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Startup Controller

Manage all startup sources in one place with reversible toggles, delay options for user-scope items, and backups that mirror Task Manager’s enabled/disabled state.

Page Anatomy

  • Inventory: Consolidated list across Run/RunOnce (HKCU/HKLM), Startup folders (per-user and common), logon scheduled tasks, and autostart services. Shows signing info, impact, last modified, and enabled state (StartupApproved-aware).
  • Actions: Enable/disable with per-entry backup, delay launch for user-scope entries (default ~45s via replacement logon task), and restore from backup. Toggles disable while operations run.
  • Filters and counters: Quick filters for unsigned/high-impact and source types; enabled/disabled visibility toggles and counters that respect current filters.

Guardrails

  • Elevation checks: HKLM and service operations require admin; attempts without elevation are blocked with clear errors.
  • Backups for every change: Registry values, startup files, scheduled task enablement, and service start/delayed-start settings are captured before modification so restores can be applied per entry.
  • Task Manager parity: Explorer StartupApproved values are read to keep enabled/disabled chips consistent with Task Manager.
  • Scope limits on delay: Delay is only offered for user-scope Run/StartupFolder entries; services and machine-scope tasks are excluded to avoid breaking boot flows.
  • Logging and state refresh: All operations log to the Activity Log; inventory refresh updates counters and filter results after changes.

Backup and Restore

  • Registry entries: Backup stores name, data, root, and subkey; restore rewrites the value and drops the backup record.
  • Startup files: Moved to %ProgramData%/TidyWindow/StartupBackups/files with the original path retained; restore moves it back.
  • Scheduled tasks: Captures Enabled state and reapplies on restore.
  • Services: Captures Start and DelayedAutoStart and reapplies on restore; no delay scheduling is attempted.
  • Delay plans: Replacement task paths are tracked; warnings surface if a vendor re-adds the original entry.

Troubleshooting

  • Task Manager mismatch: Ensure StartupApproved entries exist for the account; refresh inventory to sync states.
  • Cannot toggle service/task: Requires elevation and a valid Task Scheduler path; rerun as admin if blocked.
  • Missing delay task: Check Activity Log warnings; rerun Delay to recreate if a vendor removed it.

Testing Hints

  • Run targeted tests for startup controller views and filters in the app test suite.
  • Validate disabled-state parity by editing StartupApproved entries and confirming the UI mirrors Task Manager.