The troubled release of Windows Vista served only to boost the popularity of Windows XP and even with Windows 7 slated to come out later this year, many users and IT shops still cling to their old standby. It’s no surprise then that Windows XP tips continue to score with TechRepublic members.

Among all the built-in Windows XP wizards and utilities, the System Configuration Utility (or MSCONFIG), is probably one of most useful. This handy utility, which has its roots in the Windows 9.x days, lets you modify boot files and startup parameters when troubleshooting boot problems. In this IT Dojo video, I show you how to launch the utility and then give you a general overview of those parts of the tool most useful for troubleshooting boot problems.

For those of you who prefer text to video, you can click the Transcript link that appears below the video player window or you can also read Mark Kaelin’s article, “Troubleshoot Vista system drivers more efficiently with these tools,” on which this video is based.

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