I received an email this weekend from someone who was running Vista, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 in a multi-boot system. You might be surprised but this system actually makes it relatively easy to rescue a multi-boot system. But what if you’re running Windows XP or Linux and how would you rescue that?

Identifying the Boot files

On all new Windows systems you’ll find that in order to be able to install an operating system such as Windows XP or Linux, you’ll have to install that before Windows Vista or Windows 7. This is because of the new secure windows boot system. If you right-click on Computer in the Start Menu and select Manage from the context menu that appears you will bring up the Computer Management Console. Here you can click on Disk Management in the left-hand panel to see the hard disks and partitions in your computer.

You should have a 100Mb partition called System Reserved. This is where Windows keeps all its boot information. If you do not have this partition and are running Vista, Windows 7 or Windows Server then that boot information will be store on the Windows partition itself (whichever one of these three you installed first). Do note though that this partition might even be on a separate drive to your copy of Windows.

Backing up the Boot files

The best thing to do when everything is working is to create a full backup of this System Reserved partition. If you use the System Image Backup feature in Vista, Windows 7 or Windows Server 2003 or 2008 to create a full backup of your copy of Windows then this partition will automatically be backed up and will be restored when you restore that image of Windows (any of them in fact if you have more than one).

You could also use a third-party disk imaging tool such as Symantec Ghost to back up just the System Reserved partition and even though these can be expensive, a search of computer magazine cover disks or a trip to downloads.com should reveal one you can use for free. You should create an image of this boot partition and keep it somewhere safe on your computer.

With this backup should your computer’s boot files become corrupt, simply restoring the System Image backup will reset everything and get your computer operating again.

Manually Backing up and Rebuilding the BCD boot file

I have another video which explains how to manually rebuild the boot files in Windows which you can see here. You could run through this and find that it successfully repairs the boot files. If you follow the instructions to get as far as making a backup copy of the BCD boot file, you can then copy this file out to another safe place on your computer when it’s all working. This means that you can copy it back should it become corrupt.

This method offers no guarantee of repair success but in conjunction with the other BDCEDIT commands I talk about in the video, offers you a fair chance of success at getting your system working again.

Repairing a Multi-Boot Startup

Okay, so let’s assume now that you don’t have one of these backups and your boot files are corrupt, how can you repair them? The only way to do this now is to repair them in order of ageso far as the boot systems go. This means that you should start first with Windows XP or Linux and then do Windows Vista or Windows Server 2003 and Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 last of all.

If you are just using Windows XP and Linux then the XP recovery console will be able to help you rescue your system, but this won’t work if you have Windows Vista or later installed as this introduced a new boot system that’s incompatible with XP and Linux.

You’ll need to reinstall the older OSes (XP or Linux, Yes I know Linux isn’t old, only its boot system!) as these operating systems don’t come with a startup repair system like newer versions of Windows. You can perform a fresh install over the top of your existing copy but do not format the partition. This will copy all your files in XP into a Windows.old folder from which you will be able to recover files and data.

With the newer copies of Windows you can then start by trying Startup repair again though at this point it’s probably not going to work. When time comes to reinstall try formatting the System Reserved partition ONCE and only on the first install. Windows XP and Linux won’t have used it so you can clean it out to start afresh. Then reinstall in the same way as with XP by performing a fresh install over the top of your existing copy without formatting the drive. This will put your old copy of Windows into a Windows.old folder from which you can rescue files.

The first time you install Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows Server 2003 or 2008 this boot partition will be rebuilt and it will include the relevant information for XP and Linux if you have them installed as well. NOTE this time Windows may put the system reserved partition in a different place and has even been known to put it on other hard drives containing files or data. If this is the case you can move it, and I’ll write this up in a separate article this week.

If you do keep your files and data on a separate hard disk or partition then you can feel free to format the drives or partitions before reinstalling your copies of Windows as this will create nice clean installation for you and should repair any problems with the partition itself.

Conclusions

This isn’t an easy or quick process by any stretch of the imagination, however in the case of dual-boot systems that are either simple or complex, it ought to get you up and running again. Good luck.

This toplist lists the best startup managers for Windows in the categories experts and best allrounder to ensure that users of all experience levels and expectations find the best suitable application. Additional applications are listed at the end.

Expert startup manager

When it comes to a professional startup manager for Windows Autoruns is usually the application used and recommended. The application has been developed by Sysinternals which are now part of Microsoft.

The application is a complete startup manager for Windows that offers in depth information not only about the usual startup locations in the Windows Registry and various startup folders but also about other files, programs and services that get started during Windows launch. This includes for instance the scheduled tasks, Internet Explorer Browser Helper Objects and toolbars, Services or network providers.

The program offers to hide Microsoft items from the lists and can analyze offline systems as well.

Autoruns is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit Windows operating systems. Downloads are provided at the program homepage.

Runner up

Starter is not as complete as Autoruns when it comes to startup items, and the developers do not want it to be. The biggest strength of Starter is that it displays all relevant startup items directly on launch.

The sidebar displays the locations that are scanned during startup. It is usually not necessary to switch around as all items are displayed in the main interface directly. It can however be helpful to remove specific items only.

Start displays processes and services as well with possibilities to end processes or change startup types of services. Starter is available as a portable application and installer at the developer homepage.

Runner Up

OSAM Startup Manager offers interesting features and comprehensive information about the system’s startup items. It is for instance possible to scan files with an online malware scanner with an option to submit it to the developers of the application if it is not in the database yet.

Autorun Manager is available as a portable version and installer at the developer website.

Runner Up

ESET SysInspector comes with an autostart manager and a lot more. One of the great aspects of it is that it assigns a risk level to known startup items, processes and other programs that are running.

ESET SysInspector is available as a 32-bit and 64-bit edition for the Windows operating system.

User Friendly startup manager

MSConfig is a first party Windows tool that ships with every version of the operating system. It can be launched directly by pressing Windows-R to bring up the run box, typing msconfig in the box and hitting enter. While it is not the most feature complete startup manager it can be used directly without having to download a software first.

Runner Up:

Startup Control is a tiny portable software that displays pretty much the same information as MSConfig, albeit in a slightly more complicated manner. Instead of displaying all startup items in one list, it divides them into locations which means that the user has to click on all entries to assess and manage all startup items.

The program is easy to use leaving little room for error. Downloads are provided at the developer website.

Helpful programs

What in Startup by Nirsoft
MSConfig Cleanup, remove old entries from MSConfig.
Disable Startup, block new startup items from being added to the operating system.

Which startup manager are you using?

There are however programs that are required shortly after system boot, usually because they need to be used all the time, or display relevant data that is needed.

A viable option in this case is to delay the application launch slightly, so that it does not interfere with the operating system startup, but becomes available shortly after the OS has loaded the desktop.

The Add App button can be used to add programs to the delayed startup. The program unfortunately does not tap into the existing startup items to delay them. Applications can be added via the Add App button. All local executable files can be selected. It is furthermore possible to select a custom startup delay in seconds for each application, and configure launch parameters which is optional.

LaunchLater adds itself to the Windows start menu to execute the delayed programs after the system startup. It is necessary to delete the items that have been added to the app from their original startup locations to avoid conflicts.

Launch Later is available for download at the Codeplex profile site. The program requires a version of the Microsoft .NET Framework, but the developer fails to mention which. An interesting alternative is Startup Delayer, which integrates nicely with the the existing autostart configuration.

What In Startup is a portable Windows startup manager that has been created by Nirsoft. The software program displays a list of programs that are automatically started during system start. It looks both in the Windows Registry and standard run locations to make sure all of them are listed in its interface.

Each application is listed with its name and path, the type (where it was found, if it is disabled, the product name, file version and more.

Individual or multiple startup items can be managed from the controls at the top or by right-clicking in the interface.

The most common selections are to enable, disable or delete items from the startup list. Disabled or deleted programs will not be loaded during Windows start which speeds up the loading of the operating system.

The application offers the standard Nirsoft features like creating HTML reports or a build in search. It is furthermore possible to create new startup entries and to open the locations on the computer system or Registry where the selected startup item is referenced.

What In Startup has two interesting advanced features that might make it interesting to some users. The first is called permanent disable and is activated by default. This feature permanently disables a startup program so that it will be automatically disabled if it is enabled again at a later time. Some programs enable their startup items automatically even if they have been disabled by the user, the same is true for malicious code.

The second feature is the option to load startup items from remote or external sources like another user’s account or another Windows installation.

What In Startup is a portable software program for Windows that is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions. It can be used to quickly and efficiently manage the startup items in Windows. The program is available for download at the official Nirsoft website.

Autostart Explorer is a free portable software for the Microsoft Windows operating system that lists the programs and files that are started during Windows startup. The main advantage of this software program over more complex solutions like Autoruns is its simplicity. It does list all the relevant Windows startup entries divided into categories like Registry, startup folders or standard executables.

The program will list a short description of the currently selected Windows startup entry and the programs that are started during Windows startup. One major shortcoming is that the program does not provide the means to delete entries right away. The user has to either click on the Open Folder button to open the folder containing the program that gets autostarted or open a Registry editor manually.

While this could be meant as another means of protection to avoid accidentally deleting important startup entries it is a major nuisance for users who want to get rid of some of the autostart entries of their Windows operating system.

Another program that provides the means to delete entries is Starter. It is not as complex as Autoruns but provides more information and possibilities as Autostart Explorer. Probably the best program of its kind for inexperienced users.

Capster could be your salvation. It’s a tiny application with a size of only five Kilobyte that creates shortcut links to applications or a batch file that you select in the main interface. The user can choose to automatically start the application if the Caps Lock key is on or off which does make a difference.

The Caps Lock key on my computer for instance is turned off by default and I had to press the key during startup (after the Windows Logo) to autostart the application that I had selected.

The Create Shortcut button creates the link which has to be added to the Windows Autostart folder.

Starter is a sweat little application that was designed with usability in mind. It displays all softwares that are started during system startup displaying the information in a very convenient way. The left sidebar displays the possible locations and applications that are started from there while the right main window is displaying details about all softwares found in there.

The main window displays information about the location of the application, startup parameters and from where it is started. Right-clicking an entry displays a context menu with options to disable or delete it, perform a search on the Internet, launch it and to explore the file folder or registry.

The main question is of course which softwares can be securely removed from system startup. This is not that easy to answer. A rule of thumb would be to keep all security related entries, all entries that deal with hardware and get rid of the rest unless you use the software regularly and recognize a positive effect if it is started during system startup.

Starter lists all running processes in another tab offering better information than the Windows task manager. It displays for instance the path of the executable of the process, the priority, the memory usage and modules that are used by the process.

The third tab displays all Windows services sortable by many means. Started services use a green icon and a Running text next to them which improves usability here as well. Users can again use the right-click menu to stop and start services and set their status to automatic, manual or disabled.

The Internet search offers some unexpected features as well. The user has the choice to query several search engines instead of simply querying Google with the name of the service.

Read More:

Starter
via Freeware Genius

Before I’m going to explain how to remove ctfmon.exe I’m going to explain why you should not remove it. You should not remove ctfmon.exe if you use language schemes, translations, East Asian languages, speech or text recognition and other alternative input technologies.

Most users do not need it and you can free about 8 Megabytes of Ram if you remove the file. To do that you have two possibilities. User who do not want to change settings in the Control Panel could deactivate it by using a software called Ctfmon Remover which removes the process with the click of the mouse button.

If you are one of those users who would like to know where to remove ctfmon.exe in Windows you do the following. Open the Control Panel, click on Regional and Language Options, on the Language tab there, then on the Details button under Text Services and Input Languages and there on the Advanced tab again.

Check the Turn off advanced text services box and ctfmon.exe will not be loaded during system startup anymore. You can activate it the same way by unchecking the box.

Read More:

Ctfmon Remover

You are free to disable, edit, rename and create new entries to the various autostart lists. As I said, if you need a quick overview this might be worth a look. Simply download, unpack and run it from that location. No installation is needed at all. Startup Monitor is running as an background task monitoring the various autostart locations and reporting changes to it.

This means that it will create a popup information as soon as a program tries to create an entry in those autostart locations. The name of the software and its location are displayed in the popup and you have the option to allow or disallow this entry to be written. The installation is as easy as that of Startup Control Monitor: Download, unpack, run, that´s all there is to do.