How to automatically run a program at shutdown or logoff
Sometimes it is desirable to run a program or script automatically when the computer is shut down or when a user logs off. You may want to do some cleaning up or perhaps back up some regularly used files. Although automatically running a program at startup is easy, it is more complicated to run something at shutdown. Various third-party software exists to carry this out but it can also be done with a Windows XP application, provided that you have the Professional version. The Group Policy Editor is a management console that comes with XP Professional and it contains a feature for running scripts or programs at startup, shutdown, and user logon or logoff. The console is accessed by entering “gpedit.msc” in the Start-Run line. You can find the details of how to use the Group Policy Editor at my computer education site.
The Group Policy Editor is not included in the Home version of Windows XP but another way to set up programs to run at shutdown is by using a modified shutdown shortcut and a script. This method is discussed at PC Magazine. Unfortunately, this method requires that you have at least a little experience with batch files. This reference can help.
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