Are these safe to remove?

Off my 1520, I like to keep my lappy as clean as possible:

Netwaiting
Conexant HDA D330 MDC V.92 Modem
Braodcom Management Programs
PDF Settings

Also, how do I get quickset to start on startup? I might have deleted the entry with CCleaner...(it's still installed though.)

Lastly, which of these can I get rid of for startup?


Last lastly, more tips on tweaking my PC to run faster/more efficient that I probably didn't do already would be nice.

 

I'd remove Xfire. Also, if you don't use the extra buttons on that Logitech mouse, then i'd recommend uninstalling SetPoint.

Nwiz.exe is Nvidia driver stuff, you don't need it to play games, but things like Digital Vibrance depend on it.

 

Wow... some people get really obsessed at making their computer run fast.... For one thing. Get rid of any 3rd party program that says it will make your computer run faster... This is a big lie. Use MSConfig do edit your startup items. it is there for a reason. You don't need a third party program to do this. Netwaiting is a windows program - run through add/remove programs (or programs in vista) and remove any windows features you don't use... (I.E. netwaiting, msn, windows messenger etc...). Next, you want to uninstall programs before you remove them from the startup group. Uninstall all of the bloat ware Dell installs (trust me there is a lot, I used to work for them) {in fact, I suggest clean install if you haven't already}. go through the start menu startup folder and remove the stuff from there. Then hit up msconfig and remove things there.

now about your things you are asking for....if you remove the conexant, your modem will not work. you might not use it but there is no sense of breaking something just cause you don't use it. The broadcom is some bloatware that is installed to help manage your NIC. if you are smart enough that you never need to call Dell for assistance in setting up your network - nix it. It is only for diagnostics. the pdf stuff sounds like more bloat ware or part of adobe... I use PDF's a lot so I am careful at getting rid of these things. You can get rid of the adobe quick start with no harm but be wary of other parts that can cause it not to work.

Now, if you are not comfortable doing all of this... just call dell and ask them to clean off the bloatware... If you get to a tech in Utah, they will do this relitively easy and they know what they are doing. Can't say anything about the other sites as I didn't work side by side with them.

 

Another tip is to shutdown unneeded services. There are plenty of sites on this. Google search. Vista specific.

 

have like 45-47 processes running at startup.... still takes about a min to load up vista though

 

wow we live in a lazy world... I never care about how long my computer takes to start... it is how it performs after it is on. I remember when you hit the button and then went to make your self something to eat and hoped it was on by the time you were down. (back in the days of OS/2) I have seen plenty of computers take 20-30 secs to boot but ran so slow cause they killed too many services... don't worry so much about startup time... worry more about performance while it is on. BTW.... you will have on average 50-70 processes running depending on what programs you have installed (virus scanners run about 5-10 on their own)

 

Shorter load up time which means more work done faster barely constitutes as laziness

CCleaner is actually a great program, I use it for registry cleaning above anything, and sometimes, under startup, there are apps there that wouldn't show up on msconfig.

 

I got my desktop with 512MB of DDR-333 and a 120GB 5400RPM 1MB cache hard drive to boot Windows XP in 40 seconds. This kind of stuff matters to people to who have a moment to check their e-mail on the go (people that use laptops for their intended purpose). I don't mind waiting 2 minutes for a computer to boot up, it's just that I was scarred by 30 minute boot times courtesy of Norton 2007.

 

Trust me, I work on the fly. Blackberry's do wonders when you have to check your email that fast. I like fast boot times too. My main comment is that usually when a program makes big promises to "speed up" your computer, it usually makes it slower. If you really want to spend the time changing features like that, learn how to do it the right way. Use msconfig, regedit. Just make sure you do it right. I had my computer to the point that the post took longer then my boot. from the time I hit my on button to the point I was in windows was just under 20 secs. This was all done my editing my registry and using msconfig.

 

MSCONFIG > CCleaner for startup stuff.

CCleaner doesn't allow you to "fix" what you "broke" as it deletes the place versus MSCONFIG which just allows you uncheck things

 

Maybe it makes sense to approach from the opposite direction- rather than what should be removed from startup, could people suggest which programs actually SHOULD be included in the startup group?

 

You don't NEED to get rid of every single thing. Just see the list.

iPod manager? I don't have an iPod, and even if I do it'll start up on its own when I open iTunes. Uncheck that.

 

Employ standard change protocol: Make a change, shutdown (not restart), reboot, check if still OK, repeat.

 

I never bothered with the iPod service that launched iTunesHelper.exe and iPodService.exe, they get paged out and I own 2 iPods. The iPhone service got deleted at once though.

 

I don't have an iPod manager...or an iPod for that matter.

Right now my lappy boots up to the login screen in 45 seconds flat, then when i actually log in, everything is up and running in 5 seconds if not less.

Still...

 

If you don't use wireless communication too often, you could prevent some of those Wi-Fi/ Bluetooth managers from starting and launch them manually when you need them.

 

In response to YoJr comments about a third party product intended to speed up your computer. There is a reason to use a third party product to speed up your computer or manage startup processes. Many third party products are more user friendly than editing the registry or MSCONFIG. For instance "whats running" explains more about what each process does and where it came from. So if you dont have the knowledge and experience to edit the registry on your own a third party product can help and be more user friendly as well as putting many services windows offers all in one place.