ghacks Technology News

Start Windows Without Autostart Entries

Here is a quick tip that might come in handy in certain situations. Most users have at least some software programs in their system autostart. This means that these programs are started when the Windows operating system starts. The benefit is that these programs are loaded before any user interaction which is essential for security applications and handy for programs the user works with all the time.

Some users might want to skip loading these autostart programs from time to time to save some time to be able to work on the computer. The following solution works only when running Windows XP operating systems. Microsoft seems to have disabled the option in Windows Vista (and most likely kept it that way in Windows 7).

To start Windows XP without any startup programs press the [Shift] key while the computer system is booting. The key has to be pressed as soon as the Windows desktop background appears. This will prevent startup programs from being loaded automatically. It might take a few tries to get it to work.

Enjoyed the article?: Then sign-up for our free newsletter or RSS feed to kick off your day with the latest technology news and tips, or share the article with your friends and contacts on Facebook or Twitter.

Related Articles:

How to Autostart Programs During Windows Log On
Launch Later, Delay Autostart Applications
Optimize Windows Startup Programs With Start-Q
Remove Windows Context Menu Entries
Remove old entries from MSConfig Startup



About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.

Author: , Thursday June 11, 2009 -
Tags:, , , , ,


Responses so far:

  1. Daniel Wired says:

    Any reason why they disabled it in vista and beyond? I wish i knew about it earlier, it would have saved me headaches in my XP days

Leave a Reply   Follow Ghacks   Subscribe To Comment Rss

Subscribe without commenting

© 2005-2012 Ghacks.net. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - About Us