Do I really need all these programs running at start up and how do I get rid of them?

I got loads of stuff in my processes menu for xp home edition including something from aol that I can't shift and came with the computer. How do I stop these from booting up and taking up space in my precious CPU? Any idea of what I do and don't need? I know several of the processes such as MSN, Ashserv.exe etc but what are alg.exe etc for? I have run ad aware, spybot and avast and cleared out spyware etc. Thanks for any assistance.

Do I really need all these programs running at start up and how do I get rid of them?vista

type MSCONFIG in start%26gt;run then uncheck all items in startup tab, and reboot

Do I really need all these programs running at start up and how do I get rid of them?antispyware

Your start-up programs are there to get you easy accesses to some of the program.most of these are of no use. but few like your anti virus scanner also loads up with it to protect ur computer from boot and other type of viruses....

Like for Norton its "ccApp" this i have to keep checked to let my Norton work. this file differs according to the anti virus u r using.

execpt this u can unchecked all other...

this will also increase ur start-up speed

any problem Give me an IM

After that just apply and close the window

reboot it after it is done....
Finding the process name is a good start. Once you have that you can google it and sites such as liutilities will come up. They tell you what a process is and if it can be disabled. Once you have that information, use the technique in the first answer to disable the unnecessary processes.
yes do what the guy told you.