We all know what it's like to wait for our computer to start up and launch Windows. The reason why it might take such a long while is that you have a lot of programs that boot with your operating system.

Back in the day, it was tough to stop a Windows program from launching at startup, usually requiring you to go through your registry and such. Windows Vista (or Windows XP SP2) makes it a lot easier to see what's starting with your computer -- and to stop the programs that take your computer 10 minutes to boot up.

First, make sure you're running software that protects your PC from malware. Now, simply click the Start button in the lower left-hand corner of the screen and then select Control Panel. Now type the word “startup” (without the quotes) in the search window. Note: You don't have to press Enter when you're done.

Here you'll see an option for “Stop a program from running at startup.” Click this and you can select to Remove or just Disable any startup program, as well as read other related information.