Windows 7 Pro 64bit painfully slow.

[Joseph Hayhurst]

When the welcome screen appeared it took 2 min. before desktop appeared. When I clicked "Shut down" it took four min. while "Shutting down" was on screen before windows turned computer off. Brief flash on the screen said, "Waiting for background programs to close" then brief message on screen with option to "Force shutdown". How do I speed up my computer, and Windows 7Pro 64bit. Intel i7 quad core CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz, 12GB memory, Samsung Pro 500GB SSD, EVGA GTX 470 video card. Windows Experience Index 7.4. My computer has been much faster. I'm running Microsoft Security Essentials, and I use CCleaner frequently. I looked at the background programs and deleted all I thought I could safely delete, but if I can find out what is definitely essential for my computer I would like to disable the rest and I would like to know how to restore them if something doesn't work right. I would like some help speeding start up, and shut down. Thanks.

 

[jefboyardee]

Run regedit and check HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run for garbage that you don't need.

 

[Joseph Hayhurst]

Thanks for the reply. How do I identify "garbage that I don't need"?? What are things I definitely should not delete?

 

[clifford_cooley]

Best bet would be to use CCleaner and look at the startup applications. You have two options, choose to disable or remove the entry from the list. If you didn't know what the listed item is, I'd recommend disabling that item first. Once you come to a good conclusion the item can be safely removed, you can choose to do at that time.

If an application starts acting strange, go back and enable the listed item that was disabled. If you disable an item and don't notice anything strange over the course of a week, that item can probably be removed safely. But if you remove an item and need it back, the easiest way would be to simply re-install the application of question again.

 

[Joseph Hayhurst]

I've been using CCleaner regularly. Is there a list of startup applications that is recommended to keep, and a list of applications that are necessary? Also is there a list of applications that commonly cause slow startups? Thanks for your help.

 

[clifford_cooley]

Whether or not the listed item is needed, would depend upon the application that put it there. Most of the time the startup items are only monitors. Monitors that are not necessarily needed but help speed application loading and updated regardless of how frequently the application is used.

Take Adobe AIR for instance. Adobe AIR is place in startup, every time Adobe Reader is updated. And every time, I remove Adobe AIR from my startup list. It is an annoying ritual, much like removing desktop icons every time any application is installed (or worse updated).

Here is a list of my startup items. Everything else I tend to remove. However I am just one person, anyone else may have different needs.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
I have one Desktop Gadget running so I need the sidebar loading at startup
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yes    HKCU:Run    Sidebar    Microsoft Corporation    C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe /autoRun
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I have MS Security Essentials so I need msseces.exe loading at startup
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yes    HKLM:Run    MSC    Microsoft Corporation    "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Client\msseces.exe" -hide -runkey
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is a monitor for USB 3.0 specific to Renesas chipset on my motherboard. At the moment I'm not sure what its purpose is.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yes    HKLM:Run    NUSB3MON    Renesas Electronics Corporation    "C:\Program Files (x86)\Renesas Electronics\USB 3.0 Host Controller Driver\Application\nusb3mon.exe"
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm thinking this one loads the Realtek Sound Manager. I've always kept it loaded at startup.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yes    HKLM:Run    RTHDVCPL    Realtek Semiconductor    C:\Program Files\Realtek\Audio\HDA\RtkNGUI64.exe -s
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is related to nVidia graphics. I don't see any harm in leaving them loaded. Although I could remove ShadowPlay as I'm not currently planing on using it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yes    HKLM:Run    NvBackend    NVIDIA Corporation    "C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\Update Core\NvBackend.exe"
Yes    HKLM:Run    Nvtmru    NVIDIA Corporation    "C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\NVIDIA Update Core\nvtmru.exe"
Yes    HKLM:Run    ShadowPlay    Microsoft Corporation    C:\Windows\system32\rundll32.exe C:\Windows\system32\nvspcap64.dll,ShadowPlayOnSystemStart
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is related to Blackberry phone application I installed a few days ago. I will likely remove the app and the startup entry soon.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yes    HKLM:Run    RIMBBLaunchAgent.exe    Research In Motion Limited    C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research In Motion\USB Drivers\RIMBBLaunchAgent.exe
-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Joseph Hayhurst]

Whether or not the listed item is needed, would depend upon the application that put it there. Most of the time the startup items are only monitors. Monitors that are not necessarily needed but help speed application loading and updated regardless of how frequently the application is used.

Take Adobe AIR for instance. Adobe AIR is place in startup, every time Adobe Reader is updated. And every time, I remove Adobe AIR from my startup list. It is an annoying ritual, much like removing desktop icons every time any application is installed (or worse updated).

Here is a list of my startup items. Everything else I tend to remove. However I am just one person, anyone else may have different needs.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
I have one Desktop Gadget running so I need the sidebar loading at startup
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yes    HKCU:Run    Sidebar    Microsoft Corporation    C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe /autoRun
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I have MS Security Essentials so I need msseces.exe loading at startup
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yes    HKLM:Run    MSC    Microsoft Corporation    "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Client\msseces.exe" -hide -runkey
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is a monitor for USB 3.0 specific to Renesas chipset on my motherboard. At the moment I'm not sure what its purpose is.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yes    HKLM:Run    NUSB3MON    Renesas Electronics Corporation    "C:\Program Files (x86)\Renesas Electronics\USB 3.0 Host Controller Driver\Application\nusb3mon.exe"
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm thinking this one loads the Realtek Sound Manager. I've always kept it loaded at startup.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yes    HKLM:Run    RTHDVCPL    Realtek Semiconductor    C:\Program Files\Realtek\Audio\HDA\RtkNGUI64.exe -s
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is related to nVidia graphics. I don't see any harm in leaving them loaded. Although I could remove ShadowPlay as I'm not currently planing on using it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yes    HKLM:Run    NvBackend    NVIDIA Corporation    "C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\Update Core\NvBackend.exe"
Yes    HKLM:Run    Nvtmru    NVIDIA Corporation    "C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\NVIDIA Update Core\nvtmru.exe"
Yes    HKLM:Run    ShadowPlay    Microsoft Corporation    C:\Windows\system32\rundll32.exe C:\Windows\system32\nvspcap64.dll,ShadowPlayOnSystemStart
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is related to Blackberry phone application I installed a few days ago. I will likely remove the app and the startup entry soon.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yes    HKLM:Run    RIMBBLaunchAgent.exe    Research In Motion Limited    C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research In Motion\USB Drivers\RIMBBLaunchAgent.exe
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks very much. I will try what you say.