When you run AutoRuns (remember to run it in admin mode!), use the Options | Hide Signed Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Entries menu option to show only files have been provided by other companies, which are more likely to be the problem. Pay specific attention to the entries in the Drivers and Services tabs, but a once-over in the Everything tab wouldn't be a bad idea if you're patient.
Another good way to get a complete summary of kernel-level objects is through Gabriel Topala's outstanding SIW utility, easily one of the best general-purpose system-information tools out there. The program can generate in stupefying detail, reports about a system's makeup, including kernel device drivers.
Run the program (again, in admin mode), look in Software | Drivers and sort by the "Type" column, then scroll down to "Kernel Drivers" (with "Running" in the Status column) to see a full rundown of what's currently running as a kernel driver. Right-click on any of those entries to change their running status -- but be very careful what you turn off here, as you could bring your system to a screeching halt if you're careless.
So how do you know what's needed and what's not? This part may require some research on your part, since it isn't always obvious. If you have a guru handy, dump the list out to a file (SIW lets you do this), send it his (or her) way, and have him (or her) peek at it. If your guru can't figure out what a given kernel driver is for, or feels it's creating more trouble than anything else, nix it.
Be Mindful Of Power Issues When Debugging
Electrical problems can be some of the toughest to diagnose because they don't seem to be related to anything happening on the PC itself. They just strike like, well, lightning.
I mentioned before, in passing, that electrical problems can take two forms. One is the power supplied to the PC itself, and if you live in an area with glitchy power you already know about this first-hand. I live on an island in the Atlantic Ocean, where even on less windy days the power to my house is fairly dirty. Consequently, UPSes for each computer and its associated peripherals are mandatory. I should also note that a UPS's power load should be distributed intelligently: don't plug laser printers, for instance, into the battery-backup sockets of a UPS, since there's little reason to give them power protection.
The second form is the power supplied within the PC itself -- the power that the PC's power supply distributes internally. Few people reading this need to be convinced of the wildly varying quality of computer power supplies. Anyone stuck with a low-wattage, no-name or third-tier power supply in their PC automatically has a good reason to drop a few dollars and upgrade to something a little more robust. 500 watts or more is a good margin of safety for most desktop PCs.
Also, be mindful of a common PC component with potentially high electrical consumption that can be a hidden source of problems: the video card. A gaming-quality video card can use up enough juice by itself to count as a compelling argument to upgrade the power supply. Problems with video card power draw can manifest in three ways: BSODs, hard freezes, and (most commonly) that frustratingly inconclusive "Video driver stopped responding and has been restarted" message. That error has caused no end of people to tear their hair out because it doesn't tell you why that happened.
