GW
Understand your dilemma and it’s a fact that if too many programs are loading at start-up it can slow down your system, although you mention that some programs are already uninstalled.
Believe your problem is registry related and you may need to clean up your registry – I find “RegCleaner” (h**p://jv16.org) very handy, so to speak.
Another useful utility is PC Magazines TrayManager. This is a utility that sits in your System Tray and “holds” all your program icons, so you only have visible the icons you want – cut’s down on the clutter.
Already suggested was to run msconfig but if your program wasn't in the StartUp folder, check the Registry.
Go to Start | Run and type regedit. Go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion section. Look for the Run key, which contains a number of strings--programs Windows loads. You can delete keys at your discretion. Make a backup of the registry first in case you delete anything that’s needed by Windows. Restart Windows without restarting your computer – it can be quicker.
Note:
When you need to restart Windows, here's how to cut short the sometimes lengthy reboot process. Launch Notepad and type the following line:
@EXIT
Save the file as C
Windows\Desktop \Restart.bat. An icon for the file will show up on your desktop. Right-click on the icon; choose Properties, then the Program tab. Make sure the "Close on Exit" option is enabled. Click the Advanced button, and make sure that the MS-DOS mode option is selected and that the "Warn before entering MS-DOS mode" option is deselected. Click OK to close both dialog boxes. A second icon (Restart.pif) will be created. Double-click on this icon whenever you need to restart Windows.
If nerves jangle when using Regedit, you may wish to just deselect from msconfig if the programs are listed there.
Whatever route you take, you will definitely need Explorer and Systray.exe.
Hope this helps.
HA