Microsoft KB Archive/69844

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Difference Between load= and run= Statements in WIN.INI

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Q69844

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Windows versions 3.0, 3.0a

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SUMMARY
The &quot;load=&quot; and &quot;run=&quot; statements in the WIN.INI both load applications when Windows boots up.

The &quot;load=&quot; statement loads applications as icons. None of these applications are the active application.

The &quot;run=&quot; statement loads the applications in a window. The last application loaded by the &quot;run=&quot; statement is the active application.

load=
When loading an application from the &quot;load=&quot; statement in the WIN.INI file, Windows uses the function SW_SHOWMINNOACTIVE. This function leaves the application minimized (that is, an icon) as a background application.

In 386 enhanced mode, if an MS-DOS application is on the &quot;load=&quot; line and the program information file (PIF) does not have the background option selected, then the application does not actually load until you double- click the icon, making the application active. With the background option selected in the PIF, the application is then allowed to run in the background and load into memory.

In standard and real modes, MS-DOS applications on the &quot;load=&quot; line have an opportunity to load into memory before Windows continues on its next step. This happens because Windows swaps itself out of memory to run MS-DOS applications. The MS-DOS application becomes the active application during this process and loads into memory. Then the system switches back to Windows so Windows can continue with its next step.

run=
When loading an application from the &quot;run=&quot; statement in the WIN.INI file, Windows uses the function SW_SHOWNORMAL. This function leaves the application maximized (that is, in a full-screen window) as the active application. If there is more than one application on the &quot;run=&quot; line, then the last application is the active application when Windows is through loading them.