Starter

Rating: 5 pick 

Version tested:  5.6.2.8

Starter is a small but powerful program that functions both as a startup manager and process monitor.

There are many programs that launch themselves when Windows starts up; some of these you want and others you don’t need (or can be launched when needed), and end up simply hogging your system resources. You can use Starter to ‘uncheck’ any program that is in your startup list so that it doesn’t run on startup any more.

What I like about this program is that you can uncheck something so it doesn’t run on startup, then come back later and re-check it if you choose. With other programs once you remove something from your startup list it disappears altogether, and to re-instate it you have to (a) remember what it was, and (b) re-create the entry, which will involve manually browsing back to where the program resides on the hard drive. I am continually amazed as to how many startup managers force you to do this if you change your mind or simply want to test something.

What should I stop from running?: You will have a good idea as to the programs you DON’T want, but there are entries that you will not recognize. Either leave these or Google them to get more info. Starter will also give you information about where in your hard drive these programs are located, whcih is another good indicator as to what they might be.

Starter is also a very good process monitor (a much better one than the Windows Task Manager). It can be used to list all running process and their extended information, such as memory use, priorities, thread count, and used DLLs.

Notes:
- Starter will list all entries, including hidden registry entries as well as common startup folder items
- Starter does not need to be installed and can be run from portable media.

I like the the look and feel of this program. Definitely my choice for startup manager.

Go to the program page for the latest version.