How to add/remove startup programs in Windows

Another location that contains data about the startup programs is the registry. To open an editor go to Start - Run and type regedit.exe.

You should get a window looking like this (resembles with Windows Explorer):

Please note that this can be used to edit all registry entries. Most of them are critical for the normal usage of the system, so *DO NOT* remove/edit/add any keys if you don't know what is that about.
To access the startup list, you need to double-click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then SOFTWARE, then scroll down until you find Microsoft; open it and go to Windows - CurrentVersion. This is the place where most of the settings are placed. Try not to mess it up.Search for the RUN key as shown in the picture bellow:

In the right panel, you have all the registry entries in this section. You'll probably recognize some of your applications that usually start automatically in this list.To remove an application, simply right-click on it and select Delete.

To add an application, right-click on an empty space, select New (not many other options available) and go to String Value. Enter the value name and then the data or value itself (the obsolete path to the application you want to run - eg C:\mydocs\application.exe). Note that if you have an antivirus with on-access scanner, you could get a message like "A new untrusted value detected. Accept/Deny". Of course if you manually entered the value it's not a potential security risk, so accept the change.

Another registry entry is RunOnce, located bellow the Run key. It contains the data about the applications that will be run only the next time your Windows loads. It's usually used when installing update packages or so. The procedure is the same as in the Run key.
Services are started by using separate registry entries. They can be stopped/started from the Services module located in Administrative Tools (Control Panel). For more information on this, read Speed up Windows Startup tutorial.

If you want to start a program before Windows loads (for any reason), you can use the autoexec.bat file. This was used on older computers to init drivers in DOS or to start Windows 3.11 on boot for example. It is still used for creating boot floppy disks or network boots.
It's located in the root of your hard-drive (C:\) and it's by default hidded for safety reasons. To show the system files in the Windows Explorer go to Tools - Folder Options - View - Show protected system files.
Now if you can see it, right-click it and select edit like shown bellow. It will open a notepad.exe that allows you to edit this file.

Add lines with the full path of the applications, like
c:\adm\admin.exe
c:\docs\application.exe, etc.

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