Disable program from boot?

[antoniomartucci95]

Hello, as title says is there any way to do that? I checked on the startup menu in task manager, in appdata in the startup folder, in registry run and runonce sections and finally in scheduled tasks. Nothing shows up. I would really appreciate some help, possibly without the need to download any program since I haven't access to internet right now.

 

[gardenman]

Alright I almost completely did that but I didn't rename the files yet since there was another file that I think was modified; is there a file called simply "Launcher" in the main folder?
Also my gygabyte oc guru shortcut wasn't exactly in the startup folder but was in another subfolder called Gygabyte that also had a unistall shortcut inside it, not sure why it's different but I have yet to reboot the pc since I did that yesterday. If you can give me the exact names of launcher and the OC guru exe in there I would really appreciate, that way I can be sure if this worked or not. Thanks again for help.

I expected that shortcut to be in the startup folder, that's half of what needs to be done to disable it on startup. Did you look in the folder we discussed?
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
Maybe you previously removed it. If you find it, it should be deleted.

If the shortcut is in a Gigabyte folder then that's the main program folder for the start menu. Leave that shortcut there. It does not automatically cause the program to load on startup.

Yes, there is a Launcher.exe in the program files for this program. Here's what the files should look like:

The Launcher.exe doesn't seem to be called up in startup anywhere according to AutoRuns.

And the task should be disabled:

 

[antoniomartucci95]

you need to get autoruns, and uncheck the program from there. includes, anything and everything running at start-up including services, so be careful too many checks and you can nerf your install.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns

it's like the start-up tab in task manager but includes EVERYTHING. no clue what you want to stop from starting, but if it is not listed here, then something is terribly wrong.

your welcome

thanks for the advice, if I ever get a chance to get an internet connection i'll be sure to dowload it

 

[antoniomartucci95]

Alright I almost completely did that but I didn't rename the files yet since there was another file that I think was modified; is there a file called simply "Launcher" in the main folder?
Also my gygabyte oc guru shortcut wasn't exactly in the startup folder but was in another subfolder called Gygabyte that also had a unistall shortcut inside it, not sure why it's different but I have yet to reboot the pc since I did that yesterday. If you can give me the exact names of launcher and the OC guru exe in there I would really appreciate, that way I can be sure if this worked or not. Thanks again for help.

I expected that shortcut to be in the startup folder, that's half of what needs to be done to disable it on startup. Did you look in the folder we discussed?
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
Maybe you previously removed it. If you find it, it should be deleted.

If the shortcut is in a Gigabyte folder then that's the main program folder for the start menu. Leave that shortcut there. It does not automatically cause the program to load on startup.

Yes, there is a Launcher.exe in the program files for this program. Here's what the files should look like:

The Launcher.exe doesn't seem to be called up in startup anywhere according to AutoRuns.

And the task should be disabled:

Yes, like I said it was around there not exactly at the root of the startup folder but in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\Gygabyte and inside that folder there was OC guru shortcut and an unistall shortcut as well, not sure why it's different from your screenshots, maybe a different version of the program since mine is at least 2y old?

So correct me if i'm wrong but aren't subfolders in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
automatically starting as well or that is only true for shortcuts that isn't inside a folder?

Thanks for showing me pics, I corrected the file names in the folder, waiting to reboot and i'll let you know if it starts again. Still worried about that window popping up, not even sure if it's a cmd prompt since i tryed to record with a phone like you said but the whole thing was just white with no text inside.

In any case the thread was opened for OC guru to stop at boot, so i'll give you the best answer as soon as I reboot tomorrow.

 

[gardenman]

Yes, like I said it was around there not exactly at the root of the startup folder but in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\Gygabyte and inside that folder there was OC guru shortcut and an unistall shortcut as well, not sure why it's different from your screenshots, maybe a different version of the program since mine is at least 2y old?

So correct me if i'm wrong but aren't subfolders in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
automatically starting as well or that is only true for shortcuts that isn't inside a folder?

Thanks for showing me pics, I corrected the file names in the folder, waiting to reboot and i'll let you know if it starts again. Still worried about that window popping up, not even sure if it's a cmd prompt since i tryed to record with a phone like you said but the whole thing was just white with no text inside.

In any case the thread was opened for OC guru to stop at boot, so i'll give you the best answer as soon as I reboot tomorrow.

Anything within a sub-folder of the Startup menu probably shouldn't run, and it shouldn't be there anyway. I tested it out in a VM and I placed a program in a subfolder of the Startup menu like this:
/Start Menu/Startup/New Folder/PlayWav.lnk
and it opens the New Folder in File Explorer on boot up. It doesn't run PlayWav. If you have folders within the Startup folder then I would move them out to the main Programs folder.

I would probably expect the command prompt Window to keep popping up as it's probably a different issue. AutoRuns may help with that. A good anti-virus or Malwarebytes may help with that also. They can be difficult to track down.

 

[antoniomartucci95]

Yes, like I said it was around there not exactly at the root of the startup folder but in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\Gygabyte and inside that folder there was OC guru shortcut and an unistall shortcut as well, not sure why it's different from your screenshots, maybe a different version of the program since mine is at least 2y old?

So correct me if i'm wrong but aren't subfolders in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
automatically starting as well or that is only true for shortcuts that isn't inside a folder?

Thanks for showing me pics, I corrected the file names in the folder, waiting to reboot and i'll let you know if it starts again. Still worried about that window popping up, not even sure if it's a cmd prompt since i tryed to record with a phone like you said but the whole thing was just white with no text inside.

In any case the thread was opened for OC guru to stop at boot, so i'll give you the best answer as soon as I reboot tomorrow.

Anything within a sub-folder of the Startup menu probably shouldn't run, and it shouldn't be there anyway. I tested it out in a VM and I placed a program in a subfolder of the Startup menu like this:
/Start Menu/Startup/New Folder/PlayWav.lnk
and it opens the New Folder in File Explorer on boot up. It doesn't run PlayWav. If you have folders within the Startup folder then I would move them out to the main Programs folder.

I would probably expect the command prompt Window to keep popping up as it's probably a different issue. AutoRuns may help with that. A good anti-virus or Malwarebytes may help with that also. They can be difficult to track down.

If it doesn't run and it shouldn't be there, why do programs place that stuff in there in the first place?

Yes unfortunately it does keep booting, the av I had and mw don't pick up anything tough they were only updated at the date that problem appeared. I never gave too much attention to it since I tough it was OC guru trying to run but turns out it's another thing entirely.

 

[gardenman]

If it doesn't run and it shouldn't be there, why do programs place that stuff in there in the first place?

Yes unfortunately it does keep booting, the av I had and mw don't pick up anything tough they were only updated at the date that problem appeared. I never gave too much attention to it since I tough it was OC guru trying to run but turns out it's another thing entirely.

It's likely either the setup program is buggy and put the shortcuts there, or you or someone else accidentally moved the shortcuts to that place? The newer version that I tried didn't put the shortcuts there like that. If they are there, move them to the Programs folder.

I figured the command prompt thing would be a different problem. These can be very difficult to track down. AutoRuns may help you to see what all is running. I've reviewed the Microsoft page that I linked to above now and I think it's mostly geared towards Win 10 Pro.

You said it's a white Window. Are you sure about that? A video recording of the Window may only capture the very millisecond as the Window is being loaded and it might have just been white at that millisecond. Make several recordings to be sure it's just a white Window, and not a command prompt with useful text in it. Updated AV definitions may also help.

There are a ton of possible answers here on the forums. You might want to take a look: http://www.tomshardware.com/s/command+prompt+keeps+opening+up/

 

[antoniomartucci95]

If it doesn't run and it shouldn't be there, why do programs place that stuff in there in the first place?

Yes unfortunately it does keep booting, the av I had and mw don't pick up anything tough they were only updated at the date that problem appeared. I never gave too much attention to it since I tough it was OC guru trying to run but turns out it's another thing entirely.

It's likely either the setup program is buggy and put the shortcuts there, or you or someone else accidentally moved the shortcuts to that place? The newer version that I tried didn't put the shortcuts there like that. If they are there, move them to the Programs folder.

I figured the command prompt thing would be a different problem. These can be very difficult to track down. AutoRuns may help you to see what all is running. I've reviewed the Microsoft page that I linked to above now and I think it's mostly geared towards Win 10 Pro.

You said it's a white Window. Are you sure about that? A video recording of the Window may only capture the very millisecond as the Window is being loaded and it might have just been white at that millisecond. Make several recordings to be sure it's just a white Window, and not a command prompt with useful text in it. Updated AV definitions may also help.

There are a ton of possible answers here on the forums. You might want to take a look: http://www.tomshardware.com/s/command+prompt+keeps+opening+up/

Oh alright got it, not 100% sure about that cause this stuff came installed when i brough it to a tech shop, I surely didn't put aything in there.

That sucks I only have windows 10 home unfortunately.

Just rechecked and sometimes it doesn't open an all white thing and it's definetely a cmd prompt, tough even with a video it would be hard to find that exact microsecond, since most video players only scroll video by a second (at least the one from phone is like that) . I will have to retry that.

Could it be possible it's another shortcut located in one of the startup folders or possibly in regedit? Cause I see other programs which I never installed personally (like I said most of this stuff came after I brough it to a tech shop) . Maybe by comparing the date of OC guru and other shortcuts in there I can find something useful?
Or maybe just some file extensions like .bat files cause a cmd prompt?

 

[gardenman]

Oh alright got it, not 100% sure about that cause this stuff came installed when i brough it to a tech shop, I surely didn't put aything in there.

That sucks I only have windows 10 home unfortunately.

Just rechecked and sometimes it doesn't open an all white thing and it's definetely a cmd prompt, tough even with a video it would be hard to find that exact microsecond, since most video players only scroll video by a second (at least the one from phone is like that) . I will have to retry that.

Could it be possible it's another shortcut located in one of the startup folders or possibly in regedit? Cause I see other programs which I never installed personally (like I said most of this stuff came after I brough it to a tech shop) . Maybe by comparing the date of OC guru and other shortcuts in there I can find something useful?
Or maybe just some file extensions like .bat files cause a cmd prompt?

Often times in the video you can see what program is being run at the top (title bar) of the command prompt even if it doesn't have anything typed out in the main window. Example:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3800818/command-prompt-windows-opening-randomly-google-chrome-icon.html

Also copying the video to a PC and reviewing it there may be a better option than reviewing it on the phone. You can review a video frame by frame in Windows Media Player. I just tried it myself. Instructions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHd_r75Sf1c

If it started after a tech shop visit I would definitely be asking them.

It could be another shortcut in a startup folder, the registry, or the task scheduler and yes, it could be a .BAT .CMD .EXE .COM or maybe other file running. Go through each of the startup shortcuts and look at the properties of each one to see if you see anything like that.

You could also try a Clean Boot. Full instructions are here:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows
Just be careful and DO NOT disable any Microsoft Services. Be sure the "Hide all Microsoft services" box is checked. If you no longer see the command prompt open when you boot up while in clean boot, then it was one of those programs that you disabled for the clean boot that is causing the problem. Re-enable them a few at a time (with a reboot) until you discover which program is causing it.

 

[antoniomartucci95]

Oh alright got it, not 100% sure about that cause this stuff came installed when i brough it to a tech shop, I surely didn't put aything in there.

That sucks I only have windows 10 home unfortunately.

Just rechecked and sometimes it doesn't open an all white thing and it's definetely a cmd prompt, tough even with a video it would be hard to find that exact microsecond, since most video players only scroll video by a second (at least the one from phone is like that) . I will have to retry that.

Could it be possible it's another shortcut located in one of the startup folders or possibly in regedit? Cause I see other programs which I never installed personally (like I said most of this stuff came after I brough it to a tech shop) . Maybe by comparing the date of OC guru and other shortcuts in there I can find something useful?
Or maybe just some file extensions like .bat files cause a cmd prompt?

Often times in the video you can see what program is being run at the top (title bar) of the command prompt even if it doesn't have anything typed out in the main window. Example:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3800818/command-prompt-windows-opening-randomly-google-chrome-icon.html

Also copying the video to a PC and reviewing it there may be a better option than reviewing it on the phone. You can review a video frame by frame in Windows Media Player. I just tried it myself. Instructions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHd_r75Sf1c

If it started after a tech shop visit I would definitely be asking them.

It could be another shortcut in a startup folder, the registry, or the task scheduler and yes, it could be a .BAT .CMD .EXE .COM or maybe other file running. Go through each of the startup shortcuts and look at the properties of each one to see if you see anything like that.

You could also try a Clean Boot. Full instructions are here:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows
Just be careful and DO NOT disable any Microsoft Services. Be sure the "Hide all Microsoft services" box is checked. If you no longer see the command prompt open when you boot up while in clean boot, then it was one of those programs that you disabled for the clean boot that is causing the problem. Re-enable them a few at a time (with a reboot) until you discover which program is causing it.

Thinking about retrying video again till I get the prompt, I checked in the upper part of that window in the video and there's nothing unfortunately, but sometimes i do get a full black cmd with all details, that's why i'll keep trying to record.

Unfortunately tech shops around here aren't really qualified, I made many mistaked in my life that I regred of and that was certainly one of them.

I still have to recheck the whole registry but if everything else fails I think I'll do like I said before, checking date of shortcuts in startup folders.

Also clean boot sounds like a good idea but wouldn't you just be able to turn off services in msconfig? What if that cmd is not started by any service?

 

[gardenman]

Many tech shops are the same across the world from what I hear. I've had trouble with them in the past myself and know others who have too. They make more money selling you new equipment than fixing your problems. Why would they spend an hour removing a virus and charge you $25 when they can reinstall Windows for you and charge you $50? They don't care that you'll loose your personal files and have to reinstall your programs.

I would keep trying with the video too. Any information you can get from the video would be really useful.

When doing a clean boot, you are doing two things. You disable all (non-Microsoft) services in msconfig and you disable all startup programs in Task Manager. While it's unlikely the command prompt is to be started by a sevice, what this clean boot does is eliminates all 3rd party (non-Microsoft) software as being the problem. If you have the command prompt during a clean boot, then the problem could be a virus, a driver (unlikely), or a Windows program itself. If you don't have the problem during a clean boot, then it was definitely one of the programs you disabled for the clean boot. From there, it's just a process of elimination. You can start by re-enabling all services then reboot. Then re-enable a few programs and reboot. Keep going until you see the command prompt again and that will tell you which program caused it. It's a slow painful process but it works.

Before you start you really need to read the full Microsoft page on how to do the clean boot.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows

 

[antoniomartucci95]

Many tech shops are the same across the world from what I hear. I've had trouble with them in the past myself and know others who have too. They make more money selling you new equipment than fixing your problems. Why would they spend an hour removing a virus and charge you $25 when they can reinstall Windows for you and charge you $50? They don't care that you'll loose your personal files and have to reinstall your programs.

I would keep trying with the video too. Any information you can get from the video would be really useful.

When doing a clean boot, you are doing two things. You disable all (non-Microsoft) services in msconfig and you disable all startup programs in Task Manager. While it's unlikely the command prompt is to be started by a sevice, what this clean boot does is eliminates all 3rd party (non-Microsoft) software as being the problem. If you have the command prompt during a clean boot, then the problem could be a virus, a driver (unlikely), or a Windows program itself. If you don't have the problem during a clean boot, then it was definitely one of the programs you disabled for the clean boot. From there, it's just a process of elimination. You can start by re-enabling all services then reboot. Then re-enable a few programs and reboot. Keep going until you see the command prompt again and that will tell you which program caused it. It's a slow painful process but it works.

Before you start you really need to read the full Microsoft page on how to do the clean boot.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows

Well I can only tell you from experience but here they do suck. Apart from asking insance prices they are really incompetent, sometimes they didn't know some basic stuff and I had to tell them what to do, it's unbelievable.

Ye I'll keep recording, thinking about using clean boot as last resort since I have other problems that may need fixing before. Do you think I can maybe send you a pm regarding this other stuff if it's not too much to ask? I don't want to sound like a beggar but you really seem to have much more knowledge than most people. I tryed opening this thread on various forums and never had a complete and detailed answer.

 

[gardenman]

I'm glad I could help (so far) but I'm no expert so don't give my answers too much credit. I really don't know it all (my knowledge of hardware is also pretty weak even though I'm answering questions on a "hardware" site).

Your best bet would be to post a new thread. Then send me a link to the new thread by PM and ask me to take a look. That way I can look it over and if I feel that I can help with it I will. If not, I'll let you know by PM. Like I said, I don't know everything. This will give others a chance to answer who might know more about the subject than myself.

Someone may even answer the thread before I even see it.

 

[antoniomartucci95]

I'm glad I could help (so far) but I'm no expert so don't give my answers too much credit. I really don't know it all (my knowledge of hardware is also pretty weak even though I'm answering questions on a "hardware" site).

Your best bet would be to post a new thread. Then send me a link to the new thread by PM and ask me to take a look. That way I can look it over and if I feel that I can help with it I will. If not, I'll let you know by PM. Like I said, I don't know everything. This will give others a chance to answer who might know more about the subject than myself.

Someone may even answer the thread before I even see it.

I would say you did pretty good and since many of my questions are software based, I don't think you will have much trouble. I created a thread like you suggested and sent you a link. Thanks again for all the help!