My computer is very slow starting up. How do you know what start up programs,not to start up. I believe I know how to stop them at start-up. But I don't know all of the meaning,the way they are written in the system con. Utility. Is it safe to remove all of them,then go back and activate the ones you need? Any help would be appreciated.

You can check to see what folder they are, research them online etc. to determine their necessity. If you uncheck them and you find they are needed, you can always recheck them.

Anything that's in the start up tab when you run msconfig are safe to remove (wont break your computer) but can cause unforeseen consequences,

A few that you want to leave running are
Antivirus
Antispyware
Windows defender
Wireless connection tool
Printer monitors (if it says update, then you don't need to keep it, HP is real bad for adding 4-6 startups for printers including driver updaters

Some that you can for sure get rid of
Adobe pdf speed launch
Office speed launch
Quicktime
AOL (unless your really do use it within 5 minutes of turning on your system)
Java updater



Hope that helps a little. Also when in doubt, Google the name, there is a few sites that list what each process does.

Try this for unnecessary services starting up:
Turn Off Unnecessary Windows XP Services | JasonN.com (http://www.jasonn.com/turning_off_unnecessary_services_on_windows_xp)