Unwanted Programs in Startup

[Muthay]

Using XP. Upon startup i get Internet Explorer, Outlook express, Windows
Media Player, Yahoo Mail all coming up at the end of startup. I do not want
these I only want to show the desktop with its icons.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Using XP. Upon startup i get Internet Explorer, Outlook express,
Windows Media Player, Yahoo Mail all coming up at the end of
startup. I do not want these I only want to show the desktop with
its icons.

Then remove them from where ever you put them so that they startup when you
logon.

Startup folder in the All Programs menu?
Registry "RUN" key under HKCU or HKLM?
Some other place (Scheduled Task - system startup/logon?)

Figure out where you put them (allowed them to get put) and remove them.

Start button --> RUN --> type in:
msconfig
--> Click OK.

Select the "Startup" tab.

Look through the list - find the offending applications and take note of
their 'location". Do not be tempted by the checkbox. Just take note of the
location and go there manually to remove said items. If you need futher
assistance - post their location here.

 

[Bob Harris]

Microsoft offer a free tool to help control things that start automatically.
It is caalled AUTORUNS and is available at:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

After installation, run it once. This may take a few minutes. Then note
what starts and from where (registry, start menu, etc).

To stop something from starting, simply uncheck the box to the left of it.

To change back to auto-starting, re-run AUTORUNS and re-check the box.

CAUTION: Be very careful about stopping any processes related to Windows
itself. In general, avoid processes that come from Microsoft, which is
indicated in the output. Or, chose the option to exclude Microsoft
processes from the display of results.

 

[JS]

Try Autoruns from the MS Windows SysInternals site:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

AutoRuns will show/list all apps/etc. that load/run when you first boot ...
(the 'Boot Execute' tab),
when you logon (the 'Logon' tab) and other programs that load
(grouped by labeled tabs) for easy viewing.

It also provides the ability to selectively allows you to stop
(use with care) any program that you don't want to load.
You can undo any changes you have made.

Note: To get additional details on an item in the list you can't
readily identify you may need to highlight the item (right click) and use
the 'Search Online' option to get the details,
especially useful for the more obscure items in the list.

There is also a change in the laters version's (v9.39) menu 'Options':
"Autoruns changes the Hide Microsoft Entries to only hide Windows entries"