Every time your computer starts up, it automatically starts some programs. You may not know about this. Take a quick look at All Programs from the Start menu and you’ll notice a folder called Startup.
The startup folder contains programs that start automatically when Microsoft Windows XP does. Exactly what you’ll find there depends on the programs you have installed on your computer. Sometimes the actual programs are stored in the Startup folder, and sometimes it’s just a shortcut to a program elsewhere on your system.
Some programs may not be as useful to you or you may not use them often enough to need them to start automatically, so you have the option of removing them from your startup folder. However, rather than just deleting them from your startup folder, it’s a good idea to first store them in a new folder on your desktop, in case your PC needs them to function properly. If at a later stage you do not notice negative effects, you can delete the new folder from the desktop. If your computer stops working correctly, you can put the items back in the startup folder.
Follow the step-by-step instructions to start cleaning up your startup folder and notice a faster Windows startup time.
Step 1
Right-click anywhere on the desktop, select New, and then Folder. Rename the new folder to MyStartUp.
Step 2
Click on the Start menu and go to All Programs and then Start. Select the program you want to remove, click and hold the item, and drag it from the Startup folder to the desktop.
Step 3
From the desktop, you can now drag the item to the new folder you created in step 1.
Stage 4
To restore an item to the Startup Folder, open the folder you originally placed it in, and then drag and drop it back into the Startup Folder on the Start menu. If you hover the dragged item over the Start menu, you can access All Programs and then the Startup folder.
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