Vista 32bit. Downloaded, Installed, Registered flawlessly. While this program may help some, it took WAYYYY too many liberties with my machine for my comfort. It essentially took over, would not self-terminate when requested by menu, did not even list itself on the Startup menu for modification if required (I know, you can use it's internal scheduler/options - only, not to schedule it!). Would not even let me restore to the backup'd settings it took before it installed itself (i.e. would restore with itself back in control - took a lot of personal work to remove it). IF you decide to install, think hard about how much you might want or use it first as it is harder than a virus to get rid of.

Greg  –  12 years ago  –  ¿Te ha parecido útil este comentario? si | no (+162)

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Microsoft AutoRuns. Enough said.
This does everything, is always free, and has a small footprint. Developed by the SysInternals team, so is still being updated.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902

Chris Locke  –  12 years ago  –  ¿Te ha parecido útil este comentario? si | no (+114)

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Not for the first time is a debt of gratitude owed to GAOTD not only for the way it releases free software each day but also for the facility GAOTD has created here whereby people can report on their personal experience of a download-of-the-day.

A big thankyou then to Greg at post #3, because if ever an alarm bell was rung loudly, then it's Greg's post.

Had it not been for Greg's comment, I was just about to D/L and try this, because on the face of it Neosoft Tools certainly offers more than that component of CCleaner relating to start up management.

But, as always with apps such as this, Chameleon Startup Manager needs to be compared not with CCleaner but with the daddy of 'em all: Bill Pytlovany's WinPatrol, the very first startup manager to be created other than Windows' early effort.

Bill's deceptively simple yet amazingly comprehensive app is a staple ingredient of not merely thousands but millions of computers worldwide. That's because it seems to have been around since the dawn of time and also. . . because it works. Bill is still around, still improving and refining WinPatrol as the years go by, and Bill's now world-famous Scotty dog is still around too, ready to bark a warning at anything that looks like it may have the potential to place a computer at risk.

And it's that darn dog, and that huge range of abilities -- WinPatrol is far, far more than merely a Windows Startup organiser: it's one of the best PC management tools ever created -- which makes me wonder what on earth Neosoft Tools is thinking of if it is counting on earning $25 for a startup program manager alone: for only another $4 it's possible to pay for a lifetime licence of WinPatrol Plus.

I've had Scotty (he has his own fan club) barking on all my computers for the past 12 years and I wouldn't even run a computer without his little black silhouette sitting there, ever watchful, in the tray.

Though I still find it inconceivable that anyone here would not have WinPatrol as both a startup manager and a valuable line of defence, that's evidently the case where so many posters are concerned who seem to think only of CCleaner and Windows auto-run. On which basis, then, here's the link:

http://www.winpatrol.com/

Just download the FREE version because you can unlock the paid-for Plus features at any time if you decide you want / need them. That said, the free version is anything but 'lite'.

As for today's GAOTD, I've no doubt that, according to the developer's own website, the PRO version of Chameleon is more fully featured than WinPatrol Free. But what's available from Neosoft Tools today is the Standard version. . . and whether free today or $25 tomorrow, it offers nothing in the way of a meaningful, fundamental improvement over WinPatrol Free.

Factoring in Greg's experience at #3 then, many thanks as ever, GAOTD, and Neosoft Tools, but no thanks: I don't want to face a $25 bill for re-installing this single-function app when WinPatrol Free offers so very much more for nothing at all.

MikeR  –  12 years ago  –  ¿Te ha parecido útil este comentario? si | no (+76)

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This is the standard version,so this is not in this Giveaway!

Most of the new features

Change startup profiles for all Windows users

Applying configurations 'on-the-fly' without restarting Windows

Necessary programs can be run and unnecessary programs closed using one button without reloading Windows

Working in Windows Vista/7 without UAC prompts

You can start programs with administrator permissions without confirming the privileges

Automatic delayed program launch

Each program is launched in sequence after the previous one finishes starting

.....so the description of today's program above, is misleading!

Svend Ö  –  12 years ago  –  ¿Te ha parecido útil este comentario? si | no (+74)

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@11 OldScotty, you said "The main advantage of this program is the ability to delay start-ups, this stops a bunch of programs fighting for the CPU at the same time, this feature is not found in CCleaner or msconfig. The last time I used it on my old machine it reduced my boot time considerably and I reckon it is well worth giving it a try."

I agree with you about the advantages of startup management, and that's why I recommend the free version of WinPatrol. A couple of people have already recommended WinPatrol and for some strange reason they have been voted down for doing so. The reason that I use WinPatrol rather than Microsoft Autoruns is that WinPatrol offers the ability to delay startups. WinPatrol also pops up to inform you about new additions to your startup, and changes to your file associations, which often happens unexpectedly when programs are being registered, and it gives you the choice to reverse these changes. The free version includes nearly all of the functionality of the Pro version; the Pro version appears to be offered for those people who actively want to support the developer. So like the others, I recommend WinPatrol.

Julia  –  12 years ago  –  ¿Te ha parecido útil este comentario? si | no (+61)

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