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No msconfig.

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by jpizzale

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A computer in the office that I am working at is having too many programs running in the background. To prevent this I usually only select what I want to run there using msconfig. I was under the impression that it was in every make of windows O/S since 98. The computer is a 2000 sp4. I am thinking about upgrading it but don't want to if I don't have to. How can I fix the problem of the programs running in the background without msconfig.

10 replies

by w2ktechman

copy msconfig and msinfo32 from another system. It seems that our XP versions at work have about 30% missing these files. just copying them seems to work every time

by saihib

You can even copy msconfig from a Win98 machine. The msinfo file is not necessary.

by dmiles

MSConfig is/was a Win98/Me utility, brought back in WinXP, which
is also targeted at the home consumer market. There is no equivalent
utility included with Win95/WinNT/Win2K.

In most cases, one need only open the offending program and
deselect the option to "display icon in the system tray" or to "start
when Windows starts."

To view the list of your start up programs, look in the
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Start Up and
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu\Programs\Start Up
folders, and in the system registry, primarily in the
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and
HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run keys. These can
also be viewed, if I remember correctly, by right-clicking My
Computer, selecting "Manage" and expanding System Tools-- System
Information -- Software Environment -- Startup Programs. To prevent
any of them from starting at login, you'll have to delete shortcuts
from the startup folder(s) and/or edit the registry. I should point
out that, in order to make such system modifications requires one to
have administrative privileges to the machine in question. I should
also point out that one should not even consider editing the registry
unless he is fully confident that he knows exactly what is going to
happen as a result of each and every change.

by thechas

Microsoft in their infinite wisdom left msconfig out of Windows 2000.

The good news is that you can port msconfig over from a W98 system and it will work just fine.

Or, you can be a little more thorough and use regedit.

CAUTION: Improper use of regedit can disable a computer.
It is best practice to always back up the registry prior to editing.

Look at all of the run and runonce keys.

Delete the entries that you wish to eliminate from running at startup.

Keep in mind that some "mal-ware" installs itself again if you don't get rid of the files.

Also, programs like Quick Time and Real Player will restore their startup keys unless you disable the feature from the options or preferences menu for the program.

Chas

by gary56789

I copied the msconfig.exe from my xp Pro machine (windows\system32\dllcache\ ), and installed it on the Win 2k (winnt\system32\ )and it works fine.

by pierrejamme

W2k did not come with msconfig, but as others have said the msconfig from XP works fine.
Just copy from:
C:\WINDOWS\pchealth\helpctr\binaries

Peter

by mike

Please keep in mind that MSCONFIG was originaly intended for diagnostic puposes. IF you have programs running that you don't want then you need to remove them properly using add/remove programs or manually delete them as well as there registry entries.

by sue t

Have you tried autoruns which is a free program from sysinternals that shows you what programs, services, etc that are starting with your computer. It will even do it by user. You can uncheck it to stop it from loading but the best way to stop it is by then going to that program and seeing if it has an option to prevent it from loading.

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