MSCONFIG for Win2k

[Fred Hammond]

What is the equivalent command for 'msconfig' which works on WinXP but not
Win2K?

 

[David H. Lipman]

You can find MSCONFIG.EXE for Win2K here...

http://www.gwynfryn.co.uk/downloads/msconfig.zip

--
Dave




| What is the equivalent command for 'msconfig' which works on WinXP but not
| Win2K?
|
|

 

[John John]

Msconfig is not included in Windows 2000 but you can use an XP version
of it, see at the bottom.

There are four Run keys in the NT registry that cause programs to be run
automatically.

These apply to NT systems:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce

Also, services (for NT) will be in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services. (I don't
recommend that you go there trying to turn off services unless you
really understand the key structure).

In addition, programs can be automatically started at boot via logon
scripts or batch files. They can be invoked via shortcuts or by being
placed in the Startup Folders (Current User and All Users). They can be
started at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Userinit, Task Scheduler, and I'm sure I'm
forgetting a few other start places.

There are several ways of dealing with these autostart programs, via the
programs themselves, via registry edits or with the aid of helper
applications. The preferred method is to go in the programs themselves
and turn off the autostart option. The well written and graceful
programs always give an option to be turned off at boot. It's the not
so well written or graceful programs that present a bit of a difficulty
as they can be hidden in in the other startup places. IF that is the
case then you can look in the 4 keys mentioned above and see if you can
disable them from there. If you can't at the reg keys then look in the
Services management console and see if you can set the associated
service to "Manual" start instead of "Auto". Check the Startup Folders
and delete the entries if there.

If you still are having difficulties then the helper application will
come in handy. I recommend the following:

CodeStuff Starter: http://members.lycos.co.uk/codestuff/
Sysinternals Autoruns:
http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/autoruns.shtml

You can also download XP msconfig from the internet and place it in your
System32 folder and use it to look at/disable the startup entries.

John
(What's going on here today with that msconfig. Seems to be a "Copy &
Paste day!)

 

[Guest]

Hi Fred,
Either you can copy the msconfig utility from windows xp to the win2k
machine or dowload the utility from the following link.
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

As john said , there are thousands of ways to do this but never play with
your registries if you are not aware of the registry structure.

Lukesh

 

[Jim Byrd]

Hi Fred - There are several approaches you can use to make controlling the
Startup process easier in Win2k.

1) If you still have access to it, you can move a copy of the Win98 msconfig
to your \System\ folder and it will work - just ignore any complaints it
makes.

2) Much better, you can go here:

http://www.thetechguide.com/downloads.html (XP Version which works in Win2k
just fine) or here:

http://www.3feetunder.com/files/win2K_msconfig_setup.exe Recommended (stated
to be a Win2k Version - probably the same as the XP) or here:

http://www.techadvice.com/win2000/m/msconfig_w2k.htm and download msconfig.

3) As good, but different, is to go here:
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml and get Mike Lin's Startup Control
Panel applet. Recommended A somewhat more difficult to use but more
extensive program to do the same thing is StartupList from here:
http://www.lurkhere.com/~nicefiles/index.html, or even better, Autoruns from
here: http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/autoruns.shtml. This one
shows many additional useful/critical Registry entries. Recommended.

Be very careful about doing any Registry modifications directly unless
you're comfortable with this, and be sure that you BACKUP your Registry
before making any changes, so that you can recover if something goes wrong.
Changes made with StartUpCPL are less likely to cause problems, and are
usually a matter of just re-enabling the particular program. Another
program of this type that I can recommend is StartMan, free. You'll have to
get it here: http://www.pt.lu/comnet/files/utils/startman10396.exe, as the
pcforest site is, sadly, no longer in business. Another such free program
that I can highly recommend is StartupRun, here:
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/strun.html, particularly if you suspect malware
problems - it has a lot of useful info including file creation dates. And
finally, StartupCop, here is excellent and allows you to set up multiple
"startup profiles": http://www.pchelp911.com/files/startcop.zip. If you
have problems with suspected hijackers, you can look up and investigate
suspect programs in your StartUp lists here:
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_pages/startup_full.htm (Recommended)
http://www.3feetunder.com/krick/startup/list.html (Recommended)
http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm (Recommended)


All work fine for controlling startups, however, I would recommend getting
both of the last two. They're both free, and each has some advantages. For
example, the XP msconfig also gives you some visibility/control over
services, while Mike's applet offers much better startup control.

Also, you should read and print out/save for future reference mskb article
Q179365 here:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q179365 which will
tell you the order in which things get loaded.

Two additional resources which have useful information relating to startup
issues are:

How to Delay Loading of Specific Services
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;193888

HOWTO: Control Device Driver Load Order
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q115/4/86.asp


One last thing - if you want to use msconfig in order to help deal with
"malware" issues, be aware that you can use it to do a "Clean Boot" from
which to better run anti-spyware cleanup tools:

#########IMPORTANT#########
Show hidden files and run all of the following removal tools from Safe mode
or a "Clean Boot" when possible. Reboot and test if the malware is fixed
after using each tool.

HOW TO Enable Hidden Files
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2002092715262339

Clean Boot - General Win2k/XP procedure, but see below for links for other
OS's (This for Win2k w/msconfig - you can obtain msconfig for Win2k here:
http://www.3feetunder.com/files/win2K_msconfig_setup.exe ):

1. StartRun enter msconfig.

2. On the General tab, click Selective Startup, and then clear the 'Process
System.ini File', 'Process Win.ini File', and 'Load Startup Items' check
boxes. Leave the 'boot.ini' boxes however they are currently set.

3. In the Services tab, check the "Hide All Microsoft Services" checkbox,
and then click the "Disable All" button. If you use a third party firewall
then re-check (enable) it. For example, if you use Zone Alarm, re-check the
True Vector Internet Monitor service (and you may also want to re-check
(enable) the zlclient on the Startup tab.) Equivalent services exist for
other third party firewalls. An alternative to this for XP users is to
enable at this time the XP native firewall (Internet Connection Firewall -
ICF). Be sure to turn it back off when you re-enable your non-MS services
and Startup tab programs and restore your normal msconfig configuration
after cleaning your machine.

4. Click OK and then reboot.

For additional information about how to clean boot your operating system,
click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:
310353 How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353
281770 How to Perform Clean-Boot Troubleshooting for Windows 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/281770/EN-US/
267288 How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows Millennium Edition
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/267288/EN-US/
192926 How to Perform Clean-Boot Troubleshooting for Windows 98
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/192926/EN-US/
243039 How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 95
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/243039/EN-US/
#########IMPORTANT#########

Perhaps this will help.

--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP



In

 

[Bruce Chambers]

What is the equivalent command for 'msconfig' which works on WinXP but not
Win2K?

MSConfig is/was a Win98/Me utility, brought back in WinXP, which
is also targeted at the home consumer market. There is no equivalent
utility included with Win95/WinNT/Win2K.

In most cases, one need only open the offending program and
deselect the option to "display icon in the system tray" or to "start
when Windows starts."

To view the list of your start up programs, look in the
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Start Up and
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu\Programs\Start Up
folders, and in the system registry, primarily in the
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and
HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run keys. These can
also be viewed, if I remember correctly, by right-clicking My
Computer, selecting "Manage" and expanding System Tools-- System
Information -- Software Environment -- Startup Programs. To prevent
any of them from starting at login, you'll have to delete shortcuts
from the startup folder(s) and/or edit the registry. I should point
out that, in order to make such system modifications requires one to
have administrative privileges to the machine in question. I should
also point out that one should not even consider editing the registry
unless he is fully confident that he knows exactly what is going to
happen as a result of each and every change.


--

Bruce Chambers

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