How can I clear the Run history?

John Savill

January 8, 2000

1 Min Read
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A. The Run history is stored in the registry in location HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerRunMRU as a series of values a-z. To delete an entry from the run menu perform the following:

  1. Start the registry editor (regedit.exe)

  2. Move to HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerRunMRU

  3. Select the entry you wish to remove, e.g. h

  4. Press the Del key (or select Edit - Delete) and click Yes to the confirmation

  5. Double click the MRUList value and remove the letter you just deleted. Click OK to save the change

  6. Close the registry editor

If you want to clear the whole Run list you can use the TweakUI utility

  1. Start the TweakUI control panel applet (Start - Settings - Control Panel - TweakUI)

  2. Click the Paranoia tab :-)

  3. Check the "Clear Run history at logon"

  4. Click the "Clear Selected Items Now"

  5. You can then either clear the check on "Clear Run history at logon" and click OK or leave it checked to automatically clear the Run at logon

See also,"How do I remove an entry from the Windows 2000 'Open With' context menu?" and "How can I add TweakUI to the Windows XP Control Panel?"

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