I downloaded and activated Process Explorer: but I cannot get it to run at
log-on, minimized, in the tray.
I get this question a lot for Process Explorer specifically, but it
applies to many other applications as well.
Iâll review how to set something to start automatically when you login, and
Iâll show you the âtrickâ to having it start minimized.
Iâll use Windows 7 but what Iâll be showing you hasnât changed all that much
from earlier versions.
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The Startup Sub-Menu
Click on the Start button or the Start âOrbâ as itâs come to be known in Vista and 7, and click on All Programs.
Yours may well be somewhat different, but it will have in it a sub menu called âStartupâ, as highlighted here.
The Startup menu is âspecialâ, in that when you login, Windows automatically locates this menu and runs anything contained within it. So the way to get something to run automatically on login is simply to add a shortcut to the program to this sub menu.
Adding to the Startup Sub Menu
Iâm going to use Process Explorer for this example, and Iâll assume you have it downloaded somewhere already. Iâll use C:\Tools as the folder in which Iâve placed it.
Locate the folder containing Process Explorer (procexp.exe), right click on it and click on Copy:
Now, back to the start menu, open it to the Startup folder as we did above. Right click on the Startup folder and click on Explore:
This will open Windows Explorer on the folder that âisâ the Startup menu for the currently logged in user. It may be empty, or it may contain other programs already configured to automatically run on login.
Right click in an empty area and click on Paste Shortcut:
This will then place a shortcut to Process Explorer in the startup folder:
And, if you now take a look at your Start menu:
Now each time you login, Process Explorer will start automatically.
Starting Minimized
Most programs will open a regular window by default. In order to start a program minimized, weâll need to change a property on the shortcut we just created.
Right click on the shortcut itself and click on Properties:
In the resulting dialog, change the Run setting to be âMinimizedâ:
Click OK, and youâre done. Now Process Explorer, or whatever application youâve been working with, will start minimized.
Process Explorer Specifics
Process Explorer specifically has a couple of additional steps we probably want to take.
Before rebooting, click on the shortcut we just created to run Process Explorer. Itâll start minimized, so click on its taskbar item to restore it to the screen.
As you can see, youâll want to accept Process Explorerâs EULA if you havenât already so that it actually runs.
Once Process Explorer is running click on the Options menu and make sure that Hide when minimized is checked:
Most people when choosing to run Process Explorer automatically want to have it hidden â which means that only the processor usage icon is present in the taskbar notification area. Clicking on that then restores Process Explorerâs main window to the screen.
Windows 7 lets you pin icons to shortcuts in the taskbar, which you can open once Windows starts, or you can unpin them.
Dave
I like Process Explorer to replace the Task manager as well.
Interested to read this article as I am having difficulty getting Skype to start automatically under Windows 7. It used to work but no matter how I configure it now it will not start. Any ideas?