Take Control Of Your StartUp Programs

The programs that startup with windows should be monitored the most. Sometimes there are those programs which are installed and allow themselves to run at startup, without really notifying the user - like installed iTunes and quicktime magically appears in the taskbar, or adobe reader. It is really unnecessary to have such programs run if you don’t use them consistently.

Luckily, there is an amazing program which lets you be in control of every single program which launches during startup:

This program is called Startup Control Panel and it comes in two forms. One form allows you to install it on your computer so that it shows up inside the control panel. Honestly, Microsoft should’ve included this program themselves in XP. There is no reason for the user to have to go to MSConfig through run and figure out which program does what and so on. A second option is to simply download the program standalone, and run it whenever you want to.

Once you download it, you will see many tabs - Startup (user), Startup (common), HKCU / Run … - each one signifies a different type of startup:

• Startup (user) - the current user’s Startup folder in the Start Menu.
• Startup (common) - the common (all users) Startup folder in the Start Menu.
• HKLM / Run - the Run registry key located in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. These apply for all users.
• HKCU / Run - the Run registry key located in HKEY_CURRENT_USER. These apply for the current user only.
• Services - system services that are started before the user logs in. This appears only in Win9x; on NT/2000/XP, use the Services control panel, or the Services item in Computer Management.
• Run Once - started once and once only at the next system startup.
• Deleted - programs go to the Deleted tab when you remove them from another location. They will not run at system startup, but will merely be stored should you ever want to use them again. If you delete an item from the Deleted tab, it is removed permanently.

One each tab, you can easily delete any program you don’t want to start or even change it from running on everyone to only one user or vice versa. Simply right click on a program and select what you want to do with it:

• New… - create a new entry. You can also drag & drop files from My Computer or Explorer.
• Edit… - edit an existing entry.
• Delete - delete the currently selected entry.
• Disable / Enable - disable or enable the selected entry. A disabled program will appear in the list with a special icon, and will not run at system startup. You can also use the checkbox next to an item to enable or disable it.
• Run Now - executes the program now.
• Send To - moves the entry from the current location to another.

The advantage this has over going to MSConfig is that it also shows the startup files from the startup folder on the Start menu. Also, it lets you easily move around the programs from one place to another, which isn’t possible with MSConfig.

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