Member Avatar for normanallen

I am running windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit.I am finding that some of the programs in my Startup list are not running at startup.
One (for example) seems to be in my personal Startup folder (so it runs for me only) and another is defined so it runs for all users of the pc.
This seems to be consistent, but I have just found one program that sometimes run and sometimes doesn't.
I can't figure out just what is happening!
msconfig shows 16 program on the Startup tab.
Any suggestions?

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Dani AI

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Intermittent autostarts are usually environmental rather than random. Good follow‑up from to use Task Scheduler, and a useful pointer from about Autoruns for spotting hidden or duplicate entries. Common root causes: programs trying to start before network resources or services are ready, shortcuts pointing to missing targets, UAC/elevation blocking interactive prompts, or third‑party security software preventing silent launches.

A practical troubleshooting checklist:

  • Confirm whether a process actually failed to start by checking Task Scheduler history and the Task Scheduler Operational log, plus Windows Logs → Application and System for related errors.
  • Verify the program’s executable exists and the shortcut’s “Start in”/working folder is correct.
  • For apps that require network access (time sync tools, indexers), prefer triggers that wait for networking or add a short startup delay so dependencies come up first.
  • If the app requires elevation, schedule it with elevated privileges rather than relying on a startup shortcut (UAC prompts block silent autostart).
  • Run Autoruns to audit every autostart location and remove duplicates or broken entries.

A reliable Task Scheduler recipe (summary):

  • Create Task (not Basic). On General choose the account, enable “Run with highest privileges” if needed and set “Configure for: Windows 7.”
  • Trigger: At log on (or At startup) → Advanced: add a short delay (e.g., 30s) and retry settings.
  • Action: Start a program → set executable and “Start in” folder.
  • Conditions/Settings: pick network options, power conditions, enable task history and allow run on demand.

To list scheduled tasks from a command prompt:

schtasks /query /v /fo LIST

If problems persist after these steps, check security software and Group Policy restrictions; the Scheduler + history + Event Viewer approach normally identifies the exact failure.

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Member Avatar for caperjack

care to share what program it is that will not run sometimes

Member Avatar for normanallen

One program is Everything (global search), another is Karen's Time Sync (clock synchronisation)

Member Avatar for caperjack

sorry ,i thought they might be 2 program that i use ,those are 2 i wouldn't even have a need for .
try the Windows autoruns program to check and make sure they are in the startup to run .
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902

Edited by caperjack because: to addd link
Member Avatar for normanallen

Everything is in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Time Sync.lnk is in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Member Avatar for caperjack

excpt for the obvisous ,how do you know they are not running ,
like how would you know that the time sync wasn't syncing the time

Member Avatar for normanallen

Looking at the list of running programs from the little up arrow on the taskbar, and checking whether the process names were visible in Task Manager. I'm not that stupid!
Anyway, I've just found out how to do it using the Task Scheduler in W7 (that seems to have evolved massively from XP)
So the problem no longer exits, thanks anyway.

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