Boot Time Utility???

Hello. Is there some sort of boot time utility ( probably dos based) that would list what goes on during boot, by listing programs that load ( or try to). I have used startup managers that show what loads at boot time, but I feel there is more going on than they show, as usually my Icons appear on the desktop, then diasppear, then reload again, and another program (Desktop reminder) seems to be delayed in loading, although "Glary utilities" doesnt show anything of the sort.
Can anyone also tell me which files actually contain the list of what is to be run at boot time, after the BIOS has handed over to the OS. This must be what the "startup managers" read and write to ?????
Regards
Michael
Windows 7

 

Microsoft Autoruns is the go to for this. Check the option to see Virus Total ratings in the Entry menu. Scroll up and down to see what starts when your PC starts and check the VT ratings if you want to see if anything malicious is there. Autoruns is sort of technical in that it lists everything, but the VT info is great to have.

If you want simple, try CCleaner. Click on Tools->Startup. There you will see a list of programs that start on boot and you can change them there with a right click on the program.

In Autoruns in the Everything tab, these same entries as CCleaner are in the top few categories. Down lower are things like drivers, right click menu alterations made by programs (to Windows Explorer right click context menus), and codecs. If you want to see what's starting by category, click on the tab individually of the type of startup you want to see (like Schedule Events, drivers, etc.)...

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/microsoft_autoruns.html

 

Thank you
I have downloaded Autoruns and had a look.
I am sure all the info I need is here................................now I justhave to sort it all out and see whats what. thanks again.
I have searched a lot on the web but this is the first time I have come accross anything that could help.

Michael

 

Youre welcome

If you like Autoruns, you might also like MS ProcessExplorer. It's similar but with great detail on what is at any given time running on a system. It's better than Task Mgr in many ways, and Virus Total is also integrated into PE...

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/microsoft_process_explorer.html