PCTips Box

1. System Start-up packed with too many applications (Start-up overload)

Over time, as you add more and more programs to your computer, many of these applications automatically add themselves to your Windows Start-up folder. Additionally, these applications can add themselves quietly to a hidden area of your Windows Start-up system (accessed via the MSCONFIG run command). In extreme cases your PC will appear completely frozen.

Limiting the number of applications loading themselves at start-up can speed boot times considerably and increase overall system performance. (more…)

You often read or hear that you should always proceed with caution when working with the Windows registry. Although this is very true, you can help alleviate some of the jitters of modifying the registry if you understand a little more about it.

First of all, a little about the registry terminology, keys, and values are terms you should be able to differentiate between. In the most simplistic terms, values contain the specific data and values are organized into registry keys.

Creating a new registry key is a straightforward process. With the Registry Editor open (click Start, type Registry Editor in the Search field and press Enter) navigate to the location where you want to create the new key. Click the Edit menu, point to New and click Key. Conversely, you can delete an existing key by selecting the appropriate key and clicking Delete from the Edit menu. (more…)

We have been receiving many mails from our readers these days with a problem that when ever they start up windows they see the error messages like as follows:

* Windows cannot find ‘C:\windows\svchost.exe.’
* Could not load or run ‘C:\windows\svchost.exe.’ specified in the registry
* Windows cannot find ‘C:\Windows\System32\amvo.exe’
* “Windows cannot find ‘copy.exe’

These type of messages appear at windows startup, when windows tries to load the virus files like amvo.exe, copy.exe etc. These error messages appear, because these files were removed by your anti-virus programs but still the registry entries for them exist.

Different types of viruses create some files which got executed at the windows startup so that they can come in action as windows load itself. In order to run the primary virus files required, they create run entries in windows registry. (more…)