Situation:
You are troubleshooting a suspected conflict between programs, and need to temporarily prevent programs from loading when Windows starts. The programs in question are loading from one of the Run keys in the Windows registry.

Solution:
WARNING: We strongly recommend that you back up the system registry before making any changes. (For instructions, please see our section on this topic.) Incorrect changes to the registry could result in permanent data loss or corrupted files. Please make sure you modify only the keys specified. NOTE: These instructions are covered under our Terms of Use

NOTE: If your are using Windows 98, you can also use the included System Configuration Utility to do this. Please see your Windows 98 documentation, or the technical document, How to perform a clean boot in Windows 98, for instructions on how to do this.

To temporarily remove values from the RUN keys in the Windows registry, follow these steps:

• 1. Click the Start button and then click Run. The Run dialog box appears.
• 2. Type REGEDIT and click OK. The Registry Editor opens.
• 3. Navigate to the following key, and open it:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

• 4. The right pane will display one or more string values.
  • If you only see (Default) or SystemTray, go on to step 10.
  • If there are additional values, for each value other than (Default) or SystemTray, follow the instructions in steps 5 through 9.
• 5. Double-click a String Value in the right pane. The Edit String dialog box will appear with the value selected.
• 6. Press the Home key on the keyboard. The cursor should be to the left of the string value, and the value should no longer be selected.
• 7. Type REM and press the Spacebar once. This remarks out the string value, and prevents the program from loading when Windows starts.
• 8. Click OK.
• 9. Repeat these steps for each string value you want to remark (REM) out.
• 10. Navigate to the following key, if it exists, and open it:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices

• 11. Repeat steps 4 through 9.
• 12. Some computers may also have Run or RunServices keys in the following location:

  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run (or \RunServices)

• 13. If it exists, repeat steps 4 through 9 for this location as well.
• 14. Exit the Registry Editor when you finish changing these values, and restart the computer.
• 15. Check to see whether or not this resolves the problem.
• 16. If it does, and you want these programs to load with Windows, add back one string value at a time by removing the REM and the following space.
• 17. Restart Windows, and then test the system after each addition. When you find the key causing the problem, you can either REM it out in the registry or delete the value.