Member Avatar for jcc31

Hi People,
Does anybody know how to auto start a program when starting Windows XP? I would like to start my computer with Windows XP, leave the room and when I get back Internet Explorer 5.X is up and running. I was able to automacally connect to my ISP. But now just startup when booting up.

Thanks in advance

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A short, practical checklist that complements , and : their Startup-folder, HijackThis and Run-key suggestions are good first steps. Below are additional, reliable places and safe actions to either start IE at boot intentionally (for ) or to track down and remove an unwanted autostart (for ).

For intentionally starting IE reliably: prefer a Scheduled Task (Control Panel → Scheduled Tasks) set to run “At logon” or “At system startup,” or create a desktop shortcut whose properties set it to run minimized. Scheduled Tasks gives control over when the program runs and under which account, so it’s less intrusive than replacing the shell.

For diagnosing an unwanted autostart: a useful diagnostic is Safe Mode (F8 at boot). If IE does not launch in Safe Mode the cause is almost always a startup item, service, scheduled task, or third‑party shell replacement. Use msconfig (Startup and Services tabs) to temporarily disable items and narrow the culprit. If those don’t show it, inspect the Winlogon values in the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon — the Shell and Userinit entries control what runs at logon; a nonstandard value there can force IE as the shell. Back up the registry (export the key) or create a System Restore point before making changes.

When msconfig and registry checks come up empty, follow ’s HijackThis approach and add a parent‑process inspection: Sysinternals Process Explorer shows which process started iexplore.exe and often points directly to the responsible program or service. Also check Scheduled Tasks and the Group Policy setting that can replace Explorer with a custom shell (gpedit.msc → Administrative Templates → System → Custom User Interface). OEM utilities on some laptops (Dell, etc.) occasionally set a custom shell—look for vendor tools or support apps if the registry/policy is clean.

Caution: editing policies or Winlogon entries can prevent normal logon; always export keys or make a restore point first. Combining HijackThis, msconfig, Scheduled Tasks and Process Explorer usually finds the source without reinstalling Windows.

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Member Avatar for Tatootie

Hi People,
Does anybody know how to auto start a program when starting Windows XP? I would like to start my computer with Windows XP, leave the room and when I get back Internet Explorer 5.X is up and running. I was able to automacally connect to my ISP. But now just startup when booting up.

Thanks in advance

Just open your start menu (start->programs) and drag the IE or any other program into the startup folder

peace

Member Avatar for pianoplayer65

I have the opposite problem. I do NOT want my IE to autostart. My brother thought this would be a good idea if my Dell Laptop booted up directly to IE and whatever he configured, now I can't undo it

IE is not listed in the StartUP menu, nor in Services. A Dell Connect
Tech tried for 6 hours to find out where it was originating from and gave up. I have put my machine through 3 different spyware programs. Any ideas how to UNDO Internet Explorer autostart?

Many thanks,
pianoplayer 65

Member Avatar for gerbil

Heh.. brothers...
HiJackThis:
==download hijackthis: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download5554.html
-install it to a new folder alongside your program files.
-in that folder start HijackThis by dclicking the .exe, select Open Misc Tools Section, check List minor Sections and press Generate Startup List....
And if it does not show up on that there is a specialty startup lister we can run...

Member Avatar for bops

Check the registry entries at

"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run"
"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run"

These may contain entries that you don't want to run at startup, including internet explorer maybe?

If you don't know how to access the registry, go to Start - Run and then enter "regedit" (without quotes) and press enter and then use the tree on the left to navigate to the above.

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