How to Use Prime95: Options Menu - Start at Bootup

# OPTIONS MENU - Start at Bootup

## Start at Bootup

Checking the Start at Bootup menu choice will run prime95 as a service that is started when your computer boots up. Windows NT/2000/XP users need administrator privileges to use this feature. This method of starting prime95 is better than creating a shortcut to prime95 in the startup folder. That is because services run even when no one is logged on. These are the details you should be aware of:
In Windows 95/98/Me:
The HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices registry entry is created. You will not be able to tell any difference between prime95 running as a service and prime95 running as an ordinary process.
In Windows NT/2000/XP (without administrator privileges):
In this case the menu text is changed to "Start at Logon". The HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run is created. Prime95 will run only when you are logged in.
In Windows NT/2000/XP (with administrator privileges):
There are a few minor quirks when running as a service. You shouldn't run into these quirks in normal operation. You can only change this option once and it will take effect when the service is started or stopped. You will need to exit prime95 running as a normal process before starting the prime95 service. Finally, the prime95 window will only appear on one users desktop. Only one prime95.exe program can be run as a service. If you have a dual processor system you'll want to run two instances of prime95. Instead of running a second prime95 from another directory, run the second prime95 from the same directory with the -A1 switch (go to a DOS window and type “prime95 –A1”). Finally, if you are worried about giving users access to a GUI service running in the Local System account, you can turn off the "Allow service to interact with desktop" option in the services control panel applet or run the GUI-less NT service version available at http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm. These options are more secure than using the No Icon menu choice