View Your Windows XP Startup Programs

• 1). Click "Start > Run" from the desktop. The Run dialog box appears.
  
  
• 2). Type "msconfig" in the Run dialog box and click "OK." The System Configuration Utility appears.
  
  
• 3). Click the Startup tab in the System Configuration Utility window. The startup items that start when you log on to Window XP appear.
  
  
• 4). Note the paths of the startup programs whose order you want to change.
  
  
• 5). Click "Cancel" to close the System Configuration Utility.
  
  

Change the Order of Your Startup Programs

• 1). Open Notepad or another text program with which you feel comfortable.
  
  
• 2). Create a shell script to start your applications sequentially. For example:
  
  -------------mystartup.cmd-------------
  start "" "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\outlook.exe"
  start "" "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\word.exe"
  start "" "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\excel.exe"
  ---------------end file------------------
  
  
• 3). Save the file as "mystartup.cmd."
  
  
• 4). Place the script file in your startup directory.
  
  
• 5). Reboot your computer and log on to activate the script.