Well, basically very same problem as in there but the thread seems to be now closed: http://boinc.berkeley.edu/dev/forum_thread.php?id=3159
I just started using BOINC again, and since the client kept begging me to upgrade, I did... now the sneaky b**** launches itself at boot time, without even loading the client (the computing cores run silently in the background, pretty much like a virus). HOW DO I GET RID OF THAT STARTUP PARASITE? I mean, without uninstalling the whole s*** (which I'll soon end up doing for good if I can't find another way).

I browsed through the services, no BOINC there (unless it uses a fake name?).
I looked into the Startup folder of the start menu, no BOINC there.
I basically looked everywhere using RegRun, no BOINC there. Actually, Regrun didn't even notice that BOINC added itself to system startup - kudos, that's better than ALL viruses I ever met so far! But that seriously pisses me off.

And of course I didn't find an option in the BOINC client to disable that rogue behavior.
Long story short, I'm infected by a virus which raises my electricity bill, keeps my CPU warm and makes my boot time longer. How do I fix it?

There is, in fact, a control for this.

Find the BOINC Manager program - either through the start menu, or as a hidden icon which will be running in the Notification Area (system tray for older versions of Windows).

Switch to 'Advanced View', if it isn't already. From the 'Tools' menu, select 'Display and network options...'.

Uncheck the option for 'Run Manager at login?'. Close BOINC Manager fully (File|Exit) to ensure that the new setting is flushed to the registry. And you should be good to go.

Note that if more then one user has access to the computer, you may have to repeat this exercise for each user login account.

Thanks, that seems to be what I missed. I actually didn't think about looking for an auto-start option within a "display and network" option panel.
I'd be really curious to know how BOINC adds itself to start up, as RegRun totally misses it (when I disabled it it didn't see it either).

Thanks, that seems to be what I missed. I actually didn't think about looking for an auto-start option within a "display and network" option panel.
I'd be really curious to know how BOINC adds itself to start up, as RegRun totally misses it (when I disabled it it didn't see it either).

It is in the registry:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"boincmgr"="\"C:\\Program Files\\BOINC\\boincmgr.exe\" /a /s"

I agree about the misleading menu location.

It is in the registry:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"boincmgr"="\"C:\\Program Files\\BOINC\\boincmgr.exe\" /a /s"

Yes, but that one doesn't do the autostart of the manager, as I have it as well and mine doesn't autostart.

Instead, it's the ENABLELAUNCHATLOGON key at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Space Sciences Laboratory, U.C. Berkeley\BOINC Setup that does the autostart. 1 will make it autostart, 0 or no value will not.

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It is in the registry:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"boincmgr"="\"C:\\Program Files\\BOINC\\boincmgr.exe\" /a /s"

Yes, but that one doesn't do the autostart of the manager, as I have it as well and mine doesn't autostart.

Instead, it's the ENABLELAUNCHATLOGON key at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Space Sciences Laboratory, U.C. Berkeley\BOINC Setup that does the autostart. 1 will make it autostart, 0 or no value will not.

I think Rom explained it once on boinc_alpha.

The HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE...Run is a global setting which does start the Manager - every time.

But the first thing it does is test

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Space Sciences Laboratory, U.C. Berkeley\BOINC Manager]
"DisableAutoStart"=dword:00000001

to see whether BOINC should be running for the current user - and if that is set, it closes itself down again before you notice anything. That's why you have to set the option checkbox individually for each user of the machine (it defaults to enabled).

I'm not sure exactly what ENABLELAUNCHATLOGON does - it doesn't seem to have a value on my systems, even the ones which do autostart. But because it's in a "Space Sciences Laboratory" key, it can only be read by some BOINC program or other, which means that BOINC program would have to be running already for it to have any effect. Because it's in the 'Setup' subkey, I suspect it may be intended to control the default setting of the 'Run Manager' checkbox on the final installation screen, the next time the installer is run.

But the first thing it does is test

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Space Sciences Laboratory, U.C. Berkeley\BOINC Manager]
"DisableAutoStart"=dword:00000001

Ah yes, that was the one. However, I just pointed out that the HKLM key is always there, in that fashion, just so people don't think that deleting it from there will fix their auto-start 'problem'. Deleting that entry may even bring unwanted error messages in pop-ups.

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Thanks, that seems to be what I missed. I actually didn't think about looking for an auto-start option within a "display and network" option panel.
I'd be really curious to know how BOINC adds itself to start up, as RegRun totally misses it (when I disabled it it didn't see it either).

It is in the registry:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"boincmgr"="\"C:\\Program Files\\BOINC\\boincmgr.exe\" /a /s"

I agree about the misleading menu location.

Interesting... Regrun doesn't seem to see anything in this key! I actually have 2 entries there:

boincmgr="F:\INTERNET\BOINC\boincmgr.exe" /a /s
boinctray="F:\INTERNET\BOINC\boinctray.exe"

Thanks, that seems to be what I missed. I actually didn't think about looking for an auto-start option within a "display and network" option panel.
I'd be really curious to know how BOINC adds itself to start up, as RegRun totally misses it (when I disabled it it didn't see it either).

It is in the registry:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"boincmgr"="\"C:\\Program Files\\BOINC\\boincmgr.exe\" /a /s"

I agree about the misleading menu location.

Interesting... Regrun doesn't seem to see anything in this key! I actually have 2 entries there:

boincmgr="F:\INTERNET\BOINC\boincmgr.exe" /a /s
boinctray="F:\INTERNET\BOINC\boinctray.exe"

Boinctray is a small utility which monitors user activity (keyboard and mouse) to assist BOINC to implement preferences like "don't run while user is active". It's part of the suite, sure, but not one which will cause you any problems.

Interesting... Regrun doesn't seem to see anything in this key!

What is Regrun for then? The various "run" keys (Run, RunOnce..) are the first place to look for autostarting programs in the registry.

Gruß,
Gundolf

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Computer sind nicht alles im Leben. (Kleiner Scherz)

It is in the registry:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"boincmgr"="\"C:\\Program Files\\BOINC\\boincmgr.exe\" /a /s"

Interesting... Regrun doesn't seem to see anything in this key! I actually have 2 entries there:

boincmgr="F:\INTERNET\BOINC\boincmgr.exe" /a /s
boinctray="F:\INTERNET\BOINC\boinctray.exe"

Give the SysInternals' AutoRuns a try.

Peter

Interesting... Regrun doesn't seem to see anything in this key!

What is Regrun for then? The various "run" keys (Run, RunOnce..) are the first place to look for autostarting programs in the registry.

Yeah... They've really been going down since Windows 7 IMO... They've created a massive amount of additional useless side tools instead of focusing on the single feature of interest to me (monitoring ALL startup entries). It's sad it reached the point where they obviously fail on that feature :(

Give the SysInternals' AutoRuns a try.

Good one, thanks. Doesn't really do all I need (monitor what's being changed on startup), but should be more helpful than Regrun next time something's bothering me at startup ^^