Find and disable programs that slow your PC’s startup

Wondering why your new Windows 8 PC is taking so long to start up in the morning? There’s a good chance that one of your installed programs is to blame.
The new Windows 8 Task Manager has a nifty feature that not only lists all the programs that launch when your system starts up, but also rates the “impact” they have on your PC’s startup speed.
Now, some “high” startup-impact programs will probably be ones that your system can’t live without—like, for instance, the “Rundll32″ application, an essential Windows app that helps other Windows program access shared “libraries” of computer code.
Others, however, may be programs that you forgot you even installed—and now they’re sitting on your PC, launching themselves whenever you hit the “power” button and gobbling up precious system resources.
So, ready to put a leash on programs that are slowing your system right out of the gate?

Not sure what a specific startup program does? Right-click its name to get more details.

Here’s how…

• To launch the Task Manager, just start typing “Task Manager” from the Windows 8 Start screen; you should see the Task Manager sitting at the very top of your search results. If you’re already in the “classic” Windows desktop, just press and hold CONTROL + ALT + DELETE and select Task Manager from the menu.
• If it isn’t already, toggle the “More details” setting at the bottom of the Task Manager window to reveal a series of tabs at the top of the windows, then click the “Startup” tab.
• You should now see a list of all the programs and processes that launch when your PC starts up. Click the “Startup impact” heading to sort the list from “High” startup impact to “Low.”
• Now, take a look at the programs that are having the greatest “impact” to your system’s startup time. See any you don’t need? Select the slowpoke and click the “Disable” button to keep it from launching itself when your PC starts up. (I, for example, spotted Facebook’s “Messenger” app—which I never use—near the top of the list. Yep, it’s now disabled.)
• Not sure what a particular startup program is for? Right-click its name and select “Open file location” to find out where the app sits on your hard drive; you can also “Search online” for more information or inspect the program’s “Properties.”
• Change your mind about preventing a program from starting when you power-on your PC? Just open the Task Manager, select its name under the Startup tab, then click then Enable button.

Source http://heresthethingblog.com
Find and disable programs that slow your PC’s startup

How to Get the Start menu back with Classic Shell in Windows 8

Even though Windows 8 doesn’t have a Start menu anymore, I still find myself clicking in the corner of the screen to open programs, search my PC, or do anything else the Start menu used to do.
Of course, without an actual Start menu, I usually end up click the Internet Explorer shortcut that’s sitting in its place, meaning I have to sit back and wait as my PC laboriously launches an unneeded browser window.

You can set the “style” of the Classic Shell Start menu to mimic Windows “Classic,” XP, Vista, or Windows 7.

Well, good news, fellow Windows 8 users: you can now revive the Start menu (or something close to it, anyway) with a minimum of fuss thanks to Classic Shell, a handy (and free) software download.
You can download Classic Shell right here, and once you install the program, you’ll get to choose the style for your Start menu: Windows “Classic” (think Windows 95-era PCs), Windows PC, or Windows Vista/7.
Just make your selection, click OK, and voilà—you should have a new Start menu waiting in the bottom corner of the Windows 8 desktop.
You can customize the Classic Shell Start menu by right-clicking the Start button and selecting Settings. An almost bewildering number of options is available, from changing the look of the Start button itself to tweaking the look and feel of the Start menu columns.

Just drag and drop a program shortcut to add it to the Classic Shell Start menu.

Here’s a few more tips to help you get started…

• No, you can’t add program icons to the Classic Shell Start menu with a right-click; instead, try dragging and dropping a program shortcut into the Start button or into the Start menu itself.
• You can change the behavior of the Windows key (which opens the Start menu in previous versions of Windows or the Start screen in Windows 8) in the Settings menu. Select the Basic Settings tab (or the Controls tab if the “All Settings” radio button is enabled) and pick an option under the “Windows Key opens” section—anything from “Nothing” to “Start Menu in Desktop and Start Screen in Metro.”
• By default, Classic Shell deactivates the “hot corner” for the Windows 8 Start screen (which usually sits in the same corner of the screen as the old Start menu). To turn the Start screen hot corner back on, click the “Windows 8 Settings” tab in the Settings menu and select “None” under “Disable active corners.”
• Had enough of Classic Shell? You can turn it off temporarily by right-clicking the Start button and selecting Exit (just relaunch Classic Shell to get the Start menu back), or permanently by opening the Control Panel, clicking “Remove a program,” and then selecting Classic Shell.

tip

Ever wish you could skip the Start screen when booting Windows 8 and jump directly to the desktop? Open Classic Shell’s settings again, click the “Windows 8 Settings” tab, and check the box next to “Skip Metro screen.”
Originally posted in heresthethingblog.com
How to Get the Start menu back with Classic Shell in Windows 8