11/8/2019 9 things you can do with System Configuration, in Windows | Digital Citizen

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9 things you can do with System Configuration, in

Windows
TUTORIAL by Codrut Neagu
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/users/codrut-neagu] published on
05/18/2018

Do you know how excellent the System Configuration (msconfig.exe) tool from
Windows is? Although it is a small and somewhat hidden tool, it allows you to
change quite a few things about the way Windows works. Among other things,
the System Configuration tool lets you configure how Windows starts, change
the boot procedure, select startup services, and programs, and also start a series
of useful administrative programs. If you want to know more about the things
you can do with System Configuration, read this article:

NOTE: This article covers Windows 10, Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. Before
reading it, you should know that we assume you already know how to start
System Configuration. If you do not, read this first: 8 ways to start System
Configuration in Windows (all versions)
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/ways-start-system-
configuration-windows]. Also, if you do not know the version of Windows
that you are using, this tutorial should help: What version of Windows do I
have installed? [https://www.digitalcitizen.life/how-determine-
what-version-windows-7-you-have]

1. Choose what drivers and services are loaded at

Windows startup
The System Configuration tool, also known as msconfig.exe, is a window with
settings and shortcuts. They are all split into several tabs, and each tab gives
you access to different things. The first tab in the System Configuration
window is called General, and it is the place where you can configure how
Windows starts.

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In the "Startup selection" list from the General tab, you can choose to make
Windows do a:

"Normal startup": meaning that Windows starts as is, with ALL the
installed startup items, drivers, and services. This mode should be
selected by default on most Windows devices, except when you have
already made some changes to what drivers, services or apps are loaded
at [https://www.digitalcitizen.life/disable-startup-apps-
task-manager] [https://www.digitalcitizen.life/disable-
startup-apps-task-manager]boot time
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/disable-startup-apps-task-
manager].
"Diagnostic startup": this mode is similar to booting into Safe Mode
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/4-ways-boot-safe-mode-
windows-10]. Safe Mode runs only Windows services and drivers.
Besides them, the Diagnostic startup might also run, on top of them,
networking services or important services from third-party applications
such as your antivirus, firewall or security suite. This mode is useful if
you want to rule out Windows files and services as being the source of
system instability problems. Note that if you select the "Diagnostic
startup" and then click or tap Apply, the "Selective startup" is the one
shown as selected. However, there is nothing to worry about, as this is
quite normal. It happens because the "Diagnostic startup" is a "Selective
startup" with a predefined set of settings.
"Selective startup": makes Windows start only with its essential services
and drivers. Furthermore, it also allows you to select other services and
startup items that you want to run, from the Services and Startup tabs.

It is also important to note that if you switch between startup modes, do some
troubleshooting and then go back to using the "Normal startup" again, all the
services and startup items are going to be enabled at startup.

If what you want is to stop some apps, drivers or services from starting
automatically with Windows, you need to go through the list of services and
startup items and edit them again. You can see how to do that, later in this
guide. For now though, note that once you make changes, the "Selective
startup" is going to be checked as the active startup selection.

2. See what operating systems are installed on your

PC and choose which one is the default
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11/8/2019 9 things you can do with System Configuration, in Windows | Digital Citizen

The System Configuration tool also offers a graphical way of choosing which
of the operating systems installed on your PC loads first. In the System
Configuration tool, switch to the Boot tab, and you can view all the operating
systems installed on your computer and select the default one if you have a
multi-boot setup. To select a new default operating system, click or tap on it
and then on "Set as default."

3. Choose how long the PC waits for you to select

the operating system to be booted
If you have a multi-boot setup [https://www.digitalcitizen.life/how-
dual-boot-windows-8-windows-7-windows-vista-or-windows-xp],
another important setting is the Timeout setting. The number of seconds you set
represents how long your PC waits for you to select one of the available
operating systems when booting. If no choice is made during the set time, the
default operating system starts.

By default, the Timeout is set to 30 seconds. If you have a multi-boot setup, you
might want to set it to a smaller value. We, for instance, prefer to set the
Timeout to only 10 seconds. This way, if we do not select another operating
system, the total boot timing of the default one is not affected that much.

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11/8/2019 9 things you can do with System Configuration, in Windows | Digital Citizen

4. Change some advanced settings about how

Windows boots, like how many processor cores or
how much RAM it can use
For the Windows operating system installed on your computer, the System
Configuration tool also lets you configure complicated details about the way it
boots.

For each of the existing operating systems, if you click or tap on the "Advanced
options" button, you can set things such as the number of processors (cores)
allocated to the operating system at boot, or the maximum amount of RAM
available to it.

If you set a maximum number of processor cores and RAM, Windows

continues to correctly identify the real number of cores that the processor has
and the amount of physical RAM. However, it can only use the limited number
of processor cores and the maximum memory that you have set.

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5. Make Windows boot into Safe Mode

For each Windows operating system installed on your PC, the System
Configuration tool also lets you select if you want to make it boot into Safe
Mode. To do that, in the Boot tab, you must check the option called "Safe boot"
and select one of its available options:

Minimal - the normal safe boot, with a user interface and no networking
services enabled.
Alternate shell - opens the Command Prompt in Safe Mode. The
networking services and the graphical user interface are disabled.
Active Directory repair - a normal safe boot which runs, additionally, the
Active Directory services and features.
Network - the normal safe boot with networking services enabled.

If you want to read more about the Safe Mode in Windows, these guides might
interest you:

7 ways to boot into Safe Mode in Windows 10

[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/4-ways-boot-safe-mode-
windows-10]
6 ways to boot into Safe Mode with Networking in Windows 10
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/boot-safe-mode-networking-
windows-10]
3 ways to boot into Safe Mode in Windows 7
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/what-safe-mode-how-boot-
safe-mode]
5 Ways To Boot Into Safe Mode In Windows 8.1
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/5-ways-boot-safe-mode-
windows-8-windows-81]

6. Disable the Windows boot loading screen, log the

startup process, use standard video drivers and others
Also in its Boot tab, the System Configuration tool gives you a set of advanced
options which can be applied to both standard and Safe Mode boot procedures:

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"No GUI boot" - during boot, you are not shown the usual loading
screen, only a black screen with no information.
"Boot log" - during boot Windows writes a complete log with
information about the startup process. Usually, it can be found at this
location: "C:\Windows\Ntbtlog.txt."
"Base video" - this option is handy if you just installed lousy video
drivers. It makes a standard Windows startup, with the difference that it
loads only the standard video drivers that come with Windows, instead of
the ones specific to your video card.
"OS boot information" - this option should be used together with "No
GUI Boot." The usual Windows loading screen will get replaced with a
black screen, displaying complete information about the drivers that are
loaded during the startup process. If your Windows crashes during boot,
this visualization mode can be useful to identify the driver that causes the
crash.

7. Select what services are started with Windows

The Services tab from the System Configuration tool shows a list of all the
services that start when Windows starts. For each service, you see its name, the
manufacturer, the current status and the date when it was disabled if it was
disabled.

You can check the services you want to run at startup and uncheck the ones you
do not. If you desire to see only third-party services, installed by your
applications, check the box that says "Hide all Microsoft services."

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11/8/2019 9 things you can do with System Configuration, in Windows | Digital Citizen

The selections you make in this tab are applied only to your current startup
selection, from the General tab. If you were using a "Normal startup," and then
you disabled some services, the startup selection gets changed automatically to
"Selective startup."

If you need help in deciding which services to stop from running at startup,
read this guide: Which Windows services are safe to disable and when?
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/which-windows-services-are-
safe-disable-when].

8. Manage the startup programs (only in Windows 7)

If you are using Windows 10 or Windows 8.1, the Startup tab gives you just a
link to "Open Task Manager." This is because the management of your
computer's startup apps is done using the Task Manager
[https://www.digitalcitizen.life/task-manager-manage-services].

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However, if you are using Windows 7, the Startup tab shows a list of all the
programs and files that start when Windows starts. For each item, you see its
name, the manufacturer, the command used to start it, which is usually the path
towards the program and additional parameters if used, and the registry startup
location where it is stored and the date when it was disabled if it was disabled.

One thing to remember about the registry location is that, if you see one
starting with HKLM, it means that the startup item is "global" - applied to all
user accounts defined on the active operating system. Disabling them from one
user account means that they get disabled for all user accounts.

The locations starting with HKCU are for startup items active only for the
current user account. They might not be starting up for other user accounts.
Also, they need to be disabled individually, for each user account, if you want
to prevent them from starting altogether.

Just like the Services tab, the selections you make are applied to your current
startup selection, from the General tab.

9. Launch administrative programs and panels

Few people know about the Tools tab in System Configuration and what it does.
If you click on it, you get a list of Windows administrative tools such as System
Information, the Registry Editor, Event Viewer, Performance Monitor and so
on.

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For each tool, System Configuration shows its name and description. If you
click or tap on it, you can see the command used to start it, in the Selected
command field. To run any of the available tools, select the one you want and
click or tap Launch.

As you can see, the Tools tab from System Configuration is handy as it lists
administrative tools generally used during troubleshooting system stability or
performance problems.

Save the changes you have made in System

Configuration
After you are done making all the changes you wanted, do not forget to press
Apply or OK, so that they are applied. Also, if you are using the tool for the first
time, when you close it, you might be informed that you need to restart your PC
for the new settings to take effect.

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11/8/2019 9 things you can do with System Configuration, in Windows | Digital Citizen

If you do not want to see this message again, check the box that says "Don't
show this message again" and choose the restart option you prefer.

Are you using the System Configuration tool to

change the way Windows works?
As you can see, the System Configuration (msconfig.exe) utility is a versatile
tool that offers useful features for people who want to change the way
Windows starts and works. It can be an excellent tool for managing the startup
process of your Windows computer but also for troubleshooting stability and
performance problems. Are you using it to configure Windows? Have you had
any issues with it? Let's discuss in the comments section below.

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