How can I make programs start at startup in Windows Vista?

I have some programs I use a lot and would like them to start when I login to Vista.

How can I make a program start when I login to Windows Vista?

You can copy shortcuts to the programs you wish to run into the following directory:

C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

• Start System Configuration by pressing Win + R (to open Run). Type msconfig and give permission if needed. In the Startup tab check the program you want to start. If that doesn't work (the program might not be in the list of startup programs), try:

• Go to C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup (Username should be substituted for your username. Also note that AppData is a hidden directory). Make a shortcut to the program you want started and put the shortcut in the Startup directory.

The next time Vista starts the program should also start.

The easiest way would be to add a shortcut to the Startup folder in your start menu, but if you don't want to do that you can use regedit to add a key to the registry at this location:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

Also, if you want this to happen for any user that logs in to the system you do the same but add your key here instead:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

I think they are started in alphabetical order.

If your startup application needs elevated privileges, you can create a new task in Task Scheduler that runs a program at startup, with highest privileges. No UAC prompt this way, just one when you create the task.

Quick Startup is free and easy to use.