icons you see there, the more stuff is running that you may not actually need.

I recommend a two-step process for getting rid of any background applets that you don't need. Check out the tray icons and use the interfaces from those programs to disable them natively. Then, run good old MSCONFIG to clean out anything else.

First, look at the tray. Some of the stuff there belongs there; you might see a little speaker icon, a battery power icon, an icon for the Sidebar, network status icons, and a few other odds and ends that Windows puts in the tray. Look for third-party icons; in the picture shown here, QuickTime and Steam occupy parts of the tray.

Right-click on any icons you find that aren't simple Windows status icons. Look for a settings, properties, or a similar option. Then, in the resulting window, look for a way to prevent the program from loading when Windows starts. For example, to prevent Steam from automatically loading, you would:

   1. Right-click the Steam tray icon.
   2. Click Settings.
   3. Click Interface.
   4. Uncheck Run Steam When Windows Starts.
   5. Click OK.

Quicktime, however, presents a challenge. You can tell it not to display the tray icon, but it will still run in the background. For that, and other programs that don't always display tray icons, use the second method.

Click the Start button, type msconfig, and hit Enter.

You'll see the System Configuration window, which operates essentially the same as it does in Windows XP. Click the Startup tab.

Look at the list of startup items. Each is preceded by a checkbox. You can prevent any of these programs from starting simply by unchecking it.

You'll note that QuickTime, which wouldn't let me disable it through its interface, is there. Simply uncheck it to prevent it from running in the background—and sucking up resources.

Steam, QuickTime, and many other such programs will start automatically when they're needed. For example, if you launch an MOV file, QuickTime will start whether or not its little applet is running in the background. Steam will launch if you start a Steam game, even if it's not running behind the scenes.

Now, some items are necessary. You might see things like a mouse or gamepad applet that's the hardware needs to offer its programmability. You might see Windows Defender, which, if your computer has constant Internet access and lacks another anti-spyware program, could help protect it.

Here's a good rule of thumb: If an application in MSCONFIG references hardware, you should keep it. If it references software, get rid of it (unless it's a vital security program). Hardware applets often supply needed front ends; software applets usually help a software program open faster. Software opens just fine without helper applets, so there's no need for them to suck up processor cycles all the time.

When you've cleaned out the list, unchecking anything you don't need, restart the computer. 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 at 1:34 pm and is filed under Free PC Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.