How to change windows startup programs in xp

This is because programs are adding themselves to your start up, and they all have to load before you can start using the computer. Just follow the simple steps below and your computer will start a lot faster! Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings.

Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Things You'll Need. Related Articles. Author Info Last Updated: June 3, Method 1. Hit enter to start the program. The following window should appear. Choose Selective Startup. Click on the 'Startup' tab. Here, you will see a list of programs that is similar to the one below:.

Uncheck any programs that you do not want Windows to run at startup. Click 'OK'. A new window will appear, asking you to restart your computer. Method 2. Click on the Start menu. Click All Programs and then select Windows Defender. Click the names of the programs in the Name column that you want to disable.

When you are finished, click Disable. Method 3. Open the Start menu and click Run. Type regedit into the field. Find the program that you want to remove from the startup sequence. Delete that one program from either or both of those registry keys. Caution: Do not delete other items in regedit that you see. Many may be unknown, peculiarly named system files. You could easily disable program associations, needed services, make the system fail or to be unstable. I am trying to get the program to not only start, but for the application window to be open and ready to use.

Right now it just goes to the taskbar. What do I do? Create a shortcut to the app drag with the right button, let go, and select "Shortcut" , then drop a shortcut in the startup folder under applications.

Make sure you locate the EXE file. Now just take that newly created shortcut and copy and paste it into the Startup folder. Should look like this:. Pretty easy eh! The second way you can add a program to startup in Windows XP is to create a scheduled task that runs the program.

The wizard will start. Go ahead and click Next. The first thing you have to do is choose the program you want to run at startup. A list comes up automatically, but you can also click Browse and choose one specifically. Click Next and then choose when you want it to run. In our case, we will choose When I log on. You can also choose When my computer starts , but that will mean it could load before you even log into Windows.

Click Next and then enter the password for your Administrator account. Make sure you enter a password, otherwise the task will not run. Click Next and click Finish. Now you task will show up in the list of scheduled tasks.

Go ahead and restart your computer and the program should load just fine. So those are two simple ways to add startup programs to Windows XP! Founder of Help Desk Geek and managing editor.