Removing startup items

[SysAssist]

I want to remove some items from startup. I go in with msconfig and
remove those items but they are still there when I return to startup. I
use Registry Toolkit and try to remove those items but they don't go
away. How do you remove items from startup?

Jeff

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Multiposted microsoft.public.windowsxp.perform_maintain

Disabling startup items

If you used the System Configuration Utility (msconfig.exe) to disable the
startup items.

The programs related to those startup items don't know that they had
been disabled, they automatically re-enable their startup references.
They will keep doing this unless...
a. You stop the reference from each program.
or
b. Delete the start reference from the registry.

The System Configuration Utility is meant to be used for troubleshooting
not as a startup manager.

The correct method for removing any startup is to use the program that
placed it there in the first place. Always check the main program's own
options or preferences, or the notification area icon's options (if the
program has one) before resorting to any startup manager.

Look to see what programs you have listed under the Startup tab. Open
those programs, one at a time, and look in Options, Settings,
Preferences, Properties or similar. Look to see if there is an option
like: Load at startup, or: Start when Windows starts or similar.
Uncheck or de-select these options.

With some programs there is no option to stop this. The only way is
with editing the Registry. My suggestion would be to download, install
and run Startman or an equivalent start manager.

[[StartMan is a startup manager created to address some of the
shortcomings in Microsoft's original System Configuration Utility
(MSCONFIG.EXE). MSCONFIG is primarily a troubleshooting tool, not a
startup manager, and as such it does not permit the permanent removal of
startups - they can only be disabled.]]

Startman will show what the startup programs are and allow you to
disable their startup properties. It shows how or where a program is
started. If a program is started from Registry entry, it shows the
path, so you can go there and edit (delete) the entry. There is also an
option that sends you to Pacman's Portal to show a recommendation if a
particular program should or should not start at startup.

Startman 1.3.96 is available here:
http://www.pt.lu/comnet/desc/startman.html

StartMan is a GOOD Utility, I use it all the time, especially after
installing software. Everything you install wants to run at startup.
StartMan shows where something starts from. Check out the Help in
StartMan also! You can either have StartMan disable startups or just
use it to find where something is loading from. Best thing is, it only
runs when you start it. StartMan does not run in the background.

Startup Control Panel is another pretty good application.

[[Startup Control Panel is a nifty control panel applet that allows you to
easily configure which programs run when your computer starts. It's simple
to use and, like all my programs, is very small and won't burden your
system. A valuable tool for system administrators!]]

Download the EXE Version and just extract the executable wherever you want.

Startup Control Panel
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

I want to remove some items from startup. I go in with msconfig and
remove those items but they are still there when I return to startup. I
use Registry Toolkit and try to remove those items but they don't go
away. How do you remove items from startup?

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Richard]

When you say they are "still" there...do you mean they are still listed (as
I would suspect, but unchecked)
or they are still there and checked?

If they're unchecked, they don't run at startup, even though they appear in
the list


Richard

 

[Guest]

yeh, now a days there are items in the startup that get into the msconfig
without your knowledge or consent. And sometimes the malicious ones don't
even have a method to unistall their parent program. Some startup items can
be reomoved, but if you launch their parent programs, they will get
reinstalled. There are a couple of ways to fix this. As mentioned by the
MVP, you can unistall the parent program, especially if it is a trial
software. The other method would require you to be a savvy pc user / tech.
Then there is a safer way like using softwares that make managing your
startups easier. Try a "trial" software like system mechanic. It will most
likely help resolve the problem. If not then that startup you are focused
on may be a spyware or something.