How To Clean Up Your System Tray

There are different ways to clean up your system tray, but the easiest way is by using the msconfig utility. 

Warning

It is possible when incorrectly using the msconfig utility that you may cause your computer to not boot.  Although the instructions here will generally enable you to safely use the System Configuration Utility, YOU must assume all risk and responsibility for the changes YOU make using the utility.

Starting msconfig

To start the msconfig utility click your Start button then click on the Run button.  When the Run prompt comes up, type in msconfig and click the OK button.

Once the System Configuration Utility appears you will notice it has six tabs along the top (depending on the version of Windows you are running). Each of these tabs affect the way your computer performs in different ways.  For the purposes of this article we will be discussing the Startup tab; click the Startup tab heading to access it.

The Startup Tab

The startup tab lists many of the programs that are currently set to run automatically when your computer boots. The column headers give you the short name, the command used and the registry location of the calling entry.  While none of the items are required for your computer to run, it is likely that you may want to, or probably should leave some of them enabled.   Making the decision of which programs to leave enabled and which ones to disable will depend on what programs you regularly use on your computer.  Many software applications put entries in here when they are installed; many of those entries may be unneccesary, or cause conflicts or other errors.  Everything listed in here consumes some processor cycles and memory, so disabling some of them can noticably improve performance.   Spyware, viruses, trojans and other malware often also post entries to this area.

Disabling Items

To disable an item, uncheck its box, once you are finished disabling the items you want to disable, click the OK button.  You will be prompted to restart the computer because of the changes you made to the System Configuration Utility.  Once the computer restarts you will be shown a message stating "You have used the System Configuration Utility to make changes to the way Windows starts...", check the box that states "Don't show this message or launch the System Configuration Utility when Windows starts".  Doing this will allow the computer to remember these new settings and continue using this Selective Startup Mode.  You should notice that the number of items in your System tray has been reduced and your computer may be performing better.

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