Is Autoruns the Best Program for Resolving Startup Issues With Your PC?

Are you facing problems during your system boot up? Is your PC taking too long while loading its startup software before taking you to the welcome screen? If yes, then you might be a victim of system slowdown and PC startup issues. Although many consumers have adopted latest operating systems and SSD drives in this era, but some users are still having hands on computers that were bought by their elder siblings. Manufacturers claim that usage of high-tech machinery and updated software has left no space for slow boot up and unresponsive issues in systems, but they aren’t true.

It can be experienced that newly purchased PCs, ultrabooks and tablets boot extremely faster till a certain period of time. Once the technology starts updating itself or your machines become older, it starts resulting in performance related issues. Several tech experts advise to limit the startup software to make your systems boot faster but this is not the all what you need to do.

In this article, you will read about how Autoruns can help you in resolving numerous startup issues with your computer.

What is Autorun?

Autoruns v11.70, the current version of the utility, is a powerful utility tool that informs the user about the programs that are configured to run during system startup or when a user logs in. By displaying the program entries in the exact order in which Windows processes them, Autorun allows you to add or remove programs from the system boot up list. Equipped with the latest features, the Autorun, which is one of the prime Sysinternals utility tools, shows the per-user locations, Winlogon notifications, and other important information.

The tool is capable of offering information about programs that are enlisted in your startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys. However, you can also command this Windows utility tool to display information about programs enlisted in other major areas including Explorer shell extensions, browser helper objects, toolbars, auto-start services, and many others.

What is command-line version of Autoruns and how does it help?

Autorunsc, also known as the command-line version of Autoruns, acts as an efficient utility tool, when installed in the download package. The Sysinternals utility tool allows you to gain information of startup programs output in Comma Separated Values (CSV) format. Its Hide Signed Microsoft Entries feature helps you to have a look at the third-party auto-starting images that are already installed on your PC.

Additionally, the feature also allows you to seek information about the auto-starting images that are configured on different user accounts established on your PC. Apart from displaying information about the executables that are launched automatically on your system, the tool also performs the following tasks:

• Perform Boot execute
• Displays values of all the AppInit_DLLs that are running in the current log-in session
• Shows information about Internet Explorer addons
• Hides signed Microsoft entries
• Autostart services and non-disabled drivers
• Keeps a check on scheduled tasks
• Verifies digital signatures
• Specifies the username for which Autorun items will be shown and many others.

Step by step guide that makes your PC boot faster

Step1. Download ‘Autoruns’ from Sysinternals Suite and Unzip the folder. Now, right-click on ‘Autoruns,’ and choose ‘Run as administrator.’

Step2. A window containing information about basically everything that’s running automatically during your PC startup will appear. (Image shown below)

Step3. Uncheck all the unnecessary scheduled tasks, Internet Explorer Plug-ins and other extra startup programs to remove them from the Autorun entry and list of startup programs. Make sure that you only reject those programs that you don’t need running on a regular basis as disabling an essential driver or a critical log in item may result in serious startup problems.

Step4. Once all the extra background software and drivers are disabled, close the window and restart the system to experience the change.

What are various tabs in Autoruns used for?

As soon as you run Autoruns as administrator, the tool will display the currently configured auto-start programs as well as a full list of Windows Registry and file system locations. The upper portion of the window will contain multi tabs that are named after their appropriate categories. You can easily switch the tabs to view information about the numerous Autostart programs that are enlisted in a particular category or group.

You can easily view the properties of an executable that is configured to run automatically, by selecting it and choosing the ‘Properties menu item’ from the drop-down list, which appear only when you right-click the entry. Go to the Registry or file system location, select an item scheduled for auto-start and use the ‘Jump’ drop-down menu item to see its information.

You can easily reduce the system boot time by deciding the amount of startup programs that are needed to be executed automatically during startup of your system. Removing extra programs from the automatic executable programs list will not only affect the boot time but will also ensure that no unnecessary software is running in the background of your computer. Administrators are recommended to go through each and every entry of Autoruns to avoid extra time-consumption during system boot. However, beginners can use ‘TuneUp StartUp Manager’ to get rid of all of the unnecessary startup items and boost the PC’s performance.

About the Author: Hi! I am Brook M. Perry, a prolific blog writer and keen author of articles related to pc security support and solution for issues related to computers and mobile devices. Being associated with the reputed best pc tuneup service provider Qresolve, I have resolved thousands of tech issues for our customers from worldwide. Computer remote pc repair My areas of interest are PC security, endpoint security system, router support etc. You can follow me for my useful remote computer support articles on Ezine and other article-oriented websites.

Brooke M. Perry is an ardent technician associated with Qresolve computer security, with wide experience of fixing issues with PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones.