If your computer has been feeling sluggish and you suspect certain programs running at startup are causing this, you will need to know how to find out which programs are running and how to go about disabling them. Luckily Windows XP gives you an easy tool for seeing everything that runs and startup and an easy way to disable certain startup items.
This tool is called System Configuration Utility and is accessed by going to your Start Menu then clicking Run and type in msconfig. You will now see a screen like the one below.
Click the Startup tab and you will see a screen like this one.
Entries that are checked do load at startup and entries that are not, do not. If you wonder if a program is necessary for proper operation of your computer, please go to our Startup Item Resource Center and search for it. If you can't find the item in the database please post in our friendly Startup Item Identification Forum and you will receive an answer quickly while helping out other users that may have the same question.
You will need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect, so do that. Your computer should boot Windows a bit faster and you should notice some considerable difference in your computer's performance.