One of the most common issues faced by Windows users is the slow boot up. Although there are many factors that need to be considered to find the perfect solution, a major reason for the slow boot up are the programs or tasks that are set to run at every Windows boot. Various services, codecs, drivers, plugins load at a boot-up. There are several programs that are uselessly called at startup and may be avoided. But how to know about these startup programs?
You may use the built-in msconfig utility, but it does not show the whole picture. Autoruns is a freeware developed by Microsoft SysInternals and gives a broader perspective to this scenario.
Using Autoruns is very easy. You can see the boot up items divided into various categories. You can get more information about a program by right-clicking it and viewing the Properties. In order to stop the program from starting up at boot time you simply have to uncheck the checkbox next to the program. To delete a program permanently from the startup you can right-click on it and select delete or simply use the Del key on your keyboard.