Most performance issues that you will come across as you use your Corel software, including crashes and freeze ups, would be mainly caused by conflicts with services and processes running in the background. To troubleshoot such issues, you would first want to disable these processes to see if your Corel software would fare any better.

Note: This procedure is applicable to all Corel products for Windows.

Why a clean boot?

A clean boot procedure can tell you if the problem you are experiencing with your Corel software is due to these background processes running behind the scenes. This is made possible by the fact that the procedure disables the normal set of processes from loading on system startup. In the case of persistent crashing, for example, the clean boot can help eliminate “probable cause” or pave the way for problem isolation.  

The System Configuration Utility

In order to perform the clean boot, you will need the System Configuration utility. Launch it by hitting the Windows logo key once, and then typing in “msconfig” (without the quotes). As soon as you start typing, you will see the characters entered in the Windows search box. Click "System Configuration" in the search results.

In the System Configuration window, click on the Services tab to see a list of all services currently running on your system.

A clean boot is essentially disabling all system services that are not Microsoft services. To ensure you are not disabling a Microsoft service, place a checkmark in the box next to “Hide all Microsoft services”.

How to perform the clean boot

Part #1: Disable non-Microsoft services

Follow the steps below to disable all non-Microsoft services.

1.  Sign in to the computer as an administrator. If you don't have an administrator account, you can create one.  Create a local user or administrator account in Windows 10.

2. Launch the System Configuration utility using the steps explained previously.

3. On the Services tab of System Configuration, select Hide all Microsoft services, and then select Disable all.  **NOTE, if you have some services already disabled, take note of these services now.
          

Part #2: Leave the Corel/Avarto services enabled

After hiding all Microsoft services and clicking on the "Disable all" button, the Services list will now show that every item box has been unchecked.

For our purposes, you do not want everything unchecked--you will want to keep the Corel/Avarto services enabled. Otherwise, you might not be able to run critical components for your Corel software. So, scroll through the list and look for any item that starts with "Corel" or "Avarto"--this will be a Corel service (example: Corel License Validation Service). Put a check mark back in the box to re-enable the Corel service. Do the same for any other Corel services.

Part #3: Disable all Startup items

When you are done disabling all non-Microsoft services and re-enabling Corel services, proceed to disabling all the startup items. Follow the steps below.

1.  On the Startup tab of System Configuration, select Open Task Manager.

2.  Under the Startup tab in Task Manager, for each startup item, select the item and then select Disable.  **NOTE: If you have some startup items already disabled, take note of them now.

3.  Close Task Manager.
5.  Restart the computer.

When you restart the computer, it's in a clean boot environment.  Your computer might temporarily lose some functionality while in a clean boot environment.  See below to determine what was causing the problem or to resume normal startup.

After performing the steps for a clean boot, make sure you go through the section "How to determine what is causing the problem after you do a clean boot", as this is what actually helps isolate which other program or application is causing a conflict with your Corel program.

How to determine what is causing the problem after you do a clean boot

If your problem does not occur while the computer is in a clean boot environment, then you can determine which startup application or service is causing the problem by systematically turning them on or off and restarting the computer. 

While turning on a single service or startup item and rebooting each time will eventually find the problematic service or application, the most efficient way to do this is to test half of them at a time, thus eliminating half of the items as the potential cause with each reboot of the computer.  You can then repeat this process until you've isolated the problem.

Do not re-enable the problem startup-item or service during the reversion to Normal startup below

Going back to Normal startup after troubleshooting

Once you are done troubleshooting, you need to revert to a Normal startup in order to restore full functionality of your system. Simply run the System Configuration utility again, click on the General tab, then select Normal startup.

**NOTE, if you had items already disabled, use the above techniques for services and startup to re-disable the items you had previously disabled. 

After selecting Normal startup, click OK and reboot.