RunIt

Some of the most important Windows services automatically start just before you reach the desktop. However, there are also some third-party applications which integrate themselves within the list of startup items. It’s possible to add custom entries through default methods, or simply relying on applications like RunIt.

There isn’t a setup process involved to make the application work, so you can see what it can do for you from the moment download is done. This also means that it’s possible to have it carried around on a thumb drive in case you want or need to use it on other computers. The only changes to system registry entries are to enable runtime on startup, which don’t really affect the overall health status.

Don’t be confused by the browse dialog which shows up when launching the application, because it’s merely the first step of the process. Canceling brings up a dialog informing you that no program is selected, while actually picking a file informs you that the new entry got successfully added to the list of startup items.

Default methods of adding custom programs to the list of startup items include copying a shortcut of the target executable to the system Startup folder. This is relatively what the application wants to accomplish, but it does so in a safe manner, without putting runtime at risk, or causing any compatibility options.

The way this is accomplished is through registry entries. Instead of simply creating a default entry with the target program name, a preset prefix is added so that the new startup item bypasses any existing configurations, without creating any problems.

Taking everything into consideration, we can state that RunIt is a pretty straightforward application you can use to set up new programs to run with Windows. Sadly, management flexibility is rather poor, since there’s no control over attributes or existing items, but it does make it a bit easier than the default method.