Unclogging the Application Startup Queue with Startup Delay
If Autoruns looks overly complex at first run, Startup Delay looks deceptively simple. It is pretty simple to use, but it provides a powerful utility when managing startup applications. These are things that you probably do need to start on your PC because they provide some needed function. But do you need them all trying to start at once?
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In this discussion, we’ll assume that you’ve clicked Help in Startup Delay and read the directions.
Again, Startup Delay is concerned about applications more than services. Note that Startup Delay itself runs as a startup application, so you must “Activate” it, or set it to start, before it will work. Then you have the choice of running it as a graphical application or running silently in the background. I suggest that you try the graphical application until you get your startup sequence fine-tuned.
A good use of Startup Delay is to allow essential services to “settle in” before running applications that need to “phone home” for updates. Antivirus programs (we know which) can be especially bad about this, but, as applications, they are what we want to start first – or do we?
My fellow contributing editor Brian Nelson, in “Advanced Windows Configuration Questions – Ask the Reader,” puts forth an example where his antivirus program tries to retrieve updates before his network is fully up and running. Startup Delay may be a solution for this. Perhaps delaying the AV for, say, ten seconds and then spreading out the remaining startup applications over a one or two minute period may allow him to avoid this error – and get his system ready for productive use more quickly.
I suggest this because I still think that AV should start FIRST – before other applications begin trying to obtain their own updates – thus clogging the plumbing.
In a way, this is sacrificing time for smoothness. However, if it prevents an annoying error message or an exasperating clot of applications all trying to start at the same time, it’s worth it.
Thank you for reading this.
Further Reading
How to Speed up Vista’s Boot Time – Can you bake bread in the time it takes for your Vista PC to start up? Or does it seem that way? Fortunately, there are some relatively easy steps to take to speed up Vista's boot time. We describe four of them here.
Turn Your Vista Laptop into a Mobile Hotspot - Need to share your wireless Internet connection with your friends or colleagues? If they've got WIFI, the solution is easy and free. This article tells you how.
Broken Down on the Information Superhighway - In the war against terrorism and media piracy the lines have been drawn - or have they? Highly visible is the conflict between the pipe owners and the content pushers, but are secret deals and treaties that affect the global use of the Internet, music, and movies being made out of the public eye? Read this to learn about the secretive “Anti-counterfeiting trade agreement and who’s really behind ACTA.
How to FIX Vista’s Using the Wrong Templates for Your Folders - If Windows Vista is confused and is showing your documents in a multimedia folder and your music in a documents folder, we've been there, too. This article will show you how, step-by-step, to tame Vista's template folder forgetfulness until, we hope, Microsoft finally fixes the problem for good.
