[Stephanie Small]

INSIDER TRICKS Clean up your Windows notification area By Lincoln Spector On most PCs, the Windows notification area, originally meant for small apps you always want running, is choked with all sorts of programs that shouldn't be there. Putting some order back into the notification area will remove app clutter, plus it might help your PC boot faster and possibly fix those previously unexplainable system problems. The full text of this column is posted at WindowsSecrets.com/2010/07/22/06 (paid content, opens in a new window/tab). Columnists typically cannot reply to comments here, but do incorporate the best tips into future columns.

[Robert Gest III]

There is a program called Soluto which permits one to move programs to delayed startup or remove them from startup altogether. It seems to work well. Bob Gest

[Bob Primak]

My favorite 64-bit aware free uninstaller is Absolute Uninstaller, part of the free Glary Utilities suite. And for managing Startups (and selectively removing old System Restore Points) CCleaner has modules for these things. Much easier to use than msconfig.

[Ray F]

For several years I've been using an excellent one called 'Startup Inspector for Windows". It lists additional information for each item such as filename and amount of memory used. When a startup item is removed it remains on the list, but unchecked, so it can be restarted, if necessary. Ray F