LeeTutor's Doing Windows

Home Page

Doing Windows

Windows Tips Categories

Startup Tips

BYPASSING YOUR STARTUP PROGRAMS

Many people have one or more programs that automatically start up when they turn their computer on. Shortcuts to the program(s) involved are kept in this folder: WINDOWS\START MENU\PROGRAMS\STARTUP. Sometimes you might not want to run these programs when you first turn on the computer, for example, when you are troubleshooting a faulty boot sequence. One way of doing this is to use Explorer or My Computer to remove the list of program shortcuts from that StartUp folder. Or, much quicker and easier is to leave the list alone, but to just press the Ctrl key as your system boots up. You have to be sure that it is pressed as soon as you see the Windows hourglass icon appear on your screen, and keep it pressed until Windows is all finished with its starting up tasks.