Auto-run applications |

This page gives a brief description of how an application can be setup to run automatically when Windows starts. This is an important part of creating a stress test to cyclically reboot a PC. There are various methods that can be used to set up an application to run automatically.

Method1 – Windows Startup folder

There is a “Startup” folder in the Start menu of Windows. Shortcuts to files can be placed in this directory. All the shortcuts in this folder will be executed automatically when Windows starts. One easy way to edit the contents of the startup folder is to use the Advanced view in the “Start / Settings / Task bar & Start menu”, window. Short cuts can be created by dragging executable files into this Startup folder with the ALT key held down.

Right clicking on the short cut and selecting properties then allows the shortcut settings to be modified. This is the best and easiest method to auto-run applications.

See the Windows documentation for more information about short cuts.

Method2 - win.ini

In the windows section of this file, new lines can be added to start applications automatically. For example,

[windows]

run="C:\PROGRA~1\PERFOR~1\pt.exe"

This file is found is in the Windows installation directory. Note the use of older style 8.3 files names as spaces are not allowed in the file name. This method is not recommended, as it was designed for Windows3.1 and Windows95 and is no longer used in newer versions of Windows. (It still works in Windows98 however).

Method3 – Edit the registry

By placing entries into following registry key, applications can be executed automatically at startup

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

Don’t edit the registry unless you know what you are doing.