Removing Entries from MSCONFIG Startup List

Fred writes, When you go into msconfig and you click off programs from the startup how do you delete or eliminate the programs that you have deleted from your system? It seems like once the program gets there it stays. There are some programs that come with your system like virus programs, that one does not use and therefore disable them and then remove them from the system but they stay in the msconfig lineup.

The MSCONFIG System Configuration Utility offers plenty of powerful options for managing your startup process, while also presenting one of the more convoluted displays in Windows XP. If you disable a startup item, the information in the MSCONFIG Startup tab must be removed by deleting an entry from the Windows Registry. This is not an ideal situation, fortunately there are a number of apps available to act as an intermediary in the process.

For no nonsense MSCONFIG Startup list cleanup, one simple choice is freeware app MSConfig Cleanup. The app has only one function - removing unused items from the MSConfig Startup list. Install MSConfig Cleanup, check a box next to any item you want removed from the MSCONFIG Startup list and click the Clean Up Selected button to remove the items from the list.

For a more comprehensive set of tools for managing startup items, finding out additional details of processes running on your system and a handy set of utilities for managing some other routine tasks on your system, I like some of the additional features in The Ultimate Troubleshooter.