help me find where an app is setup in Win10 to start on boot

[JimKiler]

I installed Asus AI Suite 3 onto my in laws PC and i like most of the features but it added aspowerbar.exe automatically to start with windows. This is a fan control app and runs automatically at startup and they do not need that much control. I checked on taskmanager the startup, i checked services and task scheduler. I did get rid of EZ update BIOS updater in task scheduler but i cannot figure out where to disable aspowerbar.exe. I did delete the exe file but now i just get a pop up at startup that something is wrong. Where else could be the trigger to start this app?

 

[deustroop]

I installed Asus AI Suite 3 onto my in laws PC and i like most of the features but it added aspowerbar.exe automatically to start with windows. This is a fan control app and runs automatically at startup and they do not need that much control. I checked on taskmanager the startup, i checked services and task scheduler. I did get rid of EZ update BIOS updater in task scheduler but i cannot figure out where to disable aspowerbar.exe. I did delete the exe file but now i just get a pop up at startup that something is wrong. Where else could be the trigger to start this app?

Go to the Cortana search bar and type in and pull up regedit. Go to HKeyLocal Machine/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Run.It may be there.

If its there,in the right hand pane, right click and delete.

Careful not to change anything else .


Many will first back up the registry to a file and save it on the drive .Like this:

"To back up the complete Registry, open Regedit, select Computer and right-click on it. Now select Export."

You would double click the saved file to reinstall the registry in case you f*** it up (lol).

Which brings up a point. Is there a back up plan for the new system ? There are many posts with learned advice on the topic in the forums. A back up on a regular basis is RULE 12 of best practices.

 

[JimKiler]

i forgot to say i searched regedit for powerbar and deleted a couple entries but i was not paying attention to where they were located in the registry. I now went to the location you directed me and there is no powerbar entry. Create Process failed (2). is the error i get now when i log in. Is the Asus AI Suite 3 main exe somehow triggering this app?

 

[deustroop]

Is this error in the Event Viewer ? Have you an entry in the name of the app in installed programs ? (Control Panel/programs ?)
Perhaps reinstall everything to get back to normal . Search google for uninstalling it if it does not show up in installed programs .

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I hope you can get this all back under control before anyone concludes something as drastic as a Windows reinstall. Deleting things in the registry without a clear plan or understanding of the result can lead to trouble.

I could hope you didn't install any other software at this point, and you could roll back the system to a checkpoint before you made those changes.

The other advice I saw required simply re-installing the Suite 3 and hoping it would put things back in order.

What I know about Suite 3 is this: you're best to uninstall it from Programs and Features, or from the ASUS "uninstall" in the start menu. But after you do that, you will want to run a "cleaner" program made available at the ROG forums for that purpose -- if you can get it. You don't need the fan-control software, but you CAN work within an ASUS BIOS to get the same result. The software isn't needed; you can use a different monitoring program like HWInfo64. you don't need the "turbo" and other parts if you accept the inconvenience of getting into BIOS to tweak and overclock -- which admits less uncertainty or confusion.

I wouldn't hesitate to tell an enthusiast-ASUS user to install the bundled Suite for use while building the system -- PROVIDED that there's no evidence among other users (in forums, etc.) that UNINSTALLING the software needs that sort of special attention -- a "cleaner" for instance.

 

[JimKiler]

I hope you can get this all back under control before anyone concludes something as drastic as a Windows reinstall. Deleting things in the registry without a clear plan or understanding of the result can lead to trouble.

I could hope you didn't install any other software at this point, and you could roll back the system to a checkpoint before you made those changes.

The other advice I saw required simply re-installing the Suite 3 and hoping it would put things back in order.

What I know about Suite 3 is this: you're best to uninstall it from Programs and Features, or from the ASUS "uninstall" in the start menu. But after you do that, you will want to run a "cleaner" program made available at the ROG forums for that purpose -- if you can get it. You don't need the fan-control software, but you CAN work within an ASUS BIOS to get the same result. The software isn't needed; you can use a different monitoring program like HWInfo64. you don't need the "turbo" and other parts if you accept the inconvenience of getting into BIOS to tweak and overclock -- which admits less uncertainty or confusion.

I wouldn't hesitate to tell an enthusiast-ASUS user to install the bundled Suite for use while building the system -- PROVIDED that there's no evidence among other users (in forums, etc.) that UNINSTALLING the software needs that sort of special attention -- a "cleaner" for instance.

While i don't play in the registry very often, i felt confident that deleting and keys for this one app would not break windows and so far I have been proven correct. As you and duestroop mentioned the easiest thing to do would be to uninstall the AI Suite software altogether but i would like to learn how this stupid fan control app gets triggered and so i wanted to broaden my PC knowledge. This is my in laws PC and they definitely do not need that software but i thought when i have to tech support it in 5 years having it on there to tell me about there components would help. Obviously there are other ways i can refresh myself with their parts than this particular software.

As far as I can tell this aspowerbar.exe is only been around for 30 days or so. I probably have to wait until it is more common and someone else posts somewhere a solution and i can find it on google.

Thanks both of you.

 

[deustroop]

Believe it or not, ASUS now has live tech support.
English Speaking*
System Product Support:
1-888-678-3688 (toll free)
Available
24/7

 

[Iron Woode]

or a simpler check would be to right click the taskbar and click task manager then click Start Up and see if the offending program is there. If so, then uncheck it and reboot.

 

[JimKiler]

or a simpler check would be to right click the taskbar and click task manager then click Start Up and see if the offending program is there. If so, then uncheck it and reboot.

Agreed, i already did that and it is no big deal but i did say that in the first post. I also did ccleaner and anything asus in the registry i fixed but again nada.

 

[Iron Woode]

Agreed, i already did that and it is no big deal but i did say that in the first post. I also did ccleaner and anything asus in the registry i fixed but again nada.

Asus AI Suite 3 caused my system to act very strangely. After putting up with it for a few days I finally uninstalled it.

best thing I ever did.

 

[Ketchup]

AISUITE is in the Asus folder under the Task Schedule Library on my machine.
There are some other Asus startups in the registry under HKLM\WOW6432NODE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

But if you don't want it starting up, there is no real reason to have it. As Iron Woode suggested, just uninstall. I personally like the Asus apps I have installed, and they haven't given me any issues.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

AISUITE is in the Asus folder under the Task Schedule Library on my machine.
There are some other Asus startups in the registry under HKLM\WOW6432NODE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

But if you don't want it starting up, there is no real reason to have it. As Iron Woode suggested, just uninstall. I personally like the Asus apps I have installed, and they haven't given me any issues.

I used it on the Sabertooth board for tuning the 6700K. Then I discovered that its background services -- one in particular or "atkex . . . " -- was grabbing 3 to 5% of my clock-cycles even after exiting the Ai Suite program.

I still have two or three of those services come up running at boot-time, but they don't use clock-cycles.

The reason I decided to finally uninstall related to my graphics card. Somehow, Suite was making my graphics overclock unstable, or it was interfering with the graphics driver. Just uninstalling it and reinstalling the NVidia drivers fixed my problem.

 

[JimKiler]

AISUITE is in the Asus folder under the Task Schedule Library on my machine.
There are some other Asus startups in the registry under HKLM\WOW6432NODE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

But if you don't want it starting up, there is no real reason to have it. As Iron Woode suggested, just uninstall. I personally like the Asus apps I have installed, and they haven't given me any issues.

I do like AI Suite 3, i dislike the persistent fan controller app that sits on the desktop. But Asus is not providing a way to uninstall the fan controller app separate from AI suite. But since this is my in laws PC i did uninstall the whole AI Suite 3.

 

[Ketchup]

Probably the way to go. The way you describe it sounds very different than mine, which it always running at the settings I left it at, but I can't see it unless I purposely open it up.

 

[JimKiler]

Probably the way to go. The way you describe it sounds very different than mine, which it always running at the settings I left it at, but I can't see it unless I purposely open it up.

I have AI suite on my Z97-AR mobo but this newer mobo has an annoying app. I presume when enough people complain they will fix it.

 

[Micrornd]

For future reference - "Autoruns" will normally find many items like you were looking for in the registry.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx