You may need to launch multiple start-up programs in order, perhaps to connect to a VPN before launching a program that needs that connection. First, create a new folder in the 'C:\' directory and name it 'Ordered Launch'. Next drag any shortcuts that reside in 'Start->All Programs->Startup' to the new folder. Go to 'Start->All Programs->Accessories' and select 'Command Prompt'. Type in the line below then press Enter.
Dir "C:\Ordered Launch" /b /s > Ordered.bat
This will create a file in the C:\ directory called 'Ordered.bat'. Open this file with Notepad and rearrange the lines so the programs will start in the desired order. After rearranging the lines, you must then enter the start command onto each line. So each line should look something like this:
start "C:\Ordered Launch\First Program.lnk"
start "C:\Ordered Launch\Second Program.lnk"
Double-click on the 'Ordered.bat' file to test it. The programs will start in the specified order, but if one takes longer to initialize, it may appear out of order. If that happens, insert a delay line after the slow starting program. The line should then look like this:
start "C:\Ordered Launch\Slow Program.lnk" ping -n 5 127.0.0.1 > nul
This will create a five second delay before the next program starts. If the program still starts too slow, you can change the five to a higher number to up the time in seconds before the next program starts. After making sure all the programs start in the order you want, go to 'Start->Programs', right-click on 'Startup' and select 'Open'. Now right-click on the 'Ordered.bat' file and drag it to the Startup folder, selecting 'Create Shortcuts Here' in the menu that appears.
