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Auto-launch Entries
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StartUp Tuner is generally pretty intuitive and self-explanatory. You basically just have two screens to deal with: Options and Autostart Entries. The Add/Remove Program List screen is a freebie that provides a couple of useful functions that are not directly related to auto-launching programs.

What you need to know before you begin

To understand the displays in StartUp Tuner you need to know that the entries used to launch programs automatically in Windows® can be stored in several different places. These are all listed in the Autostart Entries screen. There are three main categories:

1) Entries in the Startup folder:


This folder is located in the Programs section of the Windows® Start menu. (You can edit it directly by right-clicking on the Start button in the taskbar and selecting Explore - this also makes these entries the easiest to find, because you can always see them directly in the Start menu.). If you create a shortcut to an executable program and store it in this folder the program will always be launched automatically when Windows® starts.

2) Entries in the Windows® registry:

This is the most complex group, with a large number of sub-categories, which are all listed in the Autostart Entries screen.

These entries are the most difficult to find because they are invisible unless you edit the registry directly, which is not advisable unless you really know what you're doing. (Be warned: Editing mistakes in the registry can cause serious malfunctions or even make it impossible to start Windows®!)

3) Entries in the win.ini file:

This file is a legacy from the days of Windows® 3.1. In Windows® 95 and its successors it was actually replaced by the registry, but it is still there for compatibility with old programs that store their settings there instead of in the registry. This file contains two sections that can be used to auto-launch applications when Windows® starts.