Overview

GSA Autostart Cleaner is a startup program manager for several versions of Windows which allows the user to see which programs are set to load when Windows does.

The software can delete startup entries to prevent a program from loading up next time Windows is either restarted or loaded from cold start up. The software can load startup entries inside INI files, BAT files, auto-start files and the Windows registry.

There is an extra feature to manually edit the Windows Explorer context menu to be able to remove extra unwanted entries there too. This can be handy when other programs have added an entry to the file manager which was not wanted.

Installation

The installation required 10.3 MB of available space.

There was no adware, toolbars, spyware or malware included with the setup package.

GSA Autostart Cleaner requires Windows 95, 98, XP. 2000, 2003, Vista or later.

Interface

The interface is a pretty simple one.

There are three small navigation tabs at the top of the application window: Programs, Context menu, and Other Options. The main display alters itself depending on which tab is clicked on.

The program is designed to scan the Windows registry, INI files, BAT files and auto-start menu entries to locate programs that are set to start up then next time that Windows loads. It then lists then in the main pane.

Each program entry is shown with its file name, location and where the startup entry was located (Registry, file or elsewhere). Information about the selected program is shown below the startup file list when an individual file is selected. Once selected, right-clicking over the program will bring up a context menu with the option to add the startup item, remove it, Google the entry to try to obtain more information about the program, or to refresh the program list.

Pros

• Start up manager that can look inside INI files, BAT files, auto-start entries, and the Windows registry for programs loading at startup
• Google lookup for more program information to make a decision about startup
• Information about the selected entry shown below the startup program list
• Edit the context menu for Windows Explorer to remove invalid or unwanted entries

Cons

• Other packages like CCleaner include a better startup manager with the option to temporarily disable a program but not delete its entry
• Not necessary to install a separate app just to manage startup entries

Alternatives

CCleaner has cleaner options, but also a useful startup manager with more options than GSA Autostart Cleaner.

Conclusion

GSA Autostart Cleaner is an older standalone startup manager which whilst offering decent options is not as feature-packed as other integrated system utilities that include a startup manager.