annoying startup program

[Anonymous]

I've checked win.ini, system.ini, the startup folder, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Run, Runonce, RunonceEx, RunServices, and Runservicesonce. Where else can an annoying program hide?
I would prefer a general answer instead of specific to my program because more than one program uses this technique.

[Anonymous]

have you checked your autoexec.bat and config.sys files?

[hpguru]

What is the name of the program? If you are running Win98 *and* you can do Ctrl-Alt-Del and see the programs name in the task list then try this;
Click the Start button and then Run. Type "msconfig" (no quotes) into the "Open:" field and click Ok. When msconfig opens click on the Startup tab and scroll the list of startup programs to see if the name of your program (with a .exe on the end) appears in the list. You may have to scroll to the right a little to view the full path and program name. If you find it listed just uncheck the box to the left of its entry and click Ok to exit msconfig.

If you did not find the program in that list the it may be that a DOS TSR is loading a 32bit program as soon as Win98 has loaded, or it could be loaded by Winstart.bat.

Locate and *rename* the following 3 files on your hard disk (if you don't find one or more of them don't sweat it):

c:\config.sys > c:\config.bak
c:\autoexec.bat > c:\autoexec.bak
c:\windows\winstart.bat > c:\windows\winstart.bak

Reboot your pc. If your program doesn't load then it was either being loaded by a TSR or from winstart.bat.

Make sure you backup your system files before trying any of this.

Finally, here is a list of locations you can look at to find where your program is loading.

C:\CONFIG.SYS
C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT
C:\WINDOWS\WINSTART.BAT
RUN= or LOAD= lines in C:\WINDOWS\WIN.INI
C:\WINDOWS\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp
C:\WINDOWS\Profiles\Your_UserName\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\RunServices

If you cannot find it in one of these locations then you will just have to learn to live with it or uninstall the offending app.

One last note. If the offending program is the Task Scheduler *and* you have installed "Windows Critical Update Notification" then do this.
Open the Task Scheduler and click "Advanced" in its menu. Select "Stop Using Task Scheduler". Task Scheduler will exit. Then follow the procedure I outlined at the beginning of this post and remove "Windows Critical Update Notification" from the Startup list using msconfig.

[Anonymous]

Wow, how come I never knew about this msconfig program? Thanks. It really ought to be in the system tools folder by default. I found the program in the startup list (but I still don't know where it is hiding, not in autoexec.bat or config.sys)

[Paul D]

Try http://hotfiles.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/texis/swlib/hotfiles/info.html?fcode=000YKL for a program called Startup Cop
It lets you control startup programs (like MSConfig), but also helps you remove them from startup for good rather than disabling them. It also tells you where they're starting from.

[hpguru]

I highly recommend that you disable startups rather than deleting them just in case you note any ill effects later. Some apps may cease to function properly if you delete their startup routines. Startup Cop is a BAD IDEA.

[Paul D]

If you haven't seen it, you wouldn't know.
It covers all your whinges, because it's a multi-step process.
Step 1 is to simply disable the program from starting at startup.
Step 2, once you're satisfied that step 1 is OK, is to archive whatever is starting the program, (registry entry, start folder shortcut etc) so that it's no longer on your system in an active form.
Step 3, once you're satisfied step 2 is OK, is to delete the archive.
Steps 2 & 3 are NOT mandatory. You can use it just like MSConfig to simply stop automatic execution of the program at startup.
The help files that accompany the program stress caution, and to wait several days between steps
Also, in answer to the original question, and unlike MSConfig, it tells you EXACTLY where (registry, win.ini, system.ini, startup folder etc etc) the program is being activated from.
Note that it doesn't delete the program, just the startup trigger, and is entirely under user control at all times
IT'S A BLOODY GOOD PROGRAM





[I]<FONT face="Brush Script MT"><FONT size=+3>Paul D