There is a most excellent freeware utility called "Startup" written by Mike Lin. Just Google "startup mike Lin" and download it.
Here is one link but I haven't tried it:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details ... rsion.html
Managing the startup folder is a real pain in the neck because it is so complicated and difficult to find your startup folder. Mike Lin's utility makes it simple as pie.
For example, on my PC, the startup folder is found under the following path.
"C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup"
Can you believe that you have to remember such a complicated path in order to access the Startup folder yourself? I can't believe Microsoft never provided any easier way. The AHK documentation just says to "Navigate to the Startup folder inside the Programs folder." But, IMO, that is woefully inadequate. You can find the Startup folder under the hidden folder called "C:\ProgramData". But you must first remove its "hidden" attribute. You can do this by using Windows Explorer and selecting "Tools" then "Folder Options" then "View" and specify "Show Hidden files, Foders and Drives".
For these reasons, it is just so much easier to use Mik Lin's Startup utility. P.S. Here is an extract from the FAQ section in the AHK documentation:
How do I put my hotkeys and hotstrings into effect automatically every time I start my PC?
There is a folder in the Start Menu called Startup. If you put a shortcut to your script in that folder, the script will launch automatically every time you start your PC. To create a shortcut:
Find the script file, select it, and press Control-C.
Right-click the Start button (typically at the lower left corner of the screen) and choose "Explore All Users".
Navigate to the Startup folder inside the Programs folder.
From the menu bar, choose Edit -> Paste Shortcut. The shortcut to the script should now be in the Startup folder.
It says "Navigate to the Startup folder inside the Programs folder.: But that is not nearly enough information. "
I am running Windows 7. I can't see any selection called "Explore All Users" and when I try to find the Startup folder myself, I can't find any folder called the "Programs" folder.
There are these 3 folders: "Program Files", "Program Files (x86)" and "ProgramData". The Startup folder is found under the "ProgramData" folder which is a hidden folder by the way.
I strongly recommend that you should use Mike Lin's Startup utility. It's very much simpler than trying to do it for yourself.
In the following thread:
https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic ... 92#p218992
Swagfag posted that you can access the Startup folder for an individual user by opening the Run Box (you should be able to do this by pressing Win+r
Then you enter the command: shell:startup
That should open Windows Explorer to the folder "C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup" which is the Startup folder for an individual user of the PC"
Jeeswg then posted that you can access the Startup folder for all users by opening the Run Box (you should be able to do this by pressing Win+r
Then you enter the command: shell:Common Startup
That should open Windows Explorer to the folder "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup" which is the Startup folder for the entire PC (for all users of the PC)