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Auto Start: How do I run a program automatically when Windows starts?

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Summary: There are several ways to auto start a program under Windows. Unfortunately, only one of the auto start methods is easy.

I have a program that I want to auto start every time when windows starts, how can I do that? I know that i can do it when i put it in start folder in "programs". But I don't want to do it at that way, are there any other methods? Is it possible to create a batch file or something and write what the program is named and just click on the batch file one time, and the program will start every time when the windows starts, or do you have other ideas?

The batch file idea reminds me of the old "autoexec.bat" file that would run every time MS-DOS was booted. That file still exists for some compatibility reasons, but it's no longer used at all.

There are other ways, but things get pretty geeky pretty quick if you don't want to use the Start menu functionality.

I'll start by saying this: unless you know what you're doing, the Start menu - or more correctly the Start->[All] Programs->Startup sub menu - is the easiest, quickest and safest way to do it. It's what I honestly recommend - even if you need to set up an auto-login to make it happen on boot.

All you need do is create a shortcut within that sub menu to whatever it is you want and it will be run each time you log in.

Now, if you're still set on finding other ways, my recommendation would be to grab the tool "autoruns" from SysInternals.com. It will list everything that auto-starts on your machine, and from where.

"You probably want to know what you're doing before you attempt to add things to the registry"

You'll see several entries that are in the registry, for one example:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

has many programs listed there on my machine. You can easily look at the examples of what's already there on your own.

The several different registry keys have different purposes. They run as different users, and auto-run at different times (Boot versus user login, for example). They may not have access to everything you need, though, based on permissions and the state of the machine as it's booting up.

You probably want to know what you're doing before you attempt to add things to the registry. It's also why I say that the Start menu approach is much easier.

But the start menu, and the registry, are pretty much your only options.

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Article 10587 | Posted August 6, 2006

Recent Comments

Just for the record (and for users still using Windows 95/98/ME): on 9x-based Windows operating-systems there were also "run=" and "load=" lines in the "win.ini" file, which purpose was to load programs (and drivers, read on); where the run= one was intended to run programs and load= one to load any additional drivers.

________

best regards,
Ivan Tadej, Slovenija, EU
http://www.tadej-ivan.be/

Posted by: Ivan Tadej at August 9, 2006 05:38 PM

Another idea - you can convert your program or script to Windows Service. This service will start your program after computer restart even if no user is logged on.
I recommend to use ExeToService.
http://www.exetoservice.com/

Posted by: Richard at April 12, 2007 11:30 PM

This article helped me a lot. That's what I can say...

Posted by: Ankit Kaul at April 27, 2007 05:03 AM

How about using the Local Computer Policy (if the computer is not a member of a domain) and add a Startup/Logon Script

Jankovic Milan, Belgrade, Serbia

Posted by: Jankovic Milan at March 16, 2008 05:28 AM

Hi,
I chanced upon this site as Iw as searching for info on auto start ups. Nice site with lot of information, Thanks.
I need a little more help. I have tried the start up option. But that does not do waht I need. I have an exe that I would like to run before anything is shown on the desktop to the user. The app should take over the screen before anyone can see anything else about the desktop. I saw your note about downloading autoruns. And I installed it on my machine. Boy, there's a whole bunch of things that auto start up on my machine. But how do I know the order of these things? If I knew the order, I could probably set my app to be the first to be started. But even then, there might be some windows apps that need to be running before mine can start.
I am looking at exetoService.com as suggested in a user comment above. I also have a service that this app responds to. Will that in anyway be jeoparadized if I turn this exe into a service?

Please let me know what my options are at this point.

Thanks for your help,
Ramya

Posted by: Ramya Dasaratha at April 5, 2008 04:36 AM

I used the exetoservice software to convert my app to a service and set it up. I think it works great now and addresses my needs very well. Thanks you for the info on this web site. This was so helpful.
Ramya

Posted by: Ramya Dasaratha at April 6, 2008 05:45 AM

HELP!! i need to know how to directly start a program example... When your friend asks a file and you send it by msn i want the program or file to start or open directly after download... Tell me please,,. Thanks

Posted by: Cedie at July 14, 2008 05:13 AM

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Hash: SHA1

Starting a program automatically after a download (without
the recipient explicitly saying "now run this") would be a
HUGE security hole and would open up the doors to malware
even wider than they already are. I'm not aware of a way to
do that on an IM file transfer, and I wouldn't recommended
it if I did.

Leo


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Posted by: Leo at July 14, 2008 09:55 AM

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