When I turn on my computer, a bunch of programs start in the little
window on the bottom right hand side.  How do I prevent these programs
from loading.

Hi Astern, 

The space in the bottom right of your Windows screen is called the
system tray.  You are correct that icons located there are programs
that have been loaded and are running on your system.

Many programs that install in the system tray have an option in the
settings to prevent them from loading at startup.  Others are less
friendly.  Not knowing what you have running I can't tell you exact
steps to take to prevent automatic startup for each program, but
generally by right-clicking the icon you will be given a menu from
which you can access the program preferences or options page.  Usually
you will find a checkbox or menu item allowing you to specify whether
or not to load the program at startup.

For instance, a very common system tray icon that is often left unused
is Windows Messenger.  It installs with Windows but it may be of
little use to you.  To remove it right-click the icon, select Open. 
In the Messenger window select Tools -> Options.  On the Preferences
tab turn off the check mark for 'Run this program when Windows
starts'.  Click OK, close the program, then right-click the icon in
the system tray again and click Exit (to unload it from your current
session - next time you reboot it shouldn't be there).

Most other programs operate in a similar manner.  In some cases though
you'll find that the program doesn't offer an option to prevent it
from running at startup.  In that case the reference to the program
must be removed directly from your startup files.  Since the program
could be listed in a number of places (Startup menu, registry, or .ini
files) it's easiest to use a software helper to zap these things.

My personal favourite for doing this is a program called Startup
Control Panel available here: http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml .
Download and run this and you'll be shown a window with a set of tabs,
each corresponding to a different location where startup files may be
specified.  Clicking on a tab shows a list of programs (or a blank
list if no programs are specified from that startup area).  Beside
each item is a checkmark.  You can turn things on and off from there. 
If, after rebooting, you realize that you've made a mistake and need
an application to run that you've turned off you can re-enable it from
the same screen just by resetting the checkbox to its previous state.

From the same site you may be intersted in a program called
StartupMonitor, available here:
http://www.mlin.net/StartupMonitor.shtml .  Once installed this
program watches for software adding to your startup files and pops up
a warning asking if you wish to allow the new startup entry.  It's
small and works great.

Finally, there is another startup control program that I've been
impressed with called Startup Cop published by PC Magazine. 
Unfortunately the new version, Startup Cop Pro, is not free, but the
original is still available and works quite well.  It can be
downloaded here: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,2173,00.asp . 
The functioning of the program is quite similar to Startup Control
Panel and I have found it does exactly what it's meant to do without
any hassles.

I hope this has proved helpful to you.  If you need more assistance
please ask for clarification.

Hibiscus

Quickest way to get answer to simple question is to ask google....

This is horriable.
Please save yourself the 15 bucks. 

Click the Start Button.
Click on Run
type: MSCONFIG

you will come to the config menu. It has tabs on the top. click the
tab that says "Startup" and then uncheck every and all checked boxes.
Don't worry some of them are needed but they will replace themselves
at startup.

Very simple.
and didnt cost a dime. 

google is the best search engine ever and I'm sure that if you were to
type your question in Google you would be flooded with answers. Also
Microsoft has a support line you can call for questions and it's much
cheaper than $15.00, I really love Google and GMail Orkut but this
idea really stinks. It's a rippoff. Not something I would expect from
Google.
Sorry.

:( :( :(

mrmusa-ga:
Your comment about msconfig is very straight-forward and efficient,
and I use msconfig regularly myself. But your answer is not complete.
On many XP systems, following your instructions will result in a
warning window asking about the msconfig changes, the next time the
system reboots. And although only advanced users should tamper with
the registry, you didn't mention anything about removing the items
therein.

The fact that you bother to even post here proves that Google Answers
is a useful forum. Maybe you can find all your answers yourself, but
the site history shows that many people don't have the time or the
inclination to do the research themselves. While it's true that
certain questions are easy to answer and priced relatively high, I
would say that many researchers are actually underpaid for their
efforts on more complicated, involved, or advanced questions.

But the point is, like any market place, deals will be made and
services will be sold.

(since we're throwing out opinions: I find Google Answers much more
useful and interesting than Orkut)