Subscribe
Notify of
guest

16 Comments
Oldest
Newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Byron

first time I have clioked on one of your links and very helpful, thanks.

Ciprian Adrian Rusen

Glad you found this article useful. Cheers!

Ossie C

Very helpful. have used msconfig for years to control startup, was not aware of some of the additional functionality.

Bill W.

Thank you, just what I was looking for.

Earl Stump

Note: my web site is currently under construction and inactive.

This tutorial was extremely well done. It was both informative and clearly laid out visually so as to be very understandable. The only confusing part was at the end, and when it asked me for my Website. I thought, “wait, everyone doesn’t have a web site. What does this mean?” And especially the CAPTCHA part. I did love the clear explanation of what the security question was for, but then I got lost in trying to understand the example page, thinking it was the real page, which I couldn’t get back to. So it took me a long time there (probably just me). Also, the CAPTCHA kept incorrectly saying my answer was wrong (in Chrome), but it gave me an entire page of helpful things to try when I filed the error report, so I’m trying Firefox. Thanks for all your hard work. I hope to see you continue with more tutorials. You might pole the public for the areas of Win7 & 8 they’d like to see covered, and even charge a small fee to download the tutorial itself, explaining that it helps cover your costs and time so you can continue doing what so many people find so helpful. I’m a teacher (34 years mostly computer science and also math). Your wording and explanations are so well thought out – some of the best I’ve seen anywhere in books OR on the net!

Ciprian Adrian Rusen

Thank you for the kind words. Highly appreciated! 😀

If you enjoy our content, don’t hesitate to subscribe using one of options available on the top-right of our website.

Regarding the commenting system – next year we will launch a new version of our website. The commenting system will be smoother, faster and easier to use. Until then we have to stick with what we have. Sorry about that.

ron

hello,

my brother accidentally changed my msconfig in boot section the number of processor into 4 ang then when restarted my windows 8 can not boot i always ask for repair and i tried all the advance option but still didnt work…

my question is:

– How can i reset my msconfig without entering the windows since i can’t enter the windows, pls help…thanks

Bill

In System Configuration, under the Services tab, many of the services are stopped. I assume the computer was delivered this way. Anyway, the “enable all” button will not work. Is that normal?

M Johnston-Mullaney

First I would like to say that the tutorial was extremely helpful and illuminating. Why do I say illuminating? Because last night at around 9pm when I was just winding down for the night, I was just going to check my email and then go to bed. For the longest time I have been having trouble with Chrome spitting out this awful “You have a virus or malware, you must call the 800…. bluh blub blub” so loud my dog would start howling! I can’t get rid of it no matter what I try. So I figured, maybe I have all these Viruses and I am running, every Ccleaner and products my Computer Manager(does maintenance on my computer) leaves around to wipe them out. But still I can’t get rid of it. So I stopped using Chrome, and ironically, figuring to get the same problem with Internet Explorer only worse. But no, no problem, I precede to have this awesome experience for the next month with IE. I frankly, couldn’t believe it, it was fast and did everything I wanted and no warnings, errors or dropouts, but that is just an aside.

So, last night I tried Chrome and sure enough the Screamer came on and I said I know your game. So with all this confidence I call this 800 number and tell them to get this off. Well they convince me, that I am doomed and that I need to be boarded in order to remove that Message because it wouldn’t go off unless it caught a sniff of trouble. So, I let him and watch that curser and yes it disappeared for a bout 10 seconds and I said you better reappear really fast and the next thing I know System Configuration opens and he says, who is responsible for this computer because they turned off all your products see? I am astounded, they are all stopped. He said these are my programs and your guy has not bothered to keep them on in fact he turned most of them off, look your scanners are off for McAfee. You can’t even tell if you have viruses. That is where he had me. So I said turn them back on. He said only a Windows Certified Technician could turn them back on. No one can just touch this page but a WCT and you didn’t pay enough for a WCT you are not protected. on and on he went I ended up paying him $249.99 and with a promise to pay $100 more. for two years of service. The high cost was due to their employees being only WCT’s. I feel so stupid. This morning I noticed that my resolution was the same as I had set it that morning and my guy always harped on me about changing the resolution to make everything bigger and why and how, and I forget but when he did his maintenance he always fixed it to what it should be and left me a note. So if their guy was so Windows Certified and my guy is so bad why didn’t he notice it when he “overhauled” my system last night? Yet, does that resolution really matter and is that not worth mentioning.forget that… The fact is, I have been had. They took advantage of my ignorance and I got what I deserved. But that doesn’t mean the world doesn’t need to hear about it. It also doesn’t mean that my bank doesn’t have to go after them for fraud. And it doesn’t mean that you can’t mention it in your super duper tutorial!! So that other not so learnered individuals can warn there ignorant counterparts and friends? The sad part is I don’t even know the name of their Company. But I will and I will take them down, because I have nothing better to do with my time. I don’t work, I am a disabled Veteran. I have no legs. But I have a mind. So people think I am not so smart but I am telling you right now, I am not going to let this guy take my last money. Because he scared me, my computer is my only way of seeing or going about in this world. IF you take that away, you might have just taken the rest of me. get it? I am so mad, I am so angry. Please spread the word. But more important keep teaching, keep educating so people will learn about their own computers and know what to do in situation’s like this.

Robert Goltz

Hi Mr. Rusen: I hope you’re still monitoring the thread here. As familiar as I am with using System Config. to adapt my startup services, I don’t know of any way to “Save” a particular configuration for future use? When I need extra memory for programming/compiling I stop a lot of the unnecessary “stuff” windows pours on! Any advice or comment will be appreciated. Thank you for your site.

Cheers,

Robert

W. Howard

Robert,
I am not Mr. Rusen but I solved memory and speed problems in Win 10 on my new 64 bit laptop by inserting a 64 gig usb 3.0 thumbdrive into one of the usb 3.0 slots and turning on ‘Ready Boost’. I now have effectively 40 gigs of memory (8 from the machine and 32 from Ready Boost) and the machine runs twice as fast. Not sure if this would work for you, but it did for me.
Good Luck
Woody

Robert Goltz

Hi Woody:

Thanks for the feedback. I’m upgrading my RAM and I have a small USB drive for that little extra boost. As soon as I can I’m gonna replace this boat anchor, until then your suggestion is appreciated.

Cheers,

Robert

Dan Visan

In 2018, still very usefull information and well presented.

Raymond Wylde

an excellent article, well written for all to understand and covers all those points which we never appreciated or existed.
well done.

aGeek

You fail royally, though you provide quite a lengthy expose… too wordy… all of this can be compacted in less than half the babble AND you omitted a key ingredient(WIN7, possibly other versions).
Where DOES the data in the Startup list come from!?
Since it is the source to the Registry! (makes no sense, does it!?)
…and why one must start msseces.exe manually without the -hide switch, to get the system tray icon to work!

Bruce Bartlett

Is there a way to save the services choices in Selective Startup? If I switch to Normal Startup to run a particular program that needs Normal Startup, I lose the choices I have made in selective startup.In other words, if I change from Normal Startup to Selective Startup, all the services are checked; I lost my services choices that I set the last time I used Selective Startup.