Determing What Programs Are Running On Startup

A lot of software these days comes with add-ons or automatic updates. Seems like more and more software is setting itself up as a service or being started automatically when you log on.

Startup Programs
To see what is running do the following:

1. Go to Start > Run.
2. Type regedit and hit enter.
3. Navigate to these locations within the Registry to see what gets started:

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
• HKEY_USERS\....\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

You can also do a search by going to Edit > Find (or use CTRL + F) and type in the RunOnce and click Find Next. Hit F3 until you get to where you need to go.

Services
Another thing could be your services, or applications that run in the background. To find out what you have going on there do the following:

1. Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools.
2. Click on Services.
3. You will be provided a list of services. The ones that are running say "started".

WARNING!!! Changing any of the registry settings or services could do some damage if you alter the wrong item(s). If you are not sure - ask someone who knows! At least make a backup of your registry, and screenshots of your services, and keep that Windows Installation disc handy in case you tank things.