I would be interested to see that, but remember that FS is also a memory intensive application, which FSAutoStart can definitely help out. Not sure if the benchmarks take that into account.

Hi Terry,"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)"....... I understand your need to know, but I doubt whether these are figures that can be easily obtained. When FS is running, the CPU is always running flat out so I imagine it is unlikely you would note any observable difference in percentage usage. I think where FSAutostart scores, combined with any tweaking to Windows Services for normal Windows operation outside the sim, is in reducing demands on the CPU and thus allowing it to 'concentrate' more fully on any calls for attention from FS. This, presumably, is what folk are observing when they note that subtle but observable improvement in overall fluidity and responsiveness of the sim. I do, most certainly. :)As to the MB of memory freed up, I would suggest you try running Windows Task Manager concurrently with FS before and after 'tweaking' and FSAutostarting. Click on the Performance tab and note values under Commit Charge and Physical memory. It will also tell you how many Processes are running.I'm not sure how you you would set things up to run benchmarking tests with the Mad Onion's 3DMark suites. In particular, how would you set up FSAutostart to 'Stop and Restart' Services and allow you to benchmark without starting the sim? Actually, now I think about it, you could achieve this by changing the Path in FSAutostart to point to your chosen benchmarking executable.Sure, I suppose you could try doing before and after comparisons outside the sim and this might give you some indication of general system performance gains. Then again, it is highly probable that you would not note much difference since these tests are highly artificial and would not really reflect any perceived performance improvements noted from within the sim itself. There are so many variables involved and FS itself is so notoriously difficult to benchmark with any degree of accuracy. Why don't you take the bit between your teeth and do it for us? ;)Mike

"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..."........ I think you have made the case for using the 'Manual' setting in preference to 'Disabled' if you are in any way unsure as to whether interfering with the 'Automatic' setting would lead to problems. Much safer that way.Mike

Mike, My only intention was to show (numbers) how much/little some of those "Background" programs actually use. I believe that Ken is on the right track in finding some way to "Sanitize" our computers. Yes, anything that can be turned off is a plus. Unfortunately, until Microsoft starts writing a simulator program that is efficient and computer friendly, we will all complain about the performance.TerryRetired Air Force Simulator Maintenance

Hi Terry,"My only intention was to show (numbers) how much/little some of those "Background" programs actually use."........understood. I hope my response didn't come over as a put down. If so, I apologize. I'm no more of an 'expert' than the average obsessive and I'm only too well aware that I can get carried away sometimes :(Yes it would be interesting to see the numbers. I'm just not sure about the best way to get any meaningful results as our systems vary so much.This utility from Ken is a godsend. I have always resisted the temptation to overclock but, like many, keep thinking about ways of making our unstressed systems run more efficiently. Reducing the number of running Services has been a frustration that has bugged me for some time. 'Disabling or setting to 'Manual' is certainly a useful first step but many running services still remain. To be able to free more resources by 'Stopping and Restarting' some of those remaining running Services, while an application like FS is running, is just great and appears to be perfectly SAFE. Furthermore, FSAutostart relieves us of the hassle this would cause were we to attempt the same manually. Cheers!Mike :-wave

Perhaps someone can help. When I try to use FSAutostart, I lose control of my mouse curser when I get to the "Selection" screen in FS9. The mouse disappears and reappears and moves quite jerky and is of no use. I have no choice but to "end the task" and try again, using the normal Fse.exe command that works fine!ATI RAdeon 9600XT, 2Ghz Athlon, 1Gig DDR Ram, 350 Watt PS, XPThanks,Kosmo007

"The mouse disappears and reappears and moves quite jerky and is of no use."Try setting "Human Interface Device Access" to Automatic. Don't allow FSAutostart to turn it off.Hope this helps,