How to Invoke a Program and Delete from Registry

Sometimes you may need a program only once.  You can tweak your Registry if you are on a computer running Windows XP so that you invoke the program only once and after that, you can have the program deleted from the Registry.  The only way for the program to run again would be by manual re-entry. 

Reminder:  Changes to the Registry are irreversible if you do not have a back-up.  We advise that you back-up your Registry prior to making any changes.

To invoke a program once and delete, you will need to create a Runonce key.  This key will remain in the Registry for future reuse.

To do this, you will need to perform the following 12 steps:

  1. Go to Start.
  2. Click on Run and type in Regedit. 
  3. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER. 
  4. Expand the folder and look for the Software folder.
  5. Expand that folder and go to the Microsoft folder.
  6. Under the Microsoft folder, you will find the Windows folder.
  7. Go to Current Version.

    At this point, you will need to create a Runonce Key.  This key will remain in the Registry should you need to reuse the key in the future.

  1. Create Data Type: REG_SZ [String Value].
  2. In Value Name, type in the name of the program executable.
  3. For Value Data, you should now enter the path to the program executable.
  4. Exit the Registry,
  5. Reboot your PC and you’re done.