What is a Startup Manager

Introduction

Startup managers are applications that allow you to control the programs starting on Windows start up. They can't normally be controlled by users.

What a startup manager can do?

A startup manager gathers a lot of different Windows settings on programs configured to execute on system startup. Then it presents them in an easy to comprehend and edit list. The basic actions a startup manager allow you to perform are to add a program to the startup list, to edit an already present program or to delete some of the programs.

If you install a lot of applications on your PC soon Windows will begin starting up and working slowly. This is caused by the numerous programs which are executing even without your knowledge.

It is not unusuall activity for an application to allow you to add it to the startup list but some of them are not very open about it. They decide on their own that you need it starting up with Windows. One famous application guilty of this behaviour is Windows Messenger. One more example where a startup manager will be very helpful.

What more?

Advanced startup managers will give you to more information and more control over the startup programs. One advanced feature is a Black List. It alows you to choose which programs are unwanted and shouldn't start with Windows despite their insistence.

Additionally most startup managers provide you with a way to backup the startup configuration so its safer to change the setting even if you are not knowledgable enough. Or so you can revert to a previous configuration in the future.

About MSConfig

MSConfig is a configuration utility distributed with most Windows versions. It is similar to a startup manager but is suitable only for system administrators or very experienced computer users. Learn more about MSConfig.

MSConfig Cleanup

For the purpose of managing startup programs MSConfig is really limited. You can only enable or disable the items in the startup list. Once disabled the startup entries remain there and there is no way to remove them from the list. You can solve this problem with a free program called MSConfig Cleanup.


If you need an easy to use yet powerful startup manager take a look at InControl Startup Manager.