You might know that many of our PCs start up with too many apps in place. It could be bloatware, or your PC’s manufacturer pre-loading software you don’t want. It could be apps installing other apps, all of which start up when your PC does. Or, it’s your favorite app loading “helper” apps in memory which cause more harm than good.

Bring Up the Startup Tab

First, bring up the list.

In Windows XP, Vista and 7:

1. Click Start
2. Type msconfig and press Enter
3. Select Selective Startup
4. Click the Startup tab

In Windows 8:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc
2. Click the Startup tab

This list of startup items includes many familar culprits.

Ten Common Startup Apps

Here are ten of the most common, but unnecessary, apps that start when Windows starts.

1. Quicktime & iTunes
   These Apple apps don’t need to be resident in memory to function.

2. Spotify and other music apps
   It’s rare that you’ll want to listen to music immediately upon starting your PC, and these apps can take forever to launch at startup.

3. Microsoft Office
   This also doesn’t need to be in memory to work correctly.

4. Google Update & Google Chrome
   Most Google apps, like Chrome, will check themselves for updates regularly. Having Google Update in memory is a waste.

5. Adobe Reader, AcroTray, Adobe Version Cue
   Most Adobe products will check for updates themselves.

6. Any toolbar
   Toolbars are generally unnecessary and slow down your browser as well as your PC. You’ll likely want to uninstall them after removing them from startup, unless you really need the toolbar.

7. Anything named after your PC manufacturer
   Anything that says Toshiba, HP, etc are safe to remove from startup. If you depend on a manufacturer-related app that starts when Windows does, you can always add it back later.

8. Java Updater
   Java will notify you when it needs updating when you visit a website that needs Java. There are security measures in place that already prevent you from running an out-of-date version.

9. Apps named after your video card manufacturer
   Any NVIDIA or AMD apps resident in your PC are likely superfluous. As long as your driver is current, you’re good to go.

10. Coupon apps
    These apps take up a lot of memory for something you don’t use all that often. Remove it from startup.

Once your startup apps are streamlined, you’ll notice a much faster PC startup experience.