Starting Programs Automatically

While the system is starting, programs will be started as a result of:

Inclusion of commands in STARTUP.CMD

This command file is used exactly as it was in previous releases of OS/2. During installation of IBM OS/2 LAN Server components, a STARTUP.CMD file is optionally built, which automatically starts the LAN Server components that were installed. STARTUP.CMD is useful for running programs where:

• The order in which programs run is important; one program must complete before the next one is started

• A program must be run only if the previous program ran successfully.

The Startup folder contains program objects which are to be run when the Workplace Shell is started. An example is LOGON.EXE which performs a logon to the server. It should not be used to start programs which are to run continuously. The Startup folder is found in the OS/2 System folder which appears on the OS/2 desktop. For a detailed discussion of folders and objects see OS/2 Version 2.0 - Volume 3: Presentation Manager and Workplace Shell.

Programs not closed before the last system shutdown

All programs that were started and were still running when the system was last shutdown will be restarted when the system is next started. This is the preferred method for starting those programs which will run continuously. An example is the Communications Manager when it is used to provide host terminal emulation.

It possible to suppress automatically starting programs from the Startup folder and programs that were not closed. During startup of the Workplace Shell after rebooting the operating system, press and hold the Ctrl, left Shift and F1 keys when the white screen first appears and hold them down till the icons appear on the screen.