Copyright: (c) 1998 by Thomas Reimann and Digital Harmony


disclaimer_agreement
Disclaimer Agreement

Users of StartEd must accept this disclaimer of warranty:

" StartEd is supplied as is.  The author disclaims all warranties,

expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties

of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes

no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result

from the use of StartEd. "

StartEd is Copyright (c) 1997-98 by Thomas Reimann.


startup_folder
Startup Folder

The Startup Folder is a special folder in Windows 95, which is

responsible for loading the Application Programs during the

booting processes of Windows 95, whose shortcuts exist

in the Startup Folder.

The Startup Folder is located in the Windows 95 Start Menu

under the Windows directory and most often the location tends

to be C:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.

When you normally create a shortcut to a Windows based

application in order to access it , the default extension of

the shortcut is  LNK, whereas for MS-DOS based programs

the extension is PIF.

If you wish to launch a program on booting to Windows 95

via the Startup Folder, then StartEd takes care of the details

for you. It generates a shortcut to the selected program in

the Startup Folder with the extension LNK automatically.


new_in_3
What's new in 3.0 ?

•	New, resizable GUI

•	Backup and Restore of Startup Information

   (including file type registration) have been added

•	Added an Install and Uninstall Program

•	Icons are now displayed in the List View

•	Startup Method can now be changed

•	New Registry Sections:

• Current User Run

• Current User Run Once

• Local Machine Run Once

• Local Machine Run Services Once

•	Startup Folder support has been added

•	Supports the Win.ini file

•	File Launch has been implemented

•	File Properties can be viewed

•	Several Warning/Info Dialogs have been incorporated

•	List View sorting has been implemented

•	Exception Handlers have been added


registry_sections
Registry Startup Processes

Windows scans the registry sections in the

following order:

Local Machine Run Once Services

Local Machines Run Services

↓

Local Machine Run Once

Local Machine Run

↓

Current User Run Once

Current User Run

Sections Description:

• Local Machine Run Once Services

This section is used primarily for Install Scripts. The specified

files are executed before the Desktop and the Windows 95

Taskbar appear. The term "Run Once" implies that the entries

will be removed after the boot process has finished.

• Local Machines Run Services

This section is used in particular by Application Programs such

as Installation Monitors, AntiVirus Scanners including Server

Software are launched from this section of the Registry.

The files referenced here are executed before the desktop

and the Windows 95 Taskbar appear.

• Local Machine Run Once

This section is used by the Install Scripts that require Windows

Explorer to be active. The term "Run Once" implies that

these entries will be removed once the boot processes have

been completed.

• Local Machine Run

Most applications should be loaded from this segment of the

Registry. It's purpose is the same as that of the Startup Folder,

however you do not require to create any Shortcut Files.

• Current User Run Once

The purpose of this segment is in every way similar to that of

Current User Run, except that the entries will be removed after

the boot processes have finished.

• Current User Run

This section has significance only for Multi-user Systems.

The files referenced  here will be loaded only if the user

that has created the entries logs in.


Win.ini

The term INI file refers to an Initialization File, which

is responsible for storing the settings and preferences

and other pertinent data of an Application to the Disk.

This method of storing data and preferences to the disk

in a textual format was supported in Windows 3.1. The

WIN.INI file [ and the Startup Group ] was responsible

for loading the applications, when Windows 3.1 was

launched from the DOS command-line.

Now, the StartUp Folder and the Registry have taken

the place of the WIN.INI file in Windows 95.

StartEd supports WIN.INI file for backward compatibility

and other issues. It is not recommended to launch programs

during the boot-up of Windows 95 via this method, as

WIN.INI supports only two files, each in the Run, and

the Load line respectively.

This file is located in the Windows directory on your hard

drive [ most often found under C:\Windows ].


add
Add New Entry to the startup process

Step 1. : Enter the File information.

You need to fill in the name and the command line edit fields.

Alternatively you could drag & drop the file you wish to add

from Windows Explorer onto the StartEd window.

You may also use the Select button next to the Name edit

field and navigate through the directory structure and locate

and select the file.

Step 2. : Select a Start Method

Use the compo-box to select the start method you want.

You have the option to choose between six different registry

sections, the Startup Folder and the Win.ini file.

Step 3. : Add the File to the List View

Once you are done selecting the File and the Start Methods,

click once on the add button to complete the process.

The File appears at the end of the List View.


backup
Backup your Startup Configuration

Wouldn't it be a great advantage, if you could save the

state of your Startup configuration before you edit it ?

Well, StartEd allows you to create backups of your

Startup Information.

This feature is very useful if you wish to try out several

startup configurations to suit you best. You could test

the new configurations and restore them at the click

of a button. The backup file(s) may also be helpful if

you wish to re-install Windows 95 on your System.

To create a backup use the Quick Backup or

Create Backup As command.

To restore your Startup information use the

Quick Restore or the Restore Backup from

command.

The backup feature is only available in the

registered version of StartEd !


main_menu
Main Menu

The main menu consist of 5 menus.

File

Clear All

—————

Rescan

Save

Save & Exit

—————

Terminate

Settings

Display Dialogs →

Save confirmation Dialogs

Save changes on exit Dialog

Restore info Dialogs

Run Once warning Dialogs

non shortcut in Startup Folder Dialogs

Add new Files immediately

Alphasort List View

Backup

Quick Backup

Create Backup as ...

———————————————

Register StartEd Backup file type

Restore

Quick Restore

Restore Backup from ...


context_menus
Context Menus

StartEd  features two unique context menus which allow

you to access most of StartEd's often-used menu items.

The first Context menu can be accessed in the list view.

You only need to right click in the List view area and the

following menu pops up.

Cut

Paste

———————

Add

Replace

———————

Launch File

———————

File Properties

The second Context menu shown below can be activated

by simply right-clicking outside the List View.

Save & Exit

————————

Terminate


Introduction

Welcome to StartEd.

Have you often wondered as to why certain programs

always load up whenever you start Windows 95 even

though there is no shortcut to these programs in the

Startup Folder ? These quirks are courtesy of the

Windows 95 Registry or the Win.ini File. If you need

total and direct control over the programs loaded during

the booting processes, then StartEd is THE Answer.

StartEd allows you to take a peek at what's currently

going on during the boot operations, and places the

power to Edit, Delete and even Add to the existing

entries at your fingertips.

It even allows you to Backup the Startup Configuration.


replace
Change an Existing Entry

Step 1. : Select the item

Double click the line with the item that you wish to change.

On doing so, the name and the command line appear the in edit fields.

Step 2. : Enter new File information

Change the entries in the edit fields to your satisfaction.

At this time you may also select a new Start Method.

Step 3. : Replace the item

Click once on the replace button

and the changes are thereby reflected in the List View.


The Windows 95 Registry
Overview

The Registry is a central database that is created by Windows 95

during installation. The entries in that database consist of the hardware,

software, users, and preferences data for a single PC, or any PC on a

network. Whenever the user makes changes to the Control Panel settings,

File Associations, System Policies, or installed software, the changes are

reflected in the Registry.

These Registry settings can be viewed with the Registry Editor

(REGEDIT.EXE), which is installed into the Windows\System folder

when Windows 95 is installed from CD-ROM. The floppy disk version

of Windows 95 will NOT install this editor.

By default, REGEDIT.EXE will NOT appear on any of the system's

menus, or the Start button. So you will have to add your own shortcut,

or you can click on the START button, select RUN and in the OPEN:

command line type REGEDIT and press ENTER. If the Registry Editor

is installed on your system, it will appear on your Desktop, ready to use.

The Registry replaces the dreaded .INI files from Windows 3.1, and

because the information is presented in hierarchical form, the Registry

supports nested folders, which .INI files do not support. One of the many

benefits of this is that in a network environment, users can log onto any PC

in the network, just as it were the very same PC on their desk !

In addition, several users can store configuration data on a single machine.

Registry Editor displays the contents of the Registry in six subtrees

called Keys. Keys can contain data strings, as well as SubKeys.

Each of these six Keys begins with Hkey_ which indicates that it can

be used by a program to access resources.

When you first look at the Registry Editor, this structure looks extremely

complicated. Think of the Registry Editor as another type of Windows

Explorer, only this explorer ventures into the uncharted waters of your

systems' configuration !


Registry Backups

In Windows 95, data is written to the Registry only when a flush

occurs–that is, when something happens after changed data has

aged more than a few seconds or when an application intentionally

flushes the data to the hard disk.

Each time Windows 95 successfully starts, the operating system

backs up the Registry by copying the current SYSTEM.DAT and

USER.DAT files to SYSTEM.DA0 and USER.DA0, respectively.

If Windows 95 fails to start, the backed-up Registry from the

last successful startup can be copied over the current Registry

This method recovers the last successful settings after a system failure.


Registry Keys

The six Hkey_ handles

• Hkey_Local_Machine

Contains computer specific information about the type of hardware,

software, and other preferences on a given PC. This information is

used for all users who log onto this computer.

SubKeys of the six Hkey Handles Hkey_Local_Machine may

contain the following Entries

Config

A collection of configurations for the local computer

Enum

Info on the system's installed hardware devices

Hardware

Info on the ports and modems used with HyperTerminal

Network

Info created when a user logs on to a networked PC

Security

Info on network security and remote administration

Software

Info about software and it's configuration on system

System

The database that controls system start-up, device driver

loading, Windows 95 Services and OS behavior

• Hkey_Local_Machine\Config

The Hkey_Local_Machine\Config subtree contains information about

alternate hardware configurations for the computer. For example, it can

contain information about multiple configurations to be used when the

computer is connected to a network, when it is undocked from a docking

station, and so on. Each alternate configuration is assigned a unique

identifier, and this configuration ID has a subkey under the Config key.

Each configuration appears in the list of hardware profiles in the System

option in Control Panel. When Windows 95 checks the hardware

configuration at system startup, one of three things occurs:

In most situations, the configuration ID is mapped to a unique configuration

and Windows 95 selects the appropriate one automatically, and the settings

for the related Config subkey are used for system configuration.

If the user is starting the computer for the first time with new hardware

components, Windows 95 creates a new configuration for the new

configuration ID, and a new Config subkey is added to the Registry.

If the configuration ID is mapped to more than one configuration

(for example, because Windows 95 cannot distinguish between

two configurations), the user is prompted to choose which

configuration to use.

• Hkey_Local_Machine\Enum

Windows 95 bus enumerators are responsible for building the hardware

tree. This includes assigning an identification code to each device on its

bus and retrieving the device's configuration information, either directly

from the device or from the Registry..

Bus enumeration information is stored in the Hkey_Local_Machine\Enum

subtree. For all types of devices, subkeys contain information such as

device type, assigned drive letter, hardware ID, and device manufacturer,

plus driver-related information for network components.

The following table shows which devices are enumerated in typical subkeys.

ESDI

Fixed disk devices

FLOP

Floppy disk devices

ISAPNP

Plug and Play devices on an ISA bus

Monitor

Monitor devices

Network

Network protocol, server, and bindings

Root

Legacy devices

• Hkey_Local_Machine\Hardware

Information about serial ports and modems used with the HyperTerminal program.

• Hkey_Local_Machine\Network

Network information created when a user logs on to a networked computer,

including the user name, primary network provider, whether the logon was

validated by a server, and information about the system policies processor.

• Hkey_Local_Machine\Security

Information about the network security provider and remote administration capabilities.

• Hkey_Local_Machine\Software

The Hkey_Local_Machine\Software subtree contains configuration information

about all installed software that can write information in the Registry. The entries

in this key apply for anyone using this particular computer, and include definitions

for file associations and OLE information. The software subkey contains, for

example, the information you add when registering an application to use a

specific filename extension and information added during installation of

Windows-based applications.

The Hkey_Local_Machine\Software subtree contains several subkeys, including

the Classes subkey, plus description subkeys for all installed software that can

write to the Registry, as described in the following sections.

• Hkey_Local_Machine\System

The data in Hkey_Local_Machine\System is organized into control sets that contain

a complete set of parameters for device drivers and services that can be loaded with

Windows 95. All data that controls startup is described in the CurrentControlSet

subtree under Hkey_Local_Machine\System. This control set has two parts:

The Control key contains information used to control system startup, including

the computer's network name and the subsystems to start.

The Services key contains information to control the loading and configuration of

drivers, file systems, and so on. The data in the Services key also controls how

these services call each other.

• Hkey_Current_Config

This Key points to a branch of the Key Hkey_Local_Machine \Config

that contains information about the current hardware configuration.

• Hkey_Dyn_Data

This Key points to a branch of Hkey_Local_Machine that contains

various bits of information regarding the System's Plug and Play

configuration. This information is DYNAMIC, meaning that it may

change as devices are added to or removed from the computer.

• Hkey_Classes_Root

This Key points to a branch of Hkey_Local_Machine that describes

certain software settings. This Key contains essential information

about OLE and drag and drop operations, shortcuts, and core aspects

of the Windows 95 GUI.

• Hkey_Users

This Key contains information about the users that log onto the computer.

Both generic and user-specific information is used, and each user who

uses the system has their own Subkey.

• Hkey_Current_User

This Key points to a branch of Hkey_Users for the user who is currently

logged onto the system.


terminate
The Terminate command is used to exit the program

immediately without saving any changes made to the

Registry, the Startup Folder or the WIN.INI files.


clear all
The Clear All menu item when selected clears the

Contents of the List View by deleting the Registry

entries temporarily. If you wish to change your mind

and recover the cleared entries, then on clicking the

Rescan Button or Rescan on the File Menu restores

the entries in the List View.

Please exercise caution while using this command,

because if the changes to the Registry are saved after

clearing the entries, the only way to recover them is

to restore them from backup [ if you had created a

backup before clearing the Entries ] or manually add

them through StartEd.


the_listview
The List View

The List View displays the Name of the files, the Command-line

parameters, the Startup method and also whether the file is valid

or not in a tabular format.

The size of each column can be changed with the mouse. Just position

your mouse cursor over the border separating two fields and the mouse

cursor changes to show that the border can now be dragged. Click and

hold down the left mouse button and move the cursor to adjust the width

accordingly.

Wherever there is more text to be seen in a row, an ellipsis (...) appears.

A vertical scrollbar appear when the number of entries exceeds the

vertical size of the List View .A horizontal scrollbar also appears if

the list view is too wide to be shown properly.

To edit a List View row - double-click it.


Support

Any feedback , bug reports , problems , constructive criticism email to:

Shark@Flix.de

Ultimatum Productions:

http://ultimatum.home.pages.de

Snail Mail:

Thomas Reimann

Muehlgasse 10

96450 Coburg

Germany


Credits

Program:

Thomas Reimann

Docs:

Thomas Reimann , Abhijeet Premkumar

Beta testing:

Henry Ziemba, Ben Jarrett, Abhijeet Premkumar,

Jakob Lindstrom, Bryan Bellis, Charles W. Billow,

Don Penlington, Brad Nickel, Tom O'Reilly


rescan
The Rescan command is used to "refresh" the List

View, when an entry has been Cut or Added.

On executing this command the changes made are

not committed and the List view is "refreshed".

Clear All removes all the entries from the List View.

If you wish to restore the previous entries, then execute

this command by clicking on the Rescan Button or

alternatively through the Rescan menu-item in the

File Menu.

Note:

This feature will work only if you have made any changes

to the list and do not save it.Once you save the List View,

the settings become persistent and you will have to restore

them manually or running the Restore process in StartEd.


save
The Save command is used, whenever you

have made changes to the Startup Information

and wish to make these settings permanent.

Note:

If you have set the Save Confirmation menu

item to ON, then you will be asked to confirm

the save operation.


save&exit
The Save & Exit command functions just like the Save

command with a minor difference.

StartEd will save the List View items and then exit.


save confirmation dialogs
When Save Confirmation item is checked, a dialog

box pops up asking for confirmation, if the changes

to the Startup configuration are to be saved or not.


save changes on exit dialog
When this menu item is checked, then a dialog box

pops up asking,  if you wish to commit the changes

made to the Startup Information on Exiting the Program.


restore info dialogs
If this menu item is checked, a dialog box appears

asking if you are sure that you wish to restore the

Startup information from the backup file specified

in the dialog box.


run once warning dialogs
A warning dialog box appears asking for your confirmation,

whether StartEd should add the entry, since the file will be

executed only once and them removed from the Startup list.


non shortcut in startup folder dialog
If checked, an information dialog box appears when

a non Shortcut file is found in your Startup Folder

during the scan process.


add new files immediately
With this option turned on, you can add a new file to

the List View without clicking on the Add button.

You will need to select the Start method before

you add the file.


alphasort list view
This menu-item when checked specifies that the

Name entries are to sorted in Alphabetical order,

whenever the list is refreshed.


quick backup
The Quick Backup command saves you precious keystrokes

when you want to take a lightning-fast Backup and do not wish

to bother yourself with trivial details like File name and description etc.

You just need to click on the Quick Backup menu item in the Backup

menu. The default file name will be taken as QuickBackup.SBK and

the file is saved in the Folder where StartEd is installed.

The default description of this file is Quick Backup.

The backup feature is only available in the

registered version of StartEd !


create backup as
On executing the Create Backup As command you are asked

to enter a description for the backup that you are about to make.

The description could be anything meaningful to you like

"Backup before adding WINTOP.EXE to Local Machine Run "

or anything else.

Once you have done so, press the Return key and you will

be then asked to specify the File name to which the backup

is to be saved. Enter a file name and click on the Save button

to complete the Backup process.

In addition to the backup information, this process also saves

several attributes such as shortcut's of the .LNK files, the

description that you have entered earlier and the date on

which the backup was performed.

The backup feature is only available in the

registered version of StartEd !


register started backup filetype
This command in the Backup menu modifies the Registry

such that files with the SBK extension are associated with

StartEd as StartEd Startup Backup Files.

Thereafter StartEd Backup can be launched from

the Windows Explorer by simply double-clicking

on a file with the SBK extension.


quick restore
If you think that something went wrong, while editing your

Startup entries and want to revert back to the state when

you began, then simply click on the QuickRestore menu-item

in the Restore menu ( if a Quick Backup was created ).

Note:

By default, Quick Restore reads the file created by Quick backup.

The restore feature is only available in the

registered version of StartEd !


restore backup from
On executing the Restore Backup From command from the

Restore menu, you are prompted to select the file from which

you wish to restore the Startup Information.

If the backup file exists in some other directory then simply

navigate through the directory structure, locate and select

the file and click Open.

If you have the Restore Info Warning turned on then you will

be asked to confirm, whether you wish to proceed with the

restore process. If you wish to, then click yes and the Startup

information will be read into the List View.

Note:

You require to save the changes by clicking on the Save

button to make these settings permanent.

The restore feature is only available in the

registered version of StartEd !


cut
The Cut command is used to delete the selected

entry from the List View.


paste
The entry that was previously cut from the List View can

be pasted back by clicking on this command button.


launch file
If you wish to verify that the specified program files are

loaded without going through the painful process of restarting

Windows 95, then simply right click the file that you wish to

launch and select Launch File. The selected file is loaded.


file properties
On executing this Context Menu command, a dialog box pops

up displaying the information about the selected file such as its

Name, Location ( Path ), Startup method, Size and Date.

In case of shortcuts with the extension LNK, the Icon Location

and folder in which the application looks for its configuration

files namely the Start-in Folder are also displayed.


display dialogs
The menu items in this Popup menu allow you

to customize StartEd to suit you best.


button_bar
The Button Bar

Click on one of the Buttons for an explanation.


Registration

StartEd is a 'try before you buy' shareware program that relies on

your support for continued development, the registration fee is only $15.

The program is not nagged and does not expire, but the backup

and restore capability is disabled in the unregistered version !

When you register StartEd, you will receive the registered executable

by email and become eligible for priority support.

You will also get free updates of all 3.x versions !

Send me together with your name and email address:

• cash: US$ 15 or DM 20

• an international money order in the amount of US$ 15 or DM 20

• an Eurocheque in German Mark, in the amount of DM 20

• a transfer of DM 20 to:

  Vereinigte Coburger Sparkassen , BLZ: 78350000

  Account-Nr: 9450677

My address is:

Thomas Reimann

Muehlgasse 10

96450 Coburg

Germany

Shark@Flix.de