if you use the system configuration utility

Each time you reboot Windows, you'll be informed that the System Configuration Utility is preventing certain applications and services from running. You don't need to restart immediately, though the programs and services you disabled will continue to run until you reboot, or until you terminate them individually as described above. When you use the System Configuration Utility to disable the startup of one or more programs or services and then terminate the System Configuration Utility, it informs you that you must restart your computer for some of the changes made by System Configuration to take effect, and offers you the opportunity to restart Windows. The System Configuration Utility's Services tab provides a similar list of Services unchecking the box to the left of a Service will prevent that Service from being started the next time you boot Windows. Unchecking the box to the left of the Startup Item will prevent that item from being started the next time you boot Windows. Each entry includes a (possibly cryptic) Startup Item, the command used to start the program, and the 'location' responsible for the startup the location will either be a pathname in the Windows Registry, or the words Common Startup. Directing Windows to run MSConfig will start the System Configuration Utility, whose Startup tab displays a list of all programs that Windows is automatically starting. Somewhat more challenging is to discover what programs and services Windows has started on its own. If you know what programs you've started, its generally easy to stop them in an orderly manner. Its not always obvious what process name is associated with the application you're trying to terminate Google likely-looking process names until you find the right one measure twice, cut once!. You can use the Windows Task Manager to immediately terminate any running process by right clicking the process and selecting the End Process item, but the shutdown will not be orderly, and so can have negative consequences. For a service that Windows is running in the background, you can terminate it in an orderly fashion by running the Services manager (Windows Control panel, Administrative Tools), right-clicking the service of interest, and selecting the Stop menu item. File:Exit), or in the case of DXLab applications, by directing the Launcher to send a message directing them to terminate. For interactive programs, that means clicking the red X button in the upper-right corner, finding and executing a shutdown menu entry (e.g. Once a program is running, it should ideally be shut down in an orderly fashion.

Terminating applications you're not using is the least expensive way to improve your system's performance. No matter how fast your CPU and hard drive might be and no matter how much RAM you have installed, if you start enough applications and services, your system will crawl. Terminating Unnecessary Programs and Services

If you use the system configuration utility