Load and run at Windows start-up

  • Thread starter Thread starter William B. Lurie
  • Start date Start date
W

William B. Lurie

Simple question:

I have an icon on my desktop for a link to a program which runs when
I click it. I'd like to have that program run every time that Windows
boots up. How do I do that? Thanks.
 
On 15/12/2003 9:00 PM William B. Lurie said something , that made
everyone think : said:
Simple question:

I have an icon on my desktop for a link to a program which runs when
I click it. I'd like to have that program run every time that Windows
boots up. How do I do that? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Right click on the desktop icon and select pin to start menu ..... Total
 
William said:
Thank you, William. Now to repeat: how do I do that?
WBL
Click to expand...

Drag the shortcut to (over); 'start' / 'All Programs' / Startup>
The parts ('start', 'All Programs', 'Startup' '>') will open as cursor goes
over them !
 
Thank you, Patrick. I dragged that icon over 'start', it opened.
I continued to hold it down and dragged it to 'All Programs', it opened.
I continued to hold it down and dragged it to 'Startup'. and IT opened.
I let up on the mouse button, and Startup now showed the identification
of what
I dragged over. I figured that the item I used to have to click the icon
of to get it to load and run, on Desktop, would now run automatically
on starting up.
So I rebooted, and the item did not start and run.
So what should I have done differently, to get the URL to load and run
automatically on reboot?
WBL
 
Thank you, Patrick. I dragged that icon over 'start', it opened.
I continued to hold it down and dragged it to 'All Programs', it opened.
I continued to hold it down and dragged it to 'Startup'. and IT opened.
I let up on the mouse button, and Startup now showed the identification of
what
I dragged over. I figured that the item I used to have to click the icon
of to get it to load and run, on Desktop, would now run automatically
on starting up.
So I rebooted, and the item did not start and run.
So what should I have done differently, to get the URL to load and run
automatically on reboot?
WBL
 
Patrick said:
Thank you, Patrick. I dragged that icon over 'start', it opened.
I continued to hold it down and dragged it to 'All Programs', it opened.
I continued to hold it down and dragged it to 'Startup'. and IT opened.
I let up on the mouse button, and Startup now showed the identification of
what
I dragged over. I figured that the item I used to have to click the icon
of to get it to load and run, on Desktop, would now run automatically
on starting up.
So I rebooted, and the item did not start and run.
So what should I have done differently, to get the URL to load and run
automatically on reboot?
WBL
Click to expand...

I'd like to answer that, but please tell me how to look at
the contents of the 'Startup' folder
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did you move to the right when you got to the 'startup' and then drop ?
Click to expand...

I dragged it to the Startup ICON......and dropped it after I got there.
I thought that's what the instructions were. Obviously I require more
specific instructions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I suspect that you may have put it in 'all programs' rather than 'startup'!
Click to expand...

I have that same suspicion.
 
William said:
I'd like to answer that, but please tell me how to look at
the contents of the 'Startup' folder
------------------------------------------------------------------------

I dragged it to the Startup ICON......and dropped it after I got
there. I thought that's what the instructions were. Obviously I
require more specific instructions.
Click to expand...

This is what I got from 'Help and Support', entering 'Startup folder' in
search box;

To start a program each time you start Windows
Right-click the Start button, and then click Properties.
On the Start Menu tab, click Classic Start menu, and then click Customize.
This changes the style of the Start menu.
Click Advanced.
In the Start Menu folder, find the shortcut to the program you want to start
each time you start Windows, and drag it to the Startup folder located in
the Programs folder.

Where?
Documents and Settings
User name
Start Menu
Programs
Startup
 
Patrick said:
This is what I got from 'Help and Support', entering 'Startup folder' in
search box;

To start a program each time you start Windows
Right-click the Start button, and then click Properties.
On the Start Menu tab, click Classic Start menu, and then click Customize.
This changes the style of the Start menu.
Click Advanced.
In the Start Menu folder, find the shortcut to the program you want to start
each time you start Windows, and drag it to the Startup folder located in
the Programs folder.

Where?
Documents and Settings
User name
Start Menu
Programs
Startup
Click to expand...
Okay, Patrick, I'll keep hacking away at it. And thank you.
Bill
 
William said:
Okay, Patrick, I'll keep hacking away at it. And thank you.
Bill
Click to expand...

Just found another way to do the thing (pretty straightforward);

Right click the shortcut and click 'copy'
Goto the startup folder ('start' / 'All Programs' / 'Startup')
Right-click ('Startup')
Click 'Explore all Users' or 'Explore' (depending if you want all users or
just your account)
You will now have the 'Startup' folder highlighted, right-click and paste
the shortcut.
 
Hi, Bill.

The Startup folder is "just another folder". It's hidden pretty deeply, and
it generally holds nothing but Shortcuts. To see yours, use good old
Windows Explorer and look in:

\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Create a shortcut for your file here, or drag the one from your Desktop.

But Patrick's method should have worked, too.

RC
 
R. C. White said:
Hi, Bill.

The Startup folder is "just another folder". It's hidden pretty deeply, and
it generally holds nothing but Shortcuts. To see yours, use good old
Windows Explorer and look in:

\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Create a shortcut for your file here, or drag the one from your Desktop.

But Patrick's method should have worked, too.

RC
Click to expand...
Right you are, R.C..... I got the icon dragged over there.
I see it in the right-hand pane when I look in Startup folder.
Now the bad news. When I boot up from Restart, I waited
like forever after everything was loaded......and my disk
activity light was out......and the Swiss Music station did
not load. Nothing on my desktop except icons. No music.
No Swiss Music in the toolbar.

So I clicked on the icon on Desktop, and sure enough, the
Swiss Music station came right up.
Bill Lurie
 
William said:
Right you are, R.C..... I got the icon dragged over there.
I see it in the right-hand pane when I look in Startup folder.
Now the bad news. When I boot up from Restart, I waited
like forever after everything was loaded......and my disk
activity light was out......and the Swiss Music station did
not load. Nothing on my desktop except icons. No music.
No Swiss Music in the toolbar.

So I clicked on the icon on Desktop, and sure enough, the
Swiss Music station came right up.
--------------------------------------------------------
Click to expand...
And something else is happening that I wish I understood.
I probably have a dozen program that get loaded into RAM
automatically on Startup. None of those show in this
Startup folder you led me to. So where are they? And,
wherever they are, why can't I solve my problem by adding
this URL to those?
W B Lurie
 
William said:
And something else is happening that I wish I understood.
I probably have a dozen program that get loaded into RAM
automatically on Startup. None of those show in this
Startup folder you led me to. So where are they? And,
wherever they are, why can't I solve my problem by adding
this URL to those?
W B Lurie
Click to expand...

'start' button / click 'run' / type into box (or cut and paste); msconfig
click 'OK'
DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING HERE EXCEPT Tabs, Cancel or Help

Click 'Startup' tab
Entries here are utilities, the likes of Firewall, Anti-Virus, mouse,
printer etc.,
The utilities can be disabled (unticking box) if neccessary for diagnostic
purposes (something fouling up).

I don't know how you would add an entry to msconfig (startup), entries are
usually made when you install a program.
 
Patrick said:
'start' button / click 'run' / type into box (or cut and paste); msconfig
click 'OK'
DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING HERE EXCEPT Tabs, Cancel or Help

Click 'Startup' tab
Entries here are utilities, the likes of Firewall, Anti-Virus, mouse,
printer etc.,
The utilities can be disabled (unticking box) if neccessary for diagnostic
purposes (something fouling up).

I don't know how you would add an entry to msconfig (startup), entries are
usually made when you install a program.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's the list, Patrick, and the program I want to start....the
link.... is shown there, with "Common Startup" on the right. However,
what it is, is a link to a URL where it (I guess) downloads and executes
the transmitted music program. Maybe Common Startup just doesn't know
how to do something that complicated!
Bill Lurie
 
William said:
Yes, that's the list, Patrick, and the program I want to start....the
link.... is shown there, with "Common Startup" on the right. However,
what it is, is a link to a URL where it (I guess) downloads and
executes the transmitted music program. Maybe Common Startup just
doesn't know how to do something that complicated!
Bill Lurie
Click to expand...

I hadn't quite realised that my 'startup' programs where entered in the
msconfig thing as well, but as you say they are.
Anyway I tested putting a URL (link to website) in the 'startup' folder and
it worked (I'm on cable bb).

It is perhaps yours doesn't work cos you have no internet-connection at the
point it is trying to make the connection.
Perhaps experiment by putting in a simpler URL (link), and see if that works
(you can delete it later with a right-click, delete).
 
Patrick said:
William B. Lurie wrote:



I hadn't quite realised that my 'startup' programs where entered in the
msconfig thing as well, but as you say they are.
Anyway I tested putting a URL (link to website) in the 'startup' folder and
it worked (I'm on cable bb).

It is perhaps yours doesn't work cos you have no internet-connection at the
point it is trying to make the connection.
Perhaps experiment by putting in a simpler URL (link), and see if that works
(you can delete it later with a right-click, delete).
Click to expand...
A simpler URL that still calls a .exe program from a URL
does work. Maybe it's just too much to ask. Thanks for working with me,
Patrick.
I'll just click the icon when it's all warmed up and let it go at that.
Bill

--
 
William said:
A simpler URL that still calls a .exe program from a URL
does work. Maybe it's just too much to ask. Thanks for working with me,
Patrick.
I'll just click the icon when it's all warmed up and let it go at that.
Bill

==========================================================================
Click to expand...
And now, the 'morning after'.......having said all that we've said up
above, and resigned ourselves to our fate, LO! and BEHOLD!, I fire
up the machine this morning and walk away while it boots up and loads,
and find that it has loaded that Swiss Music Radio all by itself. I
have no explanation for this, and I'm not asking for any. This machine,
with XP Pro, does things mysteriously. Like, sometimes, at its own
whim, it will load Norton Anti-Virus and put the 'protected' icon
in the toolbar, and sometimes it will 'forget' to put the icon there.
I'm just 'reporting the news', and again thanking you all for your
patience and earnest assistance.
Bill Lurie
 
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