Technology Tips – Published November 2021 in the Guide and Digest
By Don Trauger – Kennett
Last month (October) I had you go into Settings to improve your Privacy. This month I’ll have you return to Settings to improve Startup performance.
Open Settings and click the Apps icon. This area deals with programs (apps) that either Microsoft or the program creator has decided to load in the background during startup to get a jump start if or when you decide to click the program’s Desktop icon. With the program loaded in memory during startup, it speeds the final startup of the program when you click the icon or click it in the Start Menu. Sounds like a win-win – right? Not so fast. The tradeoff is that the loading operation slows the startup (boot) time of the computer. The list of Apps can grow to be large, so it needs to be pared down to minimize startup time.
On the left side of the Apps window, click Startup. Review the list and turn off all the programs except Windows Security notification icon. You will not be deleting anything from your computer when you perform this performance tweak. Exceptions are possible. For example, if you use Adobe Photoshop, you may see it in the Startup list. It’s a large program so it may make sense to turn it on. Another exception would be your anti-virus program if it’s listed.
Another area to check for Startup programs is the Task Manager. Right click the Taskbar, at the bottom of the screen, then click Task Manager. Click the Startup tab. Review the list. Many will be disabled from your previous changes but proceed to disable any others. Use the guidelines previously mentioned above in the Apps area.
Turning off startup apps and disabling them in Task Manager will help speed up the startup time of your computer and will increase your resources once the computer has booted up.