All options for specifying a program to startup after boot?

I know you can add a program into msconfig startup to make it autostart after a boot, and you can also add a shortcut into the Roaming ... Programs ... Startup folder. Either of these are good places to make a program startup after boot.

I've got one autostarting (it's an instance of Explorer that's going straight to a network drive that doesn't exist anymore and complains about it) and I don't know where it's coming from. Is there a third place you can specify a program to autostart?

You can use Autoruns, to deal with that easily...


For example... (on Win 10 at the moment)
It should look almost exactly the same on Win 11.


If the item you're looking for doesn't show up on the Logon tab... it will show up on the Everything tab.
Almost forgot. On the Options button...uncheck everything except the top item.







There's also the Task Manager "Startup" tab.

Ghot said:

You can use Autoruns, to deal with that easily...

Click to expand...

Thanks, that seems like a great suggestion. I took a look around in there and disabled a bunch of other stuff, and I'll be making use of that in future I'm sure. For this case it doesn't seem to have helped though.

d4005 said:

Thanks, that seems like a great suggestion. I took a look around in there and disabled a bunch of other stuff, and I'll be making use of that in future I'm sure. For this case it doesn't seem to have helped though.

Click to expand...

If Autoruns can't find it... then there could be something else generating that startup item.
Maybe you'll need to hook up that non-existent network drive, to be able to see it? I dunno.

Autoruns sees everything, as far as I know.

You may have to wait for a network type.
The only networking I've ever done is between me and the nearest pizza joint.

Ghot said:

If Autoruns can't find it... then there could be something else generating that startup item.
Maybe you'll need to hook up that non-existent network drive, to be able to see it? I dunno.

Autoruns sees everything, as far as I know.

Click to expand...

I can easily reconnect to that drive. I'mma try that and see if it makes a difference. I had cleanly disconnected it though. Let's see.

Found it! It was a shortcut to a network drive letter/path lurking in the startup folder. Somehow I'd been ignoring it.
Thanks @Ghot for pushing me in the right direction