The Good
* Full control over startup programs, including removal, enable/disable, delayer, and adding new entries.
* Makes it extremely convenient to add custom startup entries.
* Creative application of "startup delayer" to create "startup program boot order".
* Monitors startup programs and alerts user of any new added entries.
* Allows for user to set program priority and program's "window state" at startup.
* Allows user to set multiple configurations of startup programs, easily switch between them, and set a different configuration for each Windows' user account.
* Will block those pesky programs which continually add themselves to startup if you block them once.
* Handy "recycle bin" to recover any startup entries you deleted but want back.
* Users can manually run startup programs at will.

The Bad
* Startup monitor notifies the user by flashing the system tray icon instead of providing something more direct and obvious.

Free Alternatives
AnVir Task Manager
WinPatrol

For final verdict, recommendations, and full review please click here.

Ashraf  –  15 years ago  –  Ritieni questo commento utile? sì | no (+162)

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Do you ever go into msconfig (startup tab) and look at it and say, "I don't know what half of these are."? well this progam helps you know what is what! it will tell you if they recommend you disabling a startup program or not. My favorite feature is the "find in sysinfo.org" button. The starup delayer is also a very nice thing to have it allows you to not have everything come up at the same time wich can slow down your computer.

However, I wouldn't pay that much for it... its nice but not that nice.

mow123  –  15 years ago  –  Ritieni questo commento utile? sì | no (+81)

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I've been using the pro version of this for a couple of years now and I've found it pretty much flawless. It's one of those rare pieces of software that just works. The most useful features for me are the start-up profiles (you can set a default, or hit a hotkey at start-up to choose a different profile) and the ability to set a delay for each start-up program - effectively allowing you to set the start-up order (I have less critical items set with various delays which reduces the time I have to wait at boot-up for a usable system).

Buckingham  –  15 years ago  –  Ritieni questo commento utile? sì | no (+59)

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This has numerous features, some of which you won't find elsewhere. On the downside, it checks only the typical basic list of startup locations and is extremely buggy. It didn't function properly on first-run, and had to be restarted. Every time it starts, it incorrectly adds duplicate entries for the Sticky Password beta. On my PC, it can no longer be maximized without a fatal error (worked on first-run, may be related to the duplicate entries). The "Find a detailed description on the Internet" button takes you to the useless Sysinfo.org instead of doing a Google search like competitive products do.

Fubar  –  15 years ago  –  Ritieni questo commento utile? sì | no (+49)

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There is one option that I like particularly, disabled by default: you can launch the delayed items as soon as the CPU usage falls beneath a certain percentage. This is a feature I have been waiting for a long time, as this is the best way to be sure that your hardware is not too busy and that it can launch a new startup program rapidly.

However, I would have preferred a similar option for the DISC usage, as it's because the disc has too seek constantly that starting all startup programs at the same time is so slow. The CPU usage doesn't matter much, especially with modern multi-core PCs. I hope the developers will add that option in v4.

Also, the documentation is not very clear about the CPU usage option. If it launches ALL remaining delayed items at the same time, the option is not useful. But if it launches only the next item, then watch the CPU usage again until all items have been launched, that it's a very useful option, that should be enabled by default imo.

Anyway, it's probably the most feature rich startup manager I have tried so far.

To reply to many comments above, it is true that disabling a startup program without knowing exactly what it is supposed to do can be dangerous in some rare cases, and even lead to system instability. But leaving useless startup items run in the background without a good reason is certainly the worst thing that can happen! The boot time is dramatically increased by those useless apps, many resources are used for no good reason, and the system stability can also be affected. Furthermore, many viruses install themselves in the startup process, so it is a good thing to monitor what is added, and why. You are free to leave them anyway. My PC runs faster and very well with 80% of the startup items disabled!

Note also that this program DOES NOT monitor and show ALL items that can be launched automatically, without the user consent. To have a complete view of the programs, services, devices, codecs, BHO, etc... that can be launched automatically, use Sysinternal's AutoRuns, available on the Microsoft site. (MSConfig doesn't list them all neither!)

r0lZ  –  15 years ago  –  Ritieni questo commento utile? sì | no (+34)

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