Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (
More info?)
Ted Zieglar wrote:
> No, I didn't forget "option 4". The System Configuration utility was
> designed for troubleshooting. You can temporarily disable startup items
> and then re-enable them one by one if you suspect that startup items are
> interfering with your computer's operation. The System Configuration
> Utility was not intended to be a permanent solution.
>
> Removing startup items with msconfig interferes with the otherwise
> normal startup process. The correct way to to prevent something from
> starting is by using the three options I provided. The alternative is to
> uninstall the program, if possible.
>
> Ted Zieglar
>
I've never ran into problems controlling startup programs in the long
term with just msconfig (although I definitely agree the first step is
to check the program itself).
However your step 2 only lists one (and probably the least common) place
where programs can be called to startup from. People also ought to
check (but be aware this is in the registry and if you don't know what
you're doing you can seriously mess things up):
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServicesOnce
HKEY_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Also be sure to check Services (Under Control Panel -> Administrative
Tools in XP Pro, I'm not sure about Home). You can also control
services from a command prompt (sc --help for more info).