COMPTIA A+ Practice Exam

What utility is primarily used for managing startup processes in Windows 8 through the registry?

1. Task Manager

2. System Configuration

3. Registry Editor

4. Control Panel

The correct answer is: Registry Editor

The correct utility for managing startup processes in Windows 8 through the registry is the Registry Editor. The Registry Editor allows users to access and modify the Windows registry, which contains critical configuration settings, including those that control which applications launch at startup. Within the registry, specific keys related to startup processes can be modified or deleted to control what runs when the system boots. While Task Manager and System Configuration (commonly known as msconfig) can also be used to manage startup items, they operate in different manners. Task Manager provides a user-friendly interface to view and disable startup items, but it does not directly modify the registry. System Configuration allows for easy management of startup programs and services but is also more of a higher-level tool that interacts with the registry rather than directly altering it. Control Panel is a graphical interface for adjusting system settings but does not specifically manage startup processes or interact with the registry in the context required by this question. Thus, the Registry Editor remains the most direct tool for editing startup items via the registry in Windows 8.