Now that is a thorough answer, but don't forget WinPatrol and Sysinternals Autoruns.exe the absolute kiddy when used correctly. Spybot Search and Destroy also has a startup programs editor and then there is a free tool from DiamondCS for checking your startup items - ASviewer. X-Cleaner also has a startup editor and everyone should have both Spybot S&D and X-Cleaner-Free they are so essential. It is highly recommended not to use msconfig because you will forget you disabled everything and wonder why it don't work right now.