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Execution Order for starting programs
With Windows XP Home, There are 13 places that programs can start from and
they are executed in the following order:
Before Logon
1)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServicesOnce
2) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices
After Logon
3)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\Setup
4) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
5) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx
6) WIN.INI [Windows] Load
7) WIN.INI [Windows] Run
8) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
9) HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
10) C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
11) C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name Here\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
12) HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
13) As a Scheduled Task set to run at startup.
[[Startups in groups 6 to 11 all run at the same time (more or less).
However, the groups
themselves are triggered in the order shown above. In other words, the next
group can
begin launching while the previous group is still loading its startups. Due
to timing issues
it is impossible to say what order these items will finish loading, thus it
is impossible to
predict the exact order of execution for individual startups. For instance,
you may notice
two or more system tray icons changing position with each boot - even when
no changes
have been made to the order.]]
[[The order of items within a group is not necessarily the final order, as
some programs take
longer than others to load, and synchronous groups can overlap each other.]]
Items in 10 and 11 execute alphanumerically. You can change the order in 10
and 11 by
moving the items from 11 to 10. Also, you can rename the shortcuts in 10
and/or 11.
For example; dfg.exe, fgh.exe and ghj.exe would start in that order. To
change the
order rename to aghj.exe,bdfg.exe and cfgh.exe. They would then start in
that order.
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