Cannot access all startup items in Windows 8

[ericwish1]

Should I post the "Everything" tab or just the "logon" tab?

 

[ericwish1]

Ztruker
I am assuming the "logon" tab will be more helpful but let me know if you want me to add other tabs.

 

[Ztruker]

That's good enough. It shows more than the Startup tab of Task Manager which is what I wanted to see.

I really don't have a clue what is going on since they both get their data from the same place, your registry.

You upgraded from 8.0 to 8.1 which is much like doing a Repair (Refresh) install. The only thing I can think of at this point is to do a Clean Install of 8.0, make sure everything works, then do the 8.1 upgrade again. Painfull and time consuming but I don't have any other ideas.

 

[Ztruker]

Just had an idea. Try booting to Safe Mode. Not a simple process in Windows 8 but worth a try.

First, enable the hidden Administrator account:

Open a Elevated Command Prompt.
Type net user administrator /active:yes and press Enter.
Exit command prompt.

Press Windows key + C
Click Settings
Click Power
Hold shift key and click RESTART.
Click on Advanced Options then Startup Settings.
Click Restart and you have almost the full advanced Boot Options menu like XP, Vista or Win 7.

 

[ericwish1]

Do you mean to check the startup items while in safe mode?

 

[Ztruker]

Yes, see if anything is different.

 

[ericwish1]

Ztruker
I was afraid you were going to say that. Safe mode didn't change anything. Yet autoruns and Ccleaner both show what is actually starting up. Is there a way to delete and either restore or create a new entry in the registry for these items without completely screwing up the whole computer?

 

[Ztruker]

None that I'm aware of.

All I can think of to try at this point is a Repair Install: Repair Install - Windows 7 Help Forums

 

[ericwish1]

I was afraid you would say that but the problem is that I bought this brand new from Best Buy and the first day I turned it on I installed Norton and all my other software before doing any other internet activity and as mentioned, this has happened since day 1. I feel like I sound like a broken record now but if it has been like this since the beginning, do you really think a repair install would fix it? Could the fact that there was already pre-installed Asus software on here have anything to do with this startup issue?

 

[Ztruker]

I don't see why ASUS software would be causing this. They sell a lot of computers and I've not seen this problem before with them.

If this was my computer, I would backup any data I didn't want to lose then restoe to factory new state and start over, checking things as you go along.

Edit: What is the make and full model number of the computer? Should be able to find the online users guide that describes how to restore to factory state.

 

[ericwish1]

It is one of the ultrabooks, or as Asus calls them, zenbooks. Its specific model is UX31A-BHI5T11[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]. [/FONT]It doesn't look like there is a recovery partition and that is why I am worried because there is a specific Asus splash screen and custom touch pad software, etc. I looked on the website and there are drivers for Windows 8, but not nearly the same amount of drivers for 8.1 which worries me.

 

[XweAponX]

You cant see 'Startup" unless "More Details" is clicked.

 

[ericwish1]

XweAponX ​

I have been aware of that, it was one of the first tips suggested. That is not the issue. I am assuming it has something to do with a registry error, however, I am not completely sure.

​

 

[Ztruker]

Windows 8 drivers work fine with 8.1 so that should not be a problem.

 

[ericwish1]

Ztruker

Sorry I have been pretty busy, so I have been unable to try anymore troubleshooting. But before I exhaust all effort and go forth with the complete OS re-installation, I was wondering if you either have any colleagues on here, or anywhere else that might be able to weigh in with another opinion on a possible fix before I start this time consuming process?​

 

[ericwish1]

Has this issue been collectively given up on? It has been suggested to reinstall Windows. Not only do I not want to do unnecessary work, but my original argument that makes me less and less attracted to this potential solution is that since I turned this laptop on, on day 1, without any additional software or anything, this issue has existed and I don't have the slightest idea why. If any other power users could potentially weigh in on this, I would really appreciate it.

 

[ectech]

Post a full screenshot of autoruns.

I'd like to see all the entries missing.

 

[ericwish1]

Well since day 1, up to 2 things show within the startup tab, either just Btmshellex or that and Dropbox. But I had previously posted the logon tab from auto run, here it is again.

 

[ectech]

What seems to be missing?

 

[ericwish1]

Literally everything. Like I said, at the most the only 2 things that pop up are the Dropbox program and the bluetooth shell. I have Gmail notifier, Norton Internet Security, Hotspot Shield VPN service, Asus mouse gesture software and multiple other things that are actually starting up but do not appear in the startup tab in the task manager.