Bump performance in Windows 7 by trimming startup programs

several methods that you can use to investigate startup programs and eliminate some of them to improve performance. The minimum memory (RAM) requirements for Microsoft Windows 7 are 1GB for the 32-bit versions and 2GB for the 64-bit versions. However, we all know that the operating system runs better with more RAM. If you’re currently running Windows 7 on a system with only 1GB or 2GB of RAM, you know that the system can be slow at times — especially when you are running extremely memory-intensive applications.
Of course the ultimate solution would be to add another GB of RAM to your system, but what if doing so is not feasible at this point in time? Are you stuck with a sluggish system? Fortunately, you are not, as you can bump up performance by trimming back startup programs that may not always be needed. By preventing unnecessary programs from automatically starting, you’ll have more memory to spare for the programs that you do want to run.
In this edition of the Windows Desktop Report, I’ll show you several methods that you can use to investigate those programs that run automatically at startup. I’ll also show you how you can eliminate or at least temporarily prevent them from automatically starting up.

WMIC

You can investigate startup programs using a specially configured WMIC (Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line) command. WMIC (pronounced “WeeMek”) is built in to the Windows operating system and allows you to tap into a wide variety of application systems, hardware components, and operating system subsystems. Using a WMIC command, you can easily create a very nice HTML-based report of those programs that automatically start up on your system. You can then print the report to have on hand as you investigate whether you can safely eliminate any of those programs.
To create the report, open a Command Prompt window and type the following command:

wmic startup get /format:hform > startupreport.htm

When you do, the report will be created in a matter of moments. To access the report, just type the following in the same Command Prompt.

startupreport.htm

You’ll then see a report, similar to the one shown in Figure A, displayed in your web browser.

Figure A

Using a specially configured WMIC command you can create a nicely formatted report on startup programs.

As you can see, the report is set up in a table and uses color to make it very easy to read.

Resource and Performance Monitor

You can also investigate startup programs using Resource and Performance Monitor. Click the Start button and type Performance in the Search box. When the results appear, select Performance Information and Tools. When the Performance Information and Tools window appears, select the Advanced Tools. When the Advanced Tools window appears, scroll to the bottom and select Generate a system health report.
When the Resource and Performance Monitor window opens, the utility will begin compiling its report, which will take about 2-3 minutes. Once the report is compiled, expand the Software Configuration section and scroll down to the Startup Programs section, as shown in Figure B.

Figure B

The Resource and Performance Monitor creates a much more concise report on the Startup Programs.

System Configuration

You can investigate and disable startup programs using System Configuration. Click the Start button and type System in the Search box. When the results appear, select System Configuration. When the System Configuration dialog box appears, select the Startup tab, as shown in Figure C. As you can see, the Startup tab provides a straightforward listing of the programs that automatically start up on your system.

Figure C

You can view and easily disable startup programs on the Startup tab of the System Configuration utility.

You can disable a startup program by clearing the adjacent text box. As you can see, the Startup tab makes it easy to keep track of those programs that you have disabled by recording the date and time they were disabled. When you click OK, you’ll be prompted to restart the system to activate your changes, as shown in Figure D.

Figure D

When you click OK, you’ll be prompted to restart the system to activate your changes.

Autoruns

If you really, really want to delve into a deep investigation of startup programs, there is no better application than Autoruns from Windows Sysinternals and Mark Russinovich. This tool, shown in Figure E, provides a very comprehensive look at all the places in the operating system from which a program can be configured to automatically run.

Figure E

Autoruns provides a very comprehensive investigation into startup programs.

You can learn more about Autoruns on the Windows Sysinternals site. The program also comes with a detailed Help file.

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Troubleshoot driver problems in Windows 7 with Driver Verifier Manager

how to use the built-in Driver Verifier Manager to troubleshoot driver problems in Microsoft Windows 7. In a recent blog post titled “Troubleshoot Windows 7 Drivers in More Detail with Driverquery,” I told you about Driverquery and how you can use it to gather detailed information about all the device drivers installed on your system. Well, in addition to DriverQuery there is another tool called Driver Verifier Manager that you can use as a troubleshooting aid when you suspect that your problems may be rooted in a faulty device driver.
For instance, if you occasionally encounter unpredictable errors, lockups, or BSODs, there’s a good chance that your system is suffering from the effects of a faulty third-party driver. The device drivers that come with Windows 7 have a Microsoft digital signature that indicates that the driver has met a certain level of testing and that it has not been altered. Any hardware that carries a Certified for Windows 7 logo will come with drivers that have a digital signature from Microsoft, which indicates that the product was tested for compatibility with Windows 7.
However, not all third-party hardware manufacturers are willing to take the time and effort to submit their products to Microsoft for certified testing, and as such they aren’t really interested in having a digital signature from Microsoft assigned to their drivers. And, unfortunately, uncertified drivers can be a source of problems.
In this edition of the Windows Desktop Report, I’ll show you how to use the built-in Driver Verifier Manager to troubleshoot driver problems in Windows 7.

An overview

Windows 7 comes with two versions of the Driver Verifier Manager — a command-line version and a GUI version. I’ll cover the GUI version in this article. (If you want to learn more about the command-line version, check out this article on Microsoft’s MSDN site. You can also download a whitepaper.)
Once enabled, the Driver Verifier Manager will go to work in the background and will essentially perform a series of extreme stress tests on the selected driver(s) in an attempt to cause the driver(s) to fail. Keep in mind that the tests that Driver Verifier Manager performs will occur as you use your system over time under normal circumstances. As such, it may take some time to identify a problem, if there is one at all. In other words, this utility will not yield immediate results.
If the driver does fail, it will cause a BSOD and a Stop Error message that will contain information that you can use to determine and eliminate the problematic driver. If, after a few days, the driver doesn’t fail and cause a BSOD, then the driver may not be the cause of the problem. Either way, you will have to disable the Driver Verifier Manager once you are done troubleshooting.
Remember, that once you enable it, the Driver Verifier Manager will remain active in the background until you disable it. I’ll show you how to disable Driver Verifier Manager in a moment.

Launching the Driver Verifier Manager

To launch the Driver Verifier Manager, click the Start button, type Verifier in the Start Search box, and press [Enter]. When you do, you may encounter a UAC and will need to respond accordingly. You’ll momentarily see a Command Prompt window, and then the Driver Verifier Manager will launch and display a wizard-based user interface, as shown in Figure A.

Figure A

The Driver Verifier Manager runs from a wizard-based user interface.

As you can see, the Create Standard Settings option is selected by default, and in most cases this option is the best way to start. When you use this option, the Driver Verifier Manager selects a standard set of driver verification options.
If you later decide that you want to perform more specific tests, you can select the Create Custom Settings option. When you do, the Driver Verifier Manager will display all the available driver verification options and allow you to select the ones that you want to employ. This option is really designed for developers.
As I mentioned, you will have to disable the Driver Verifier Manager once you are done troubleshooting. To do so, you’ll use the Delete Existing Settings option.
As its name implies, selecting the Display Existing Settings option will show the driver verification options that have been activated and will list the drivers being tested.
Once you enable it, the Driver Verifier Manager remains active and performs its stress tests in the background. If you select the Display Information about the Currently-Verified Drivers option, the Driver Verifier Manager will display statistics on the utility’s current actions.

Using the Create Standard Settings option

Since the Create Standard Settings option is the most common way that you’ll use the Driver Verifier Manager, I’ll cover this option. When you click next, you’ll be prompted to select the drivers that you want to test, as shown in Figure B.

Figure B

The Driver Verifier Manager provides you with several options for choosing which driver you want to test.

Since unsigned drivers are the most likely culprit, the Automatically Select Unsigned Drivers option is selected by default. If you select this option and click Next, you’ll see only those drivers installed on your system that are not digitally signed by Microsoft. If there aren’t any unsigned drivers, an error message will appear.
If you suspect that signed drivers designed for a previous version of Windows may be installed on your system and causing problems, select the Automatically Select Drivers Built for Older Versions of Windows option. If you select this option and click Next, you’ll see a list of drivers that are digitally signed by Microsoft but are designed for previous version of Windows — most likely Windows XP. If there aren’t any signed drivers for older version, an error message will appear.
While not really a very sensible option when it comes to standard troubleshooting practice, you can select the Automatically Select All Drivers Installed on This Computer option. If you select this option, the Next button will change to Finish and you’ll be prompted to reboot your system. (As a general rule of thumb, it is better to troubleshoot a single or a small set of possible problem drivers as it will be easier to determine the cause.)
If you want to see all the drivers installed on the system and be able to pick and choose which ones to test, choose the Select Driver Names from a List option.
On my test system, I selected the default option, Automatically Select Unsigned Drivers, and clicked Next. I then saw a small list of the drivers installed on my system that were not digitally signed by Microsoft, as shown in Figure C. To initiate the testing, I clicked Finish and was prompted to restart my system.

Figure C

In the case of my test system, two drivers were unsigned.

It’s been several days, and I have yet to encounter a response from the Driver Verifier Manager. I suppose that it isn’t really surprising since I wasn’t encountering any unpredictable problems on this system. However, I am in the process of seeking more current drivers.

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windows has blocked this software because it can't verify the publisher

1. Open internet explorer, click Tools – Internet Options .
2. Click the Security tab – Custom Level button.
Under ActiveX ensure the following are set to enabled

Run ActiveX and plug-ins – Enabled
Download Signed ActiveX Control – Enabled
Script ActiveX controls marked as safe for scripting – Enabled

Set the following to “Prompt ”

Download unsigned ActiveX Control – Prompt
Initialize and script ActiveX controls not mark as safe – Prompt

3. Click OK and Apply and OK. Restart the browser.

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