Al writes:

<<I wish to keep only the necessary programs running in my system box (to
the right of the task bar)

What programs are required in WIN98 to remain?

When I type cntrl-ALt-delete...a whole list comes up..

what can I eliminate?

and HOW???>>

Explorer and Systray are the only essentials.

Type msconfig in Run and go to the Startup tab. Uncheck any programs that
you wish to remove from startup.  This will not remove the programs, only
the startup instructions.

Most computers seem to come with far too much running at startup, which not
only robs performance but increases the likelihood of instability. And many
software installations seem to put themselves into the Startup chain
whether you want it or not, which is not good.

You are wise to do as you suggest---hopefully you should see an improvement
in performance.

If you later wish to restore any of your programs to startup, simply run
Msconfig again and check the box---the program listings will remain there
after you've unchecked them.

AN ASIDE FOR WIN95'ers:

You can download msconfig.exe from Ms (and I think from memory the PCSoft
site)---it works well with W95 and is highly recommended. In W98 and later
it is built-in.

Don Penlington
Free computer tutorials at: http://www.geocities.com/donaldpen/
Also Fractal Galleries,  free icons,  poetry,  and beautiful Queensland beaches.

                Curious about the people moderating your
                   messages? Visit our staff web site:
                    http://freepctech.com/staff.shtml