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, it's very small and won't burden your system. A valuable tool for system administrators!
Startup Control Panel is compatible with all modern versions of Windows through Windows XP. Windows Vista, after all these years, finally has a very good startup manager built-in; go to Control Panel > Performance Information and Tools, and then click on Manage Startup Programs on the left.
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Installing
Run the setup program in the zip file.
Standalone EXE version: just extract the program wherever you want.
Starting
Double-click the Startup icon in the Control Panel. On Windows XP, you must switch the Control Panel to Classic View in order to see this icon.
Standalone EXE version: just run the program.
Using
The dialog contains six to seven tabs, depending on your system configuration. Each tab represents one place where a program can be registered to run at system startup. These include:
- 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.
Each page contains a list of the programs registered at that location. Use the checkbox to enable or disable individual items. Additional operations are available by right-clicking an item. You can select multiple items using the Shift and Control keys. Options include:
- 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.
Press F5 to refresh the list at any time.
Uninstalling
Use the Add/Remove Programs control panel applet, or delete the file C:\Windows\System32\Startup.cpl. In either case, both Startup Control Panel and the Control Panel window must be closed.
Detailed instructions for manual uninstallation
For additional help and support, please visit the discussion forum.
