A Brief Look At Using MSConfig In Windows 8

MSConfig is a configuration tool used to set up certain parts of your computers booting routine, you can even launch other useful configuration programs from this program.

MSConfig is the go to tool before you even need to download programs that do the same thing. If your computer is slow on start up go to MSConfig, if you need to set how many cores of your CPU to use when you boot your machine go to MSConfig. There are a wealth of useful features that can be incorporated or removed from your PC's normal boot cycle.

How to Launch MSConfig

In Windows 8, launching MSConfig couldn't be easier, just hover your mouse over the top corner to reveal the charms bar or press the combination Windows key + C, click on the magnifying glass icon and then type MSConfig into the search bar. Click on the application and away you go.

You'll be presented with a window with 5 tabs along the top; General, Boot, Service, Startup and tools.

General MSConfig Tab

This tab gives you 3 main options; Normal, Diagnostic and Selective start up. Each option gives you different start up conditions. Normal just loads your PC with all drivers and services. Diagnostic boots your PC with all the basic drivers and services needed to run your OS. Selective start up loads your OS up in the configuration you set it, enabling any changes you may make in the other tabs.

The Boot Tab

The Boot tab allows you to change advanced options such as how much RAM used for booting and how many of your CPU's cores to use when loading the OS and much more. From here you can also use it to set up a safe mode boot so that you can troubleshoot any issues you may be having. For this I'd recommend minimal setting, this gives you very, very basic settings and drivers when in safe mode it does remove your graphic driver function so your screen will be set to 800x600. If you have more than one OS on your PC as well you can set which one is the default to boot to.

The Service and Tools Tabs

The services tab serves the purpose of allowing you to enable or disable services that run when you start your system and the OS is loaded. The tools tab is a list of all your system configuration tools native to the Windows OS. You can open such tools as change UAC(User Access Control) settings, Computer Management or Event Viewer.

Start-up MSConfig Tab

The start up tab it the most used feature in MSConfig, this is the tool that will allow you to find a stray process that may be slowing down your PC during its boot cycle. In windows 8 however it is slightly different compared to Windows 7, from MSConfig you will need to click on the start-up tab then click open task manager. From this console you can enable or disable programs that start up when your machine is switched on, which in turn will increase or reduce the time it takes for your PC to boot. Add to this feature an SSD(Solid State Drive) upgrade and you could potentially load your computer in seconds.

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Milan Tomic

Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.

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