What programs are absolutely necessary on start up?

What programs are absolutely necessary on start up? The reason I ask is because after I changed my AV program, my computer takes much longer to start up (this is after I enter my password at the welcome page). My Dell Inspiron 14 laptop came with McAfee. After the 30 day trial was over, I installed Bitdefender Internet Security 2010.

Now with Bitdefender installed, the computer takes a pretty long time to load up after I enter the password for my account (at the welcome page).

Below are the list of programs currently running at startup (from MSCONFIG). Is running Bitdefender a must? What happens if I choose not to run it on startup? Will I still have the firewall/antivirus protection if I don't run it at start up?

Additionally, do you guys see a program that isn't necessary at startup?



Thanks!

If you don't let BitDefender run on startup, you will not get real-time protection. You will need to manually start the program every time you boot.

If BitDefender is causing you problems, try switching to another program. I recommend Microsoft Security Essentials because it is fast, and doesn't effect boot times much.

As for unnecessary startup items, I'd say disable that "Registry Sha..." second to the bottom. The items are there just to make loading times faster, but at the expense of a longer boot time.

If you don't use that program much, disable the startup item.

Another thing you can do is completely disable Aero and Windows Features you don't use.

Aero & Visual Effects Disable Process:
Start > Right Click Computer > Advanced System Settings > Advanced Tab > Performance (Settings Button) > Adjust for Best Performance

Windows Features:
Start > Control Panel > Programs & Features > Turn Windows Features On/Off > Turn OFF whatever you don't use
I.E. Windows Media Player, Tablet PC, Telnet, Windows Gadget, Games, etc

Thanks JK. I didn't even catch the Fuji program that was running. I recently installed the Fuji software for transferring files from my camera. I just disabled it from startup. Good eye!

Is there a way to check a log to see what's running during startup and how much time a certain program is taking? I'm not sure if Bitdefender is the culprit of the slowdown.

Anti-virus programs are notorious for causing long boot times. There are other things (like the Dell Dock and network card program) that aren't essential, but if you want them, they aren't doing too much harm.

Now what you see in the Startup folder in your start menu, and what's in that msconfig tab is all that's running. There's no way to tell how much time they are taking, at least without a third-party program.

I do suspect BitDefender. Try uninstalling it, and see what happens.

What you could try is if it's a service, having it set to Automatic(delayed Start). I love that new feature. If it isn't a service, you can still configure it as a service, just a few more steps.

Honestly, I don't see any necessary items on your start up list. I would just disable all of them personally. If you find something later that you would like to start you can always come back and turn it on, but really there is nothing essential there, except for Bitdefender should you choose to keep using it. Also, I second the idea of losing Bitdefender in favor of Microsoft Security Essentials. Ive Been using it since it first came out as a Beta and absolutely love it. It Works in the background very quietly with rarely a pop-up message, updates regularly, and integrates well as it auto disable Windows Defender and takes over the job of monitoring for Spy-ware. Absolutely a great product.

I disable everything except AV and MS Gadgets (called Sidebar) and StikyNotes.

Unless you absolutely need it running when you start up, it is a freeloader on RAM and CPU. Display drivers only need to startup if you use special controls.

Do yourself a favor and ditch bloated AV's for lightweight invisible free Microsoft Security Essentials or Avast.

Jonathan_King said:

Anti-virus programs are notorious for causing long boot times.
I do suspect BitDefender. Try uninstalling it, and see what happens.

Click to expand...

I would uninstall Bit defender. It has four processes running on startup and mcafee has a betterstart up time compared to Bit defender (12 seconds compared to 9). I would get Microsoft Security Essentials or Avast (which I use). Both are free, light on system resources and provide good av protection.