Microsoft KB Archive/270035

= How to disable programs that run when you start Windows XP Home Edition or Windows Vista =

Article ID: 270035

Article Last Modified on 1/4/2008

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APPLIES TO


 * Windows Vista Ultimate
 * Windows Vista Enterprise
 * Windows Vista Business
 * Windows Vista Home Premium
 * Windows Vista Home Basic
 * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

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This article was previously published under Q270035



SUMMARY
This article describes how to modify a list of programs that run when you start Windows XP Home Edition or Windows Vista.

You can create and modify the list of programs that start automatically when you start or log on to your computer. Some of these programs can be set up to automatically configure themselves to run when you log on to your computer.



MORE INFORMATION
To modify the list of programs that run when you start Windows, choose one of the following methods.

Method 1: Use Windows Defender to modify the list of programs that run when a Windows XP Home Edition-based or a Windows Vista-based computer starts
Use Windows Defender to find out what programs are running when you start Windows XP Home Edition or Windows Vista..

Windows XP Home Edition
Visit the following Microsoft Web site to downloaded Windows Defender:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=435BFCE7-DA2B-4A6A-AFA4-F7F14E605A0D&displaylang=en&mg_id=10134

To use Windows Defender to disable programs in Windows XP Home Edition, follow these steps:
 * 1) Click Start, click All Programs, and then click Windows Defender.
 * 2) Click Tools, and then click Software Explorer.
 * 3) Click the application name in the Name column that you want to disable, and then click Disable.

Windows Vista
By default, Windows Defender is installed as part of the Windows Vista installation.

How to use Defender to disable programs in Windows Vista

For more information about how to use Software Explorer in Windows Defender, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/d360ec81-0dd6-480f-a180-746dc6a12f001033.mspx

For more information about how to stop a program from running automatically when Windows Vista starts, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/b38d44d3-c61f-411f-a069-8f189d2f914e1033.mspx

You can also use Windows Defender to scan for spyware or for other potentially unwanted software. For more information about how to use Windows Defender to scan for spyware and for other potentially unwanted software, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/85aba529-d717-49e9-ba01-cf892cdfff2e1033.mspx

Method 2: Use a registry key to modify the list of programs that run when a Windows XP Home Edition-based computer starts
Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows XP and Windows Vista

If you want to modify only the list of legacy programs that run at Startup, use Registry Editor. To do this, follow these steps:
 * 1) Start Registry Editor, and then locate one of the following registry keys:
 * 2) If you do not want a program to run at Startup, find that particular program, and then delete its entry from one of these registry keys.
 * 1) If you do not want a program to run at Startup, find that particular program, and then delete its entry from one of these registry keys.
 * 1) If you do not want a program to run at Startup, find that particular program, and then delete its entry from one of these registry keys.

You can add entries here also. But we recommend that you use the Windows Run at Startup policy setting to add programs that you want to run at Startup.

