If you're frustrated with the time it takes your Windows PC to boot and then it seems to be running slowly you may have too many programs running at start-up - and 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 comprehensive and most accurate!
"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 please visit the Startup Content page.
For further information on random startup entries please visit the Startup Info page. For the next few months and foreseeable future I'll be verifying many of the Y, U, N & ? entries via virtual machines. If you can verify/identify those entries with a "?" status (especially hardware specific - such as laptops and motherboards) then please E-mail me (address at bottom of the page) or use the new Message Board.
Last update :- 31st August
21939 items listed
"Status" key:
- "Y" - Normally leave to run at start-up
- "N" - Not required or not recommended - typically infrequently used tasks that can be started manually if necessary
- "U" - User's choice - depends whether a user deems it necessary
- "X" - Definitely not required - typically viruses, spyware, adware and "resource hogs"
- "?" - Unknown
Variables:
- %System% - refers to the System folder; by default this is C:\Windows\System (9x/Me), C:\Winnt\System32 (NT/2K), or C:\Windows\System32 (XP/Vista)
- %Windir% - refers to the Windows installation folder; by default this is C:\Windows (9x/Me/XP/Vista) or C:\Winnt (NT/2K)
- %UserProfile% - refers to the current user's profile folder; by default this is C:\Documents and Settings\ (NT/2K/XP) or C:\Users\ (Vista)
- %ProgramFiles% - refers to the Program Files folder; typically the path is C:\Program Files
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| Name or Startup Item | Status | Command or Data | Description | Tested? |
|---|
| ATICCC | N | CLIStart.exe | Puts the ATI Catalyst™ Control Center Icon/Shortcut on the System Tray - available via Start → Programs | No |
| AtiCpanel | X | atiphexx.exe | Added by the AGOBOT.IL WORM! | No |
| aticpaxx.exe | X | aticpaxx.exe | Added by the RBOT-XP WORM! | No |
| AtiCwd | U | AtiCwd.exe | This utility adds the ATI tab in the advanced display properties (gives the option for TV out). Do not uncheck if there is TV out on the video card | No |
| AtiCwd | U | AtiCwd32.exe | This utility adds the ATI tab in the advanced display properties (gives the option for TV out). Do not uncheck if there is TV out on the video card | No |
| AtiCwd | U | Ati2cwad.exe | This utility adds the ATI tab in the advanced display properties (gives the option for TV out). Do not uncheck if there is TV out on the video card | No |
| AtiCwd32 | U | AtiCwd.exe | This utility adds the ATI tab in the advanced display properties (gives the option for TV out). Do not uncheck if there is TV out on the video card | No |
| AtiCwd32 | U | AtiCwd32.exe | This utility adds the ATI tab in the advanced display properties (gives the option for TV out). Do not uncheck if there is TV out on the video card | No |
| AtiCwd32 | U | Ati2cwad.exe | This utility adds the ATI tab in the advanced display properties (gives the option for TV out). Do not uncheck if there is TV out on the video card | No |
| AtiDisplayDrv | X | atidrvxx.exe | Added by the RBOT-VZ WORM! | No |
| atidriver | X | reaIplayer.exe | Added by the WARPIGS-E WORM! Note the uppercase "I" in the filename, rather than a lower case "L" | No |
| AtiGart | N | Atigart.exe | Program that checks the motherboard chipset and determines which GART driver bundle to install on ATI video cards. If you have one, once installed it shouldn't be needed | No |
| AtiKey | N | AtiKey32.exe | System Tray access and key-combo shortcuts to common display functions on ATI video cards. Can be run from Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Display | No |
| AtiKey | N | atiptkad.exe | System Tray access and key-combo shortcuts to common display functions on ATI video cards. Can be run from Control Panel → Display | No |
| Atikey | N | Atitask.exe | System Tray access and key-combo shortcuts to common display functions on ATI video cards. Can be run from Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Display | No |
| ATIMACE | U | MACE.exe | ATI Technologies Control Centre - installed alongside ATI graphics hardware and provides additional configuration options for these devices in the Managed Access to Catalyst™ Environment (MACE) component | No |
| ATIModeChange | U | Ati2mdxx.exe | Installed with the drivers for some ATI based discrete graphics cards and on-board/mobile chipsets. After testing it's exact function isn't known at this time and it doesn't appear to be running even with the startup entry enabled - hence the "U" recommendation | Yes |
| AtiPanel | X | atip.exe | Added by the TACTSLAY.U TROJAN! | No |
| atipatxx | X | atipatxx.exe | Added by the SMALL-ED TROJAN! | No |
| ATIPOLAB | N | ati2evxx.exe | Hotkey handler for ATI desktop and mobile graphics chipsets. Users report that most of the hotkeys aren't well documented, they aren't therefore used and it can consume lots of CPU resources on some computers. Unless you use the hotkeys leave it disabled. Starts via a registry "Run" key on Windows 98/Me and as a service on Windows 2K/XP/Vista | No |
| ATIPOLAB | U | ati2evae.exe | ATI Polling Program - part of the ATI graphics driver e.g. on some Fujitsu-Siemens Notebooks | No |
| ATIPOLL | N | ati2evxx.exe | Hotkey handler for ATI desktop and mobile graphics chipsets. Users report that most of the hotkeys aren't well documented, they aren't therefore used and it can consume lots of CPU resources on some computers. Unless you use the hotkeys leave it disabled. Starts via a registry "Run" key on Windows 98/Me and as a service on Windows 2K/XP/Vista | No |
| AtiPTA | U | Ati2ptxx.exe | Control panel for the ATI series of video cards allowing access to such features as display resolution, colour depth, etc. Available via Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Display. Some users may need it if they have optimised their settings | No |
| ATIPTA | U | ATIPTAXX.EXE | Installed with the drivers for some ATI based discrete graphics cards and on-board/mobile chipsets. Provides System Tray access to display settings (including desktop resolution, color depth and multi-display schemes), help and troubleshooting. Unless you often change your display settings this isn't really required as all the settings are available via the system Control Panel under "Display" | Yes |
| AtiPTA | U | Atiptaab.exe | Control panel for the ATI series of video cards allowing access to such features as display resolution, colour depth, etc. Available via Start → Settings → Control Panel → Display. Some users may need it if they have optimised their settings | No |
| AtiPTAAA | U | Ati2ptxx.exe | Control panel for the ATI series of video cards allowing access to such features as display resolution, colour depth, etc. Available via Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Display. Some users may need it if they have optimised their settings | No |
| AtiPTAAA | U | ATIPTAXX.EXE | Installed with the drivers for some ATI based discrete graphics cards and on-board/mobile chipsets. Provides System Tray access to display settings (including desktop resolution, color depth and multi-display schemes), help and troubleshooting. Unless you often change your display settings this isn't really required as all the settings are available via the system Control Panel under "Display" | No |
| atiptaxx | U | Ati2ptxx.exe | Control panel for the ATI series of video cards allowing access to such features as display resolution, colour depth, etc. Available via Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Display. Some users may need it if they have optimised their settings | No |
| ATIPTAXX | U | ATIPTAXX.EXE | Installed with the drivers for some ATI based discrete graphics cards and on-board/mobile chipsets. Provides System Tray access to display settings (including desktop resolution, color depth and multi-display schemes), help and troubleshooting. Unless you often change your display settings this isn't really required as all the settings are available via the system Control Panel under "Display" | Yes |
| atiptext | X | atiptext.exe | Added by the COSIAM-A TROJAN! | No |
| AtiQiPcl | U | AtiQiPcl.exe | Used for hardware DVD decoding on ATI video cards supporting this feature. Not required unless you regularly play DVD's | No |
| ATIRmtWndr | Y | ATIX10.exe | ATI Remote Wonder™ - PC wireless remote control driver. Required if you use it | No |
| ATISmart | U | ati2s9ag.exe | ATI's "SMARTGART", which is included with the Catalyst™ drivers. When the system boots, it runs a couple of bus tests & tries to apply the most stable settings | No |
| AtiSound | U | csrss.exe | WinSpy surveillance software. Uninstall this software unless you put it there yourself. Note - this is not the same file as the csrss.exe process which is always located in %System% and should not normally figure in Msconfig/Startup! This one is located in a "ComRoot" subfolder | No |
| atisrc2 | X | windfind.exe | Added by the WINDFIND-A TROJAN!
| No |
| ATITech | X | Active.exe | Added by the ROAMER-A TROJAN! | No |
| atitray | U | atitray.exe | ATI Tray Tools - allows quick access to ATI graphics card settings | No |
| AtiTrayTools | U | atitray.exe | ATI Tray Tools - allows quick access to ATI graphics card settings | No |
| atiupdate | X | ATIUPDATE5.EXE | Added by the DEBESKI.A TROJAN! | No |
| atiupdate | X | msshed32.exe | Added by the DELF.EP downloader TROJAN! | No |
| ATIUpdater | X | atiupdxx.exe | Added by the RBOT-ABX WORM! | No |
| Atiupdpl | X | atiupdpl.exe | Added by the SMALL.AOS TROJAN! | No |
| ativopen | X | ativopen.exe | Premium rate adult content dialler | No |
| ATIX10 | Y | atix10.exe | ATI Remote Wonder™ - PC wireless remote control driver. Required if you use it | No |
| ATKMEDIA | U | DMEDIA.EXE | Driver for the media buttons on the front of some Asus laptops, such as Forward,back,stop,pause etc | No |
| ATKOSD2 | U | ATKOSD2.exe | On-screen display utility bundled with laptops from ASUS. If this utility is not installed then you will not be able to properly use other AsusTek utilities such as Splendid and Power Gear | No |
| Atl**.exe [* = random char] | X | Atl**.exe [* = random char] | CoolWebSearch/HomeSearch adware - for examples, see this log | No |
| Atl**32.exe [* = random char] | X | Atl**32.exe [* = random char] | CoolWebSearch/HomeSearch adware - for examples, see this log | No |
| ATM Control | X | adpn.exe | Added by the MMS.A WORM! | No |
| ATnotes | N | atnotes.exe | Loads the ATnotes program for virtual sticky notes for your desktop. Available via Start -> Programs | No |
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The following files are available for people developing mirrors of the site and using the information presented here:
Startup XML File - Startup INI File - Startup HTML File
For IE users, right-click on the link and select "Save Target As..." - note that for the INI and HTML files the suggested filename will be "startuplist.htm" and you'll have to rename them "startuplist.ini" and "startuplist.html" respectively.
For Firefox users, I recommend downloading the zipped versions from here. Otherwise, you'll have to open the file and save it - which can take a long time due to the size.
NOTE: These downloads are password protected and free to anyone producing a mirror or free utility. If you produce a commercial/shareware utility please contact me to discuss options. If you don't fall into any of these categories and want to download any of these files you will need to either make a donation of $15/year or more via PayPal (or E-mail me) and you will be provided with the login details which will change at the beginning of each year. The donation will go towards researching new and existing entries for the database and creating these files. Since making these files available for download they've been available free of charge and downloaded thousands of times. I believe they are unique as to my knowledge, no similar site offers such a resource as the lists they offer are on-line only.
DISCLAIMER: It is assumed that users are familiar with the operating system they are using and comfortable with making the suggested changes. I will not be held responsible if changes you make cause a system failure.
NOTE: 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 entried listed in this database where specific removal instructions haven't been given. If this is the case then you could try SDFix, a program written by AndyManchesta that can remove many different types of Trojans and Worms. See here for a tutorial on how to use the program and here for the latest ReadMe file detailing the fixes included.
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.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
If you're looking for a startup manager then why not try WinPatrol (by BillP Studios) or Advanced SystemCare Free (by IObit) - both include the option to search this database for a particular entry. Alternatively 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.
There are an ever increasing number of rogue applications appearing these days and many of the removal guides referenced in this database use MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (which now incorporates the now discontinued RogueRemover).
As there are more than 10,000 entries in this database related to viruses, trojans, worms and other malware I recommend you use a quality internet security package. Which ever you choose, keep it updated.
Presentation, format & comments Copyright © 2001 - 2010 Paul Collins
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