Hey Cheshire Cat!
Thanx for the link - I'll give it a shot.
In return, let me pass on to you the reply I got when I
posted essentially this same problem in the "Performance
and Maintenance" newsgroup here. The way I understand
that reply, what you're experiencing MAY appear to be
random and MAY return at any time. (Unless that software
you pointed me to outsmarted and overpowered the system!)
Here's the reply, from Wes Vogel (e-mail address removed):
Bruce;
Execution Order for starting programs
With Windows XP Home, There are 13 places that programs
can start from and
they are executed in the following order:
Before Logon
1)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersi
on\RunServicesOnce
2)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersi
on\RunServices
After Logon
3)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersi
on\RunOnce\Setup
4)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersi
on\RunOnce
5)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersi
on\RunOnceEx
6) WIN.INI [Windows] Load
7) WIN.INI [Windows] Run
8)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersi
on\Run
9)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersio
n\Run
10) C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start
Menu\Programs\Startup
11) C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name Here\Start
Menu\Programs\Startup
12)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersio
n\RunOnce
13) As a Scheduled Task set to run at startup.
Startups in groups 6 to 11 all run at the same time (more
or less). However, the groups themselves are triggered in
the order shown above. In other words, the next group can
begin launching while the previous group is still loading
its startups. Due to timing issues it is impossible to
say what order these items will finish loading, thus it
is impossible to predict the exact order of execution for
individual startups. For instance, you may notice two or
more system tray icons changing position with each boot -
even when no changes have been made to the order.
The order of items within a group is not necessarily the
final order, as some programs take longer than others to
load, and synchronous groups can overlap each other.
Items in 10 and 11 execute alphanumerically. You can
change the order in 10 and 11 by moving the items from 11
to 10. Also, you can rename the shortcuts in 10 and/or
11.
For example; dfg.exe, fgh.exe and ghj.exe would start in
that order. To change the order rename to
aghj.exe,bdfg.exe and cfgh.exe. They would then start in
that order.
