What are Startup Programs? How to view them in your Windows system

What is a Startup Program in simple words?

Starting with the point, a Startup Program is a software (yeah, we call it program too!) which is loaded into the memory of your computer whenever Window loads up. These programs are loaded just when you successfully sign in to your account and Windows starts(they are the reason your cursor shows rotations and animations).

Are Startup Programs bad guys?

No no, these are not bad things! These programs are of great utility, and help us a lot in loading required programs into the RAM before we need them, thus saving our time and increasing a user's productivity. But yes, as there are two faces of a coin, these programs also end up slowing your system's booting. Sometimes, users have to wait for some seconds before they can start using their computer because startup programs are being loaded into the memory and during this time, if a user opens any other program, it will only result in more slowdown of the system and complicate the processes.

How to Control Startup Programs?

Before you know how to control the startup programs, you should understand this line carefully: "You might end up messing up with your system if you disable/remove anything that you see!"
Nice warning, right?
There are some really crucial services and programs which load whenever Windows starts, and you really can not afford to mess up with them, or you will end up with a broken system, and in worst case, you will have to re-install windows. So, you have to be careful what programs and services are you changing.
TO view the list of programs and services which load whenever your Windows loads, follow these steps:

For Windows XP, Windows 2000 or Windows 98
1. Go to Start -> Run
2. Type "msconfig" and press enter.
3. In the window that will open, select Startup, and you have the list of startup programs in front of you!

For Windows 7
1. Click Start
2. Type "msconfig" and press Enter.
3. In the System Configuration window, click on Startup tab, and you have the list!

General Advice on Which Programs You can Safely Remove

In case your system is getting slow because of Startup Programs, I suggest you to consider removing Update Programs(like some media player updater, this updater, that updater), and programs that you know what they do, but you rarely use it. This way, the startup programs won't eat up your memory, and will instead be helpful to you.

In case you need advice on which program to keep or delete, just let me know the program name, and I will be more than happy to help you out!