How Can I Remove Old Items From Startup?

Hi all - WinME I have been trying to clear out old items in the Startup Menu that I don't/won't want to be run on startup. I have run the cleanup from the MSCONFIG | Startup, but these items are still in the list. I also have Startup Cop, and have several that are packed for removal, but, they never get removed. It is getting cluttered in both with all the dead wood in the list. So, I would like to be able to delete all the unnecessary items, and then I can add the ones I want later. But, I can't seem to find the folder or file that has this list so I can delete the ones I don't want. I have found a couple of places that have rather different lists, thus, I'm not sure which one is the right one to clear the normal Startup list such as in the MSCONFIG | Startup or the Startup Cop lists. I have asked in the WinME NG, but, didn't have any luck with an answer. I've also run a search on Google and have found a few references, but, nothing that specifies exactly where to find such a list of the Startup files I can access direct. I'd truly appreciate any suggestions, or perhaps a website or reference that might provide information on where and how to remove them properly. Best regards, Tink

Hi ,i use winxp and can remove what you want to remove in the Registry ,if you are familiar with it its not that hard ,go to run ,type in regedit.make sure to back up you registry before deleting any thing ,to backup,with regedit open go to file/export and name it and save it some you now it will be when you need it ! to remove the idems from run,in regedit navigate to this thread HKEY_local Machine/hit the + and go to software/microsoft/windows/current user/Run and here is where you will find the list of idems in you msconfig list .right click and remove the ones you no longer need . I'M only responsiable for my own Computer ! Good luck

Hi caperjack! I have gone to the Registry and found the location that you provided, and I deleted all the entries there that I do not want to be listed in the Startup list (mine were in the Run- and Services- files). I backup the Registry first and rebooted after deleting the items in these Registry files. However, the items are still appearing in both the MSCONFIG and the Startup Cop lists. So there must be another location where these items are listed in ME. In the MSCONFIG list, it shows Loaded From and lists the Registry files, which are no longer there, or at least, they do not appear in the file locations where I deleted them. I am a bit confused as to where this is looking and finding these?? Sorry to be so dense about this, but, I am not very familiar with all of this, so I don't really know about these things. No….I don't know about these sort of things at all. Thank you very much for your time and help, I truly do appreciate it. Tink

Follow the same directon in the registry under the hkey_current user also,there is a run there also so you may need to remove from both

Hi caperjack, I have checked out the other folder (hkey_current user) that you suggested, and the related folders have no files. Perhaps the startup lists are just one way, in, and the items can't be deleted as long as they are active programs/files. I just don't know. Thank you for the additional information, I really appreciate it. Tink

Hello again,,, If you have Spybot installed you can select the Advanced version to run and look under Tools. It will have an option to work on the Startups. You will need to ENABLE anything you want to get rid of first, then you can use Spybot to remove these entries. If you don't enable them first, they won't show up to be deleted…

Hello again to you Budfred! Yes, do have SpyBot, but, I have the 1.2 version, and I can't find where to find the Advanced Version, or Tools? I tried to find this in the Help, but, I could not find anything on either of these. Are these in the Free version. Under which button should they be? I have disected the SpyBot menu and I can't find anything. Sorry….but, perhaps I am not understanding too clearly where I should be looking (…and…this would be new…????) Thank you again for your time and help.

Sorry, I didn't think to point it out. You actually look in Start, Programs and under Spybot. It offers the option to open the Easy Mode or the Advanced Mode… If you don't have it in the version you have, you can download it using the link in my post…

Ah…well… yes….this is better. Found it, unchecked the ones I didn't want to keep, waxed 'em, and rebooted. All gone! Yeah!! It's really good to know that SpyBot is not just another pretty bug zapper. It has some other very helpful features once you find them. Thank you again for all your help. Tink