Each user account on your computer can have different auto-start applications
associated with it. Certain programs may start up for one user but not for
another. All these settings are stored in the system registry. With the help of
the Registry Editor utility, you can manually change these entries.
First, I go over where Windows 7 stores the auto-start information in the registry.
Windows stores auto-start information in two places for every user. It stores which
programs will start for a specific user under the user’s registry hive/location. It
also stores a list of programs that will start automatically in the local machine hive.
Registry entries in the local machine hive will start up for all users of the computer.
Removing these entries will remove it for all users of the computer.
Now that you know the two different types of startup items, user-specific
and all user entries, you can begin hacking the registry to change the startup
programs. First, you will find out how to modify the startup programs for all
users, and then you will learn how to modify the startup programs for indi-
vidual users.
To modify the startup programs for all users, follow these steps:
1. If you have not already done so, start Registry Editor by clicking the Start
button, typing regedit in the Search box, and pressing Enter.
2. After Registry Editor has loaded, expand and navigate through HKEY_
LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. You
will see a list of all the auto-start applications in the local machine context,
as shown in Figure 13-7.
3. If you want to remove a startup program, just right-click the name and
select Delete. Alternatively, if you want to add a new entry, right-click
the white space and select New and then String value. Right-click your
new entry and select Modify so that you can edit it and set the value to
the path of the executable you want to run.
That is it. You now know how to add and remove programs that will start
up for all users on the computer. The steps for modifying the startup programs
for individual users are very similar. The only difference is you have to go to a
different place in the registry.
Instead of navigating in the registry under HKEY_Local_Machine, you have
two options. You can log on to an individual’s account and then go to HKEY_
CURRENT_USER followed by the same navigation path used earlier. Alternatively,
you can go to HKEY_USERS, expand the account SID (Security Identifier) key, and
then follow the path used earlier.
tip When navigating through HKEY_USERS it can be hard to identify what
SID belongs a specific account. I wrote a handy utility available for free at
http://Wingeek.com/Software called SID Resolver that will translate the
account SID to the actual account name
Either method will result in the same outcome. However, if you don’t have
access to a user’s account, you can still modify his or her auto-start applications
by going to HKEY_USERS.
associated with it. Certain programs may start up for one user but not for
another. All these settings are stored in the system registry. With the help of
the Registry Editor utility, you can manually change these entries.
First, I go over where Windows 7 stores the auto-start information in the registry.
Windows stores auto-start information in two places for every user. It stores which
programs will start for a specific user under the user’s registry hive/location. It
also stores a list of programs that will start automatically in the local machine hive.
Registry entries in the local machine hive will start up for all users of the computer.
Removing these entries will remove it for all users of the computer.
Now that you know the two different types of startup items, user-specific
and all user entries, you can begin hacking the registry to change the startup
programs. First, you will find out how to modify the startup programs for all
users, and then you will learn how to modify the startup programs for indi-
vidual users.
To modify the startup programs for all users, follow these steps:
1. If you have not already done so, start Registry Editor by clicking the Start
button, typing regedit in the Search box, and pressing Enter.
2. After Registry Editor has loaded, expand and navigate through HKEY_
LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. You
will see a list of all the auto-start applications in the local machine context,
as shown in Figure 13-7.
3. If you want to remove a startup program, just right-click the name and
select Delete. Alternatively, if you want to add a new entry, right-click
the white space and select New and then String value. Right-click your
new entry and select Modify so that you can edit it and set the value to
the path of the executable you want to run.
That is it. You now know how to add and remove programs that will start
up for all users on the computer. The steps for modifying the startup programs
for individual users are very similar. The only difference is you have to go to a
different place in the registry.
Instead of navigating in the registry under HKEY_Local_Machine, you have
two options. You can log on to an individual’s account and then go to HKEY_
CURRENT_USER followed by the same navigation path used earlier. Alternatively,
you can go to HKEY_USERS, expand the account SID (Security Identifier) key, and
then follow the path used earlier.
tip When navigating through HKEY_USERS it can be hard to identify what
SID belongs a specific account. I wrote a handy utility available for free at
http://Wingeek.com/Software called SID Resolver that will translate the
account SID to the actual account name
Either method will result in the same outcome. However, if you don’t have
access to a user’s account, you can still modify his or her auto-start applications
by going to HKEY_USERS.
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