In tip 0016, I described where applications start from.
StartUpCP is a freeware application that manages application startup using a Control Panel
GUI.
"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. Appears only on NT and multi-user Win9x systems.
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.
Does not appear on NT since it has its own Services control panel.
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. To manipulate them,
right-click (or press Shift-F10). You can select multiple items using the Shift and Control keys.
Options include:
New... - create a new entry. Note that 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.
You can also press F5 to refresh the list at any time."