Can you set a time delay for programs in the "Startup" folder?

[Nemmeh]

Hey guys,

Does anyone know of a way to do a time delay for any program listed in the "Startup" folder. I have a security app that has to check itself against a physical security key which is attached via the usb port.

The problem exists that upon startup, the program that looks for the security key attempts to do so before the usb drivers or something inside of Windows XP is active, so when the program looks for the key upon initial bootup it doesn't see the key.

The workaround for this problem is to close the program and reopen it once bootup is complete, then it sees the key without any problems.

An ultimate solution to this problem would be to create a delayed startup for the program, say 10-15 second delay.. Then if it started up at that time it would see the key without any problems and I wouldn't have to manually restart the program each time.

I know there are 3rd party apps that will do this delayed startup for you, I am mainly looking for a way to do it inside the registry or by another means without having to rely on a 3rd party app to accomplish this task.

Any ideas on accomplishing this?

 

[AtTheGates]

You could probably do this with a really quick batch file.

ping 1.1.1.1 -n 1 -w 5000
start C:\foo\bar.exe

This would ping nothing for 5 seconds and then execute the program.

pause
start C:\foo\bar.exe

This would pop up a window that says Press any key to continue. When you press a key the program will execute.

There is also a sleep command in the resource kit but its a large download if you can't find the sleep program on its own.

 

[GfW]

I can't think of the name right now, but there is a utility I have used in the past that will do this for you. You can actually set the timing of what programs start when at startup. I found it on NoNags a couple of years ago and used it for a while.
If I can find it I'll post again.

 

[AtTheGates]

The program GfW is talking about is probably Startup Delayer.