The following may be of some help to those who may be struggling to decide how to configure this great utility from Ken Salter.Below are three screen captures - the first 2 are my complete list of Services and the third is a list of Programs running in the background. In the case of the list of Programs, ignore two entries:ieexplore.exePaint Shop Pro.exeNeither will appear in your list if you don't have PSP or IE running at the time you run FSAutostart. I used the former to capture the images and the latter was running because I was at Avsim during the compilation of this post :)First, as Ken has recommended, I visited http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm and carefully went through the list of services and selected those I could safely 'disable' or, if I had any doubt, set to 'manual'.Second, I ran FSAutostart and set all the background Programs to 'Stop and Restart' WITH THE EXCEPTION OF 'explorer.exe', which I set to 'No Action'. If you don't do this, Windows will present you with the 'Turn off Computer' menu and you will end up in a loop trying to skip it.Third, I tested with FS9 to confirm all was well.Fourth, I turned my attention to the configuration within FSAutostart of the remaining running Services (Windows XP Home SP1).This required some experimentation as I am on BT Broadband and use a Router (2Wire - Home Network 1200). My first attempts resulted in disconnection of my Local Network with no reconnection after exiting FS9. A reboot would, of course, resolve this, but was not ideal.Fortunately, Ken's program provides an easy way of determining what settings you need to change. After you have exited FS9 you will note that the Command Prompt window remains open until you press a key to close it. Expand the window vertically and examine the listing of executed commands. Several will report an unsuccessful outcome - these you need to change to 'No Action' as clearly they are not meant to be stopped. Now try again. If there are still problems you will need to experiment. In my case I simply looked for anything referencing either Network or COM - my settings may offer some clues.Don't be afraid to experiment. If it doesn't work, and the system hangs or crashes or a feature ceases to work, then just reboot to recover. In fact my experience was that Windows protected those services essential to its proper basic functioning and I did not experience any CTD's, etc.Finally, and VERY important, DO NOT DISABLE OR STOP 'Remote Procedure Call(RPC)' or 'Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator' as so many other services depend on RPC running. If you do, my understanding is Windows will cease to run properly or not at all, so be warned!! This is one to leave alone.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/60558.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/60559.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/60562.jpgI hope this will serve as a basis to help you configure FSAutostart. After a visit to www.blackviper.com I managed to cut down to 36 Sevices which still seems an awful lot, I know. Many of these are Norton related, so are best left alone and, in any event, my system seems to run fine with my chosen list of running Services. However, before starting FS9 along with FSCamera, FSAutostart now shuts down a further 16 Services plus 11 Programs and that ain't bad at all in my book :)Mike :-wave

Hi,I'm deafened by the silence! Bumped as I'm feeling just a little curious as to whether or not this has been helpful to anyone ;)Cheers!Mike :-wave

Sorry Mike but been too busy flying to answer LOL :( Like you I also use XP (pro in my case) and set it up as per your screenshots. Been jumping back and forth all afternoon between regular and FSAutoStart to see what differences I could find. The biggest difference I found was better FPS and hence smoothness at big fields eg EGLL with 100% UT AI plus it appears to be better able to handle jumping between normal and full screen modes. It also has the added benefit of really p***ing my daughter off when she tries to go on chat rooms when my back is turned and finds that she can't cause I "stop&start" msmsgs.exe program Heh heh! :-hah Anyway, ta much for putting up your settings - it was a big help.Ian EGPF :-wave

Thanks Mike, many of us have been looking for this! Erv KSDF

This is just what I needed. THANK YOU, MIKE !!

Mike;I'm running XP Home and FS2004 and I appreciate the fact that you took the time to do this. I had already downloaded FSAutostart but have not got up my never yet to install or configure it. The reason being that I have a horrible fear of doing something wrong when I start "messing" around with the innards of my computer and so I alway shy away from things of that nature, other than the simplest of all possible tweaks.Armed with your excellent mini-tutorial; however, I will attempt to install and configure FSAutostart.If I am never heard from again, don't send out search parties. I will have been swallowed up by the black hole of computer ignorance.Regards,Donald

Just keep in mind that FSAutoStart does not make any permanent changes, so if something unexpected happens, just reboot.

Hi,On reviewing my original post, I realized that it was not complete in that I had made an assumption that all those wishing to try making these changes would know where to go in XP and how to change the 'Startup Type' for each selected Service BEFORE configuring FSAutostart for FS9.In FSAutostart you will note that for many Services the 'State' is marked as being 'Stopped'. However, in many cases, this actually means that either they have been 'Disabled' prior to FSAutostart or have had their 'Startup Type' set to 'Manual'. In the latter case Windows will start the Service ONLY WHEN NEEDED during any particular session on your PC. This is the setting I referred to and used when I had any doubt about the most appropriate setting in Windows.To configure Services in Windows XP (Home and Pro), right click on the My Computer icon on your Desktop.Select Manage - Services and Applications - ServicesThe following 2 images are my current settings for each session in XP.You will note that some have been set to 'Manual' but have been started during this particular session. Now, this is reassuring as it confirms that the behaviour in XP is occurring correctly.Many others set to 'Manual' have not been started and in theory could have their 'Startup Type' changed to 'Disabled'. In practice, I would strongly suggest that instead you observe the listing over a period of, say, a month of regular use of your PC. Those entries that remain on the 'Manual' setting without being 'Started' could be changed to 'Disabled'. In fact I have never felt the need to do so. Perhaps I gave the impression in my original post that I have only recently made these changes. Instead, Ken's postings prompted me to go through the list again and I managed to change the settings of a further two - one to 'Manual' and the other to 'Disabled'.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/60782.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/60783.jpgTo change the settings, just double click each entry and a Properties window will open. Change the 'Startup Type' to your preferred setting and remember to APPLY the changes.Please note that your Services list and mine may well differ in a number of respects according to how your system has been setup prior to purchase (if not a self build) and software/hardware installed. This is only intended as a guide as to what may be changed safely.And that's about it, I think :)Sorry if my original post made life a little difficult for anybody. Cheers!Mike :-wave

Hi Mike,do I understand correctly that when I set a certain program to manual, it is only opened when it is actually needed by Windows?-Daniel

One thing ya might want to do is check the 'show only running services' box. This will give ya a better view of what you really need to stop and start. Looking at all services might be intimidatingto some.Farmer

Hi Daniel,"do I understand correctly that when I set a certain program to manual, it is only opened when it is actually needed by Windows?"......Yes, and you will see from my screen graps that 8 Services I set to 'Manual' have in fact been 'Started'. Presumably these were needed during this session - it would appear from their Names and Descriptions that they are needed to enable Network and Communications activity. In other words, without them I am assuming I wouldn't be able to provide this reply :) If you 'Disabled' them, then Internet access would be denied. If you compare the FSAutostart and the Windows Services Image captures you will see that I was able to configure 4 out of the 8 to 'Stop and Restart' in FSAutostart and was still able to access the Internet either to d/l weather or VPN (Virtual Pilot Network) via the kneeboard.This is something to bear in mind if you need to access the Internet for any reason during a simming session. When configuring FSAutostart you may have to set some or all to 'No Action'. Your own setup may differ in certain respects to mine so individual experimentation necessarily is the order of the day.Mike

I guess the question is: "Does stopping these services/programs really help in FSCOF?" How much?Dave Hinson

Hi Dave,"Does stopping these services/programs really help in FSCOF?" How much?".........how long is a piece of string? As ever, your mileage will vary and will depend on several factors, not the least being your PC's horsepower. My guess is that everyone will experience some improvement in the sim's performance and responsiveness, but the degree to which it will be noticed will likely be in inverse proportion to your PC's capabilities before these 'tweaks' were applied.Mike

I'm not sure that's entirely true - for certain services set to manual, that is the case, but it seems that for others, they may be started automatically on subsequent runs if windows has used them in the past, but isn't necessarily using them now. Also, if a service is set to manual and another service loads that may use the first, it may cause the first to load. Just my experience, I found a lot of services that I had set to manual started according to Ken's utility, even though I've just booted the computer and haven't done anything to invoke them...sg

Do you have a percentage of cpu usage and or number of Mb of memory that was freed up? Also have you run either the Mad Onion 3D 2001 or 2003 tests to determine an actual system performance? (before/after)Terry