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TechSpot Startup List

In order to keep your Windows PC running as smoothly as possible, it's important to know what programs are running at startup, sometimes even without your knowledge. It is not unusual that startup programs have cryptic names and it is not clear whether they are necessary or malicious. The goal of this database is to help you find more information about these programs, and give you a better understanding if it is safe to remove them or not.

Program Classifications in a Nutshell

Program may be necessary	Program is not necessary	Up to the user	Unknown	Dangerous. Remove.

Most Popular by Classification

How do you find what's running at startup?

Finding out what's running at startup is easy, just go to the Start Menu and then click Run. Type in msconfig and press Enter. In the window that appears, click on the tab labeled Startup. A list of programs will be shown, those items that have a check next to the entry do load at startup while the other items that have no check mark, do not.

What's happening if I disable a startup item, but it comes back?

Usually it's either a virus/malware or a program that has an additional setting somewhere for the program to run at startup by default. Check with the program and see if it has any such feature in its Options or Preferences. If you don't know what program is loading, search for it in our database.

This startup programs database is built around Pac's Startup list.