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Exploring and Controlling Startup Programs in Windows Vista

Windows Defender is installed by default in Windows Vista and can be used as a handy means of checking and controlling startup programs. By the way, if you are running Windows XP you can download Defender directly from Microsoft at no cost. First, for convenience, I suggest you setup Defender to display an icon on your taskbar - the icon is animated, indicating when a scan is occuring or when an action is required, at other times an aesthetic castle wall with checkmark-in-green-circle reports all is well.

To place the Windows Defender icon on your taskbar:

1 open Windows Defender
2 click on 'Tools'
3 click on 'options'
4 scroll down to the section 'Real-time protection options'
5 under 'Choose when the Windows Defender icon appears in the notification area', mark the radio button for 'Always' and click 'Save'

To check startup programs:

1 double-click the Defender taskbar icon to open Windows Defender
2 click on 'tools'
3 click on 'Software Explorer'
4 click on the 'Category' drop-down menu to display available areas of exploration
5 choose 'Startup Program'
6 click on an item in the left-hand display to view associated information about the program, shown in the right-hand frame
7 use the buttons at the bottom to control startup status

Note that you are well advised to fully research items before going ahead with a change, so you don't remove something you will regret, though you will note that for system items, such as explorer.exe, buttons are greyed-out, thus preventing changes.

By the way, msconfig is still accessible in Windows Vista, simply type msconfig into the Start Search box, msconfig will come up in the list of results, click on it and you will get the System Configuration utility.

Good luck and good computing.