Use MSCONFIG To Turn Off Drivers and Applications that Load at Startup
If you are able to identify the driver or application that’s causing a startup problem, the obvious solution is to remove it or turn it off. Unfortunately, it is not always obvious how to do that. Programs that load at startup can be called from Win.ini, from the Startup program group, or directly from the Registry itself; drivers that load are called from the device’s properties in the Registry, and it’s not easy or safe for a beginning technician to edit the Registry directly.
For example, suppose a user had a scanner with a driver that loaded at startup, but then he removed the scanner and its software. However, for some reason the Registry never got the message and still tries to load the scanner driver at startup. You could look in the Startup folder on the Start menu, and if a utility for the scanner appears there, remove it. You could also look in Add/Remove Programs to see whether the driver can be uninstalled that way. But failing those two, the only thing left to do is edit the Registry to get rid of it. Read More»
