Startup Applications List
Unfortunately, due to a change in my circumstances, the startup programs database here at Sysinfo.org will no longer be updated and the off-line downloads are no longer available. The version at Pacman's Portal will, however, continue to be updated and it's recommended that you refer to that site for more up to date information. The reason for this change in policy cannot be disclosed at this time but I hope you have enjoyed using the database here and thank you for your support and kind comments over the years.
Paul Collins
If you're frustrated with the time it takes your Windows 7/Vista/XP PC to boot and then it seems to be running slowly you may have too many programs running at start-up - and you have come to the right place to identify them. This is the original startup programs (as opposed to processes/tasks) list - one of the most accurate and comprehensive. Services are not included - see below. The database is mirrored in a slightly different format at Pacman's Portal.
"Name or Startup Item" in the table below refers to how an entry is displayed in MSConfig, Windows Defender or the registry "Run" keys. "Command or Data" refers to the program the entry runs. For further information on this and how to identify and disable startup programs you may want to also visit this page.
For further information on random startup entries please visit the Startups Info page.
Last update :- 29th July, 2011
24133 items listed
"Status" key:
all others A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Page No.: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 | ||||
| Name or Startup Item | Status | Command or Data | Description | Tested? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desktop Weather 3 | N | THEWEA~1.EXE | Desktop Weather 3 by The Weather Channel - provides current temperature, conditions, alerts, etc | No |
| DesktopArmor | Y | DesktopArmor.exe | Desktop Armor from Headlight Software - "watches dozens and dozens of important settings on your computer and warns you if any program has changed them" including those made by malware | Yes |
| DesktopIconToy | U | DesktopIconToy.exe | "Desktop Icon Toy is an easy to use desktop icon enhancement tool, which allows you to make many funny but useful patterns out of your windows desktop icons" | No |
| DesktopMaestro | N | deskmech.exe | Part of Desktop Maestro from PC Tools - which "combines the features of our award winning products, Registry Mechanic and Privacy Guardian to ensure that you have the range of tools at your fingertips to ensure optimal system performance, stability and user privacy". This entry is created when Desktop Maestro is installed on XP and loads the System Tray icon and runs a registry scan at startup - if either are enabled. Run manually at regular intervals | Yes |
| DesktopMaestro | N | RMTray.exe | Part of Desktop Maestro from PC Tools - which "combines the features of our award winning products, Registry Mechanic and Privacy Guardian to ensure that you have the range of tools at your fingertips to ensure optimal system performance, stability and user privacy". This entry is created when Desktop Maestro is installed on Vista and loads the System Tray icon (deskmech.exe) on runs a registry scan at startup - if either are enabled. Run manually at regular intervals | Yes |
| DesktopSecurityGuard | X | wscntfy.exe | Added by the NOKPUDA WORM! Note - this is not the legitimate Windows Security (wscntfy.exe) file which is located in %System%. This one is located in %Windir% | No |
| DesktopUpdate | X | rundll32.exe MSA64CHK.dll,DllMostrar | MatrixDialer/Mostrar parasite. Note that rundll32.exe is a legitimate Microsoft file used to launch DLL file types and shouldn't be deleted. The "MSA64CHK.dll" file is located in %System% | No |
| DesktopX | N | DesktopX.exe | System Tray access to DesktopX from Stardock Corporation - "is a desktop utility designed to enable users to build their own desktops, widgets, and gadgets." Note - if this entry is disabled and DesktopX has been configured to load any desktops, objects or widgets they will still load, along with DesktopX. Also part of the Object Desktop suite | Yes |
| DesktopX | Y | IconX.exe | IconX from Stardock Corporation - "a program that enhances your Windows desktop icons so that they can be any size, zoom on mouse over, have shadows underneath them and generally make them more attractive and usable." Required if you want to use the features and themes provided. No longer supported - it was formally part of the Object Desktop suite and also available as a separate download | Yes |
| DesktopX Welcome | U | Welcome.exe | DesktopX Welcome widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Used to load/create widgets, objects and different desktops. Once started, Welcome.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Arcade.exe | 80's Arcade widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Allows you to play classic 1980's arcade games such as Pacman and Space Invaders on the desktop. Once started, Arcade.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Fishy.exe | Fishy widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays a fish swimming on the desktop. Once started, Fishy.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | SI2992~1.exe | Silica Volume Control widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays a slider to control the speaker volume on the desktop. Once started, Silica Volume Control.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Vista/7 MSConfig entry where "Silica Volume Control.exe" is shown as "SI2992~1.exe" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | SI39E3~1.exe | Silica Weather widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays the current weather and forecast for up to 5 days for the selected location on the desktop. Once started, Silica Weather.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Vista/7 MSConfig entry where "Silica Weather.exe" is shown as "SI39E3~1.exe" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | SI90AE~1.exe | Silica To-Do List widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Adds a "to do" task list on the desktop. Once started, Silica To-Do List.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Vista/7 MSConfig entry where "Silica To-Do List.exe" is shown as "SI90AE~1.exe" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | SI985F~1.exe | Silica Word of the Day widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays the "Word of the Day" from Wordsmith.org on the desktop. Once started, Silica Word of the Day.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Vista/7 MSConfig entry where "Silica Word of the Day.exe" is shown as "SI985F~1.exe" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | SIF08B~1.exe | Silica Unit Converter widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Provides a unit conversion utility on the desktop. Once started, Silica Unit Converter.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Vista/7 entry where "Silica Unit Converter.exe" is shown as "SIF08B~1.exe" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Silica Calendar.exe | Silica Calender widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays a calendar on the desktop. Once started, Silica Calendar.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Silica Clock.exe | Silica Clock widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays a clock on the desktop. Once started, Silica Clock.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Silica Picture Frame.exe | Silica Picture Frame widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays either a static user selected picture or slide show in a resizable picture frame on the desktop. Once started, Silica Picture Frame.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Silica Search.exe | Silica Search widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Provides a search box powered by Google on the desktop. Once started, Silica Search.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Silica To-Do List.exe | Silica To-Do List widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Adds a "to do" task list on the desktop. Once started, Silica To-Do List.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Silica Unit Converter.exe | Silica Unit Converter widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Provides a unit conversion utility on the desktop. Once started, Silica Unit Converter.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Silica Volume Control.exe | Silica Volume Control widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays a slider to control the speaker volume on the desktop. Once started, Silica Volume Control.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Silica Weather.exe | Silica Weather widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays the current weather and forecast for up to 5 days for the selected location on the desktop. Once started, Silica Weather.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Silica Word of the Day.exe | Silica Word of the Day widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays the "Word of the Day" from Wordsmith.org on the desktop. Once started, Silica Word of the Day.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | SILICA~1.EXE | Silica Calender widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays a calendar on the desktop. Once started, Silica Calendar.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Vista/7 MSConfig entry where "Silica Calendar.exe" is shown as "SILICA~1.EXE" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Silica Clock.exe | Silica Clock widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays a clock on the desktop. Once started, Silica Clock.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Vista/7 MSConfig entry where "Silica Clock.exe" is shown as "SILICA~2.EXE" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | SILICA~3.EXE | Silica Picture Frame widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays either a static user selected picture or slide show in a resizable picture frame on the desktop. This is the Vista/7 MSConfig entry where "Silica Picture Frame.exe" is shown as "SILICA~3.EXE" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | SILICA~4.exe | Silica Search widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Provides a search box powered by Google on the desktop. This is the Vista/7 MSConfig entry where "Silica Search.exe" is shown as "SILICA~4.EXE" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Welcome.exe | DesktopX Welcome widget included with the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Used to load/create widgets, objects and different desktops. Once started, Welcome.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Aero Gmail.exe | Aero Gmail widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Checks for new E-mail on Google via their Atom feed. Once started, Aero Gmail.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | AEROGM~1.EXE | Aero Gmail widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Checks for new E-mail on Google via their Atom feed. Once started, Aero Gmail.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Vista/7 entry where "Aero Gmail.exe" is shown as "AEROGM~1.EXE" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Clear meter bar .exe | Clear Meter Bar widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays free drive space, free memory, CPU usage and system running time on the desktop with a clear background. Once started, Clear meter bar .exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | CLEARM~1.EXE | Clear Meter Bar widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays free drive space, free memory, CPU usage and system running time on the desktop with a clear background. Once started, Clear meter bar .exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Vista/7 entry where "Clear meter bar .exe" is shown as "CLEARM~1.EXE" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Core Calendar.exe | Core Calendar widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Once started, Core Calendar.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Core Weather.exe | Core Weather widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays the current weather and forecast for up to 5 days from The Weather Channel for the selected location on the desktop. Once started, Core Weather.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | CORECA~1.EXE | Core Calendar widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Once started, Core Calendar.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Vista/7 MSConfig entry where "Core Calendar.exe" is shown as "CORECA~1.EXE" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | COREWE~1.EXE | Core Weather widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays the current weather and forecast for up to 5 days from The Weather Channel for the selected location on the desktop. Once started, Core Weather.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Vista/7 MSConfig entry where "Core Weather.exe" is shown as "COREWE~1.EXE" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | DIGITA~1.EXE | DigitalMETER widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays free drive space, free memory, CPU usage and system running time on the desktop. Once started, DigitalMETER.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Vista/7 MSConfig entry where "DigitalMETER.exe" is shown as "DIGITA~1.EXE" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | DigitalMETER.exe | DigitalMETER widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays free drive space, free memory, CPU usage and system running time on the desktop. Once started, DigitalMETER.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Glassy Calculator II.exe | Glassy Calculator II widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Once started, Glassy Calculator II.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Glassy Calendar.exe | Glassy Calendar widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Once started, Glassy Calendar.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | GLASSY~1.EXE | Glassy Calculator II widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Once started, Glassy Calculator II.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Vista/7 MSConfig entry where "Glassy Calculator II.exe" is shown as "GLASSY~1.EXE" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | GLASSY~2.EXE | Glassy Calendar widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Once started, Glassy Calendar.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Vista/7 MSConfig entry where "Glassy Calendar.exe" is shown as "GLASSY~2.EXE" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | Gmail Checker.exe | Gmail Checker widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Checks for new E-mail on Google via their Atom feed. Once started, Gmail Checker.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | GMAILC~1.EXE | Gmail Checker widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Checks for new E-mail on Google via their Atom feed. Once started, Gmail Checker.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Vista/7 MSConfig entry where "Gmail Checker.exe" is shown as "GMAILC~1.EXE" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | MOONPH~1.EXE | Moon Phase widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays the current phase of the Moon in true color using NASA imagery. Once started, MoonPhase.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Vista/7 MSConfig entry where "MoonPhase.exe" is shown as "MOONPH~1.EXE" | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | MoonPhase.exe | Moon Phase widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays the current phase of the Moon in true color using NASA imagery. Once started, MoonPhase.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Windows Defender entry | Yes |
| DesktopX Widget | U | WEATHE~1.EXE | Weather Forecaster (animated) widget for the DesktopX desktop utility from Stardock Corporation. Displays the current weather and forecast for up to 5 days for the selected location on the desktop. Once started, WeatherAni.exe loads a file called "DXWidget.exe" and exits. This is the Vista/7 MSConfig entry where "WeatherAni.exe" is shown as "WEATHE~1.EXE" | Yes |
all others A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Page No.: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 | ||||
Notes & Warnings
Variables:
DISCLAIMER: It is assumed that users are familiar with the operating system they are using and comfortable with making the suggested changes. We will not be held responsible if changes you make cause a system failure.
WARNING: This is NOT a database of tasks/processes taken from Task Manager or the Close Program window (CTRL+ALT+DEL) but a database of startup applications, although you will find some of them listed via this method. Pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL identifies programs that are currently running - not necessarily at startup. For a list of tasks/processes you should try the Process Library from Uniblue, the list at PC Pitstop or one of the many others now available. Therefore, before ending a task/process via CTRL+ALT+DEL just because it has an "X" recommendation, please check whether it's in MSConfig or the registry first. An example would be "svchost.exe" - which doesn't appear in either under normal conditions but does via CTRL+ALT+DEL. If in doubt, don't do anything.
To avoid the database becoming too large, all virus entries are only shown using the registry version which is common to all Windows versions. Otherwise there would be multiple entries for popular filenames that viruses often use - such as "svchost" above for example. Multiple viruses can also use the same startup entries, in this case only those with significant differences (such as file location) are repeated in this database.
NOTE: There are a number of virus and malware entries listed in this database where specific removal instructions haven't been given. If this is the case then you could try ComboFix, a program written by sUBs that can remove many different types of Trojans and Worms. See here for a tutorial on how to use the program
IMPORTANT: A number of entries are repeated due to the way that different operating systems display startup items. For example, WinMe lists "POPROXY.EXE" as "Norton eMail Protect" in both MSCONFIG and the registry whereas WinXP lists it as "Poproxy" in MSCONFIG and "Norton eMail Protect" in the registry.
SERVICES: "Services" from the NT/2K/XP/Vista/7 operating systems are not included. I fully understand that some programs with these OS's use "Services" as an alternative to load their component parts at startup but these are handled in a different way. We recommend you try BlackViper for information on services for the relevant operating systems.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
If you're looking for a startup manager then why not try Spybot - Search & Destroy (by Safer Networking Ltd) as the startup programs section (select the Advanced mode) includes descriptions from this database. You might also want to try their RunAlyzer and FileAlyzer tools.
As there are more than 10,000 entries in this database related to viruses, trojans, worms and other malware we recommend you use a quality internet security package. Which ever you choose, keep it updated.
Copyright
Presentation, format & comments Copyright © 2001 - 2011 Pacman's Portal
Portions Copyright © Peter Forrest, Denny Denham, Sylvain Prevost, Tony Klein, CastleCops & Bleeping Computer
Database creation and support by Patrick Kolla
Software support by John Mayer
All rights reserved