You mentioned that Mike Clayton's slow-running laptop might be a result of "too many programs loading at start up". I have programs that I rarely use -- like QuickTime or 4oD -- which load by themselves and sit in the taskbar doing nothing. How do I view a list of programs, and ultimately stop them doing it? Daniel Whelan
This is a frequently asked question. I've mentioned Startup Inspector for Windows a few times. Alternatives to that include NirSoft's StartupRun and Mike Lin's Startup Control Panel. Windows Vista has a built-in startup manager. Go to the Control Panel and run the applet for Performance Information and Tools.
It's also worth downloading Sysinternals' Process Explorer: Microsoft liked it so much it bought the company. Process Explorer provides a much better guide to what's running in the background than the Windows Task Manager, and lets you terminate ones you don't want.
Incidentally, with reference to Channel 4's 4oD video on demand service, it is not sitting in the taskbar doing nothing. It is a peer-to-peer file-sharing program that consumes processor cycles and internet bandwidth.
Even if you close 4oD on the taskbar, the Kservice.exe file-sharing program will keep on running. The BBC and Sky also use the same Kontiki peer-to-peer system, which is now owned by VeriSign.
