Where is Startup in the other "side" of the Start Menu in Windows 7?

The "Startup" folder that appears in the Windows 7 Start Menu includes the contents of two folders (like much of the Start Menu, it includes "public" entries and "per user" entries):

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

C:\Users<userprofilename>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

I tried both. Neither worked.

I tried both. Neither worked.

Then you've very likely corrupted your Windows installation with your various experiments with the Windows Registry. The first thing to check, however, is the validity of the shortcut you placed in the designated folders. Double-click it and see if the program starts as you expect.

Check the following Registry locations (the difference between the first and second entries in each of the key pairs below is that in the first one, the environment variable -- the item between percent symbols -- has been replaced with its actual value). If these registry entries are correct and placing a shortcut in the designated folders does not cause the program to start on Windows startup, there likely is deeper registry corruption that I'm not able to help you with.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

There should be an entry in the right pane that looks like this:

Startup REG_EXPAND_SZ C:\Users<userprofilename>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

There should be an entry in the right pane that looks like this:

Startup REG_EXPAND_SZ %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

There should be an entry in the right pane that looks like this:

Common Startup REG_EXPAND_SZ C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

There should be an entry in the right pane that looks like this:

Common Startup REG_EXPAND_SZ %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

*******************************************************************************************************

Open the Start Menu and right-click "All Programs." You should see 3 options:

Open (typically in bold type as the default operation)

Properties

Open All Users

If you click "Open," you should go to C:\Users<userprofilename>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu and will see one entry -- a folder named Programs. There should be a folder named Startup within that Programs folder.

If you click "Open All Users," you should go to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu and will see at least a folder named Programs (there may also be shortcuts to "Default Programs" and "Windows Update"). There should be a folder named Startup within this Programs folder as well as the other one.

For additional information, see https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/135246-start-menu-all-programs-windows-7-restore-default-shortcuts.html

Yeah I think you nailed it. I've had some other problems where the Task Scheduler didn't work at all. Must be the Registry. By deleting a folder with Registry data I discovered I just can't create another folder in the same place and expect it to act like the previously deleted one did if it doesn't have the right Registry info.

I recently tried deleting a large folder to save space on C drive, also I was just curious if it would make any difference. It was the C:\Windows\Assembly and it was about 1.5 gb. Not its less than 1k! I deleted it but held it in the Recycle Bin for a few days to see if there would be anything different and there didn't seem to be. But I had problems with Task Scheduler not working for a very long time, can't remember what could have caused that.

Can I just copy and paste shortcuts into MSCONFIG, Startup? I always have used MSCONFIG to stop programs from starting automatically. Now I need it to do the opposite! But I don't see any way of "inserting" a program into it so it starts automatically.