Reference number: CH000198

Preventing programs from automatically loading.

Issue:

Preventing programs from automatically loading.

Cause:

Some programs, when installed on the computer, will be placed into sections of your computer causing them to load automatically. The below information describes how to prevent these programs from loading automatically.

Solution:

Because of the wide variety of locations that programs can be placed in Windows to cause them to automatically load, it is possible to find the program in one of the below three locations.

TIP: Microsoft Windows 98, Windows ME, and Windows XP users can easily use the msconfig utility to disable startup programs in the systemin.ini, win.ini, boot.ini, services, and the startup by following steps.

1. Click Start, Run.
2. Type msconfig
3. Uncheck each of the programs you wish to disable from startup in the startup tab or other tabs.

1. Windows Startup - The most common location that programs will be placed to load automatically is the Windows Startup. To check to see if the program you wish to be removed is loading in the Windows Startup, follow the below steps.

• Click Start / Programs / Startup, if under startup you see the program you wish to remove and you have Windows 98 or Windows 98 SE you can right-click the program and click delete to delete this automatically from your startup menu.
• If you see the program you wish to remove however have Windows 95 click Start / Settings / Taskbar & Startup Menu / click the Start Menu programs tab / click the Advanced button / click the Programs folder / click the Startup folder / highlight the program you do not wish to startup automatically and press delete on your keyboard.
• If you were unable to locate the program within the Startup folder or if after rebooting the computer this does not remove the program from automatically starting up, continue to step 2.

2. Windows Registry - The Windows registry is another common location to locate programs loading up automatically. Unfortunately, however, the registry can be a dangerous location to start deleting items from. If you are unfamiliar with the registry and its potential dangers, please see our Registry page. Once you have familiarized yourself with the registry, follow the below steps.

• Click Start, Run, and type regedit and press enter.
• Click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
• Click Software
• Click Microsoft
• Click Windows
• Click Current Version
• Click Run
• Within the Run folder you should be able to locate the program. Once located, highlight the file and press delete. Once deleted, exit out of the registry and reboot the computer.

3. Windows win.ini - Although not as common as the above two recommendations, the win.ini can also contain programs that load automatically. The win.ini, like most initialization files, can cause issues with the computer if not edited correctly. Follow the below steps for instructions on how to remove programs from the win.ini.

• Click Start / Run, and type win.ini
• Towards the top of the document (generally 3-4 line) you should see a run= line. Verify that nothing similar to the program that is loading at startup is after run= line. If this line appears to contain a command line pointing to the program that you are experiencing the issue with, delete everything after run=. 
• We recommend that you write down what ever is deleted in case it needs to be added back into the win.ini.

4. Windows Services - Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP can also automatically load a program through the Windows services. Follow the below steps to check the services currently setup on your computer. Note: User must have administrative rights to perform the below steps.

• Click Start, Settings, Control Panel.
• Open the Administrative Tools and click Services.
• Locate the service you wish to disable and double-click that service.
• Change the Startup Type from automatic to disabled.