Which registry path stores startup programs for the current user on Windows?

Which registry path stores startup programs for the current user on Windows?

• A. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
• B. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
• C. HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
• D. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Run

Answer: (B)

Startup items for the current user are stored under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. This location is tied to the active user’s profile, so programs listed here run at logon only for the user who is signed in. If you want a program to run at startup for all users on the machine, you’d place it under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. The path HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run is for the default (not currently logged-in) user profile, not the active user’s session. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Run isn’t used as a startup location for per-user programs.

Startup items for the current user are stored under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. This location is tied to the active user’s profile, so programs listed here run at logon only for the user who is signed in. If you want a program to run at startup for all users on the machine, you’d place it under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. The path HKEY_USERS.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run is for the default (not currently logged-in) user profile, not the active user’s session. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Run isn’t used as a startup location for per-user programs.