I got it, I see you checked in the startup folder code before changing 
it to registry.  I don't see any visible problems in the code.  I guess 
it depends what exactly the problem was with it not always working by 
default.  Was there a Vista/UAC security problem?

Satoshi Nakamoto wrote:
> What was the problem with the shortcut in the startup folder?  If you 
> could send me the code, I'd like to take another look and see if I can 
> see what the problem was.  The first strcat in the registry code should 
> be strcpy, otherwise it would fail intermittently.  If the same code was 
> in the shortcut one, maybe that was the problem.
> 
> mmalmi@cc.hut.fi wrote:
>> I made a Windows installer for the latest version of Bitcoin, which 
>> includes the autostart and minimize to tray features. The installer 
>> makes a start menu shortcut and a startup registry entry. I first 
>> implemented the autostart with a shortcut to the startup folder, but I 
>> found out that it doesn't always work by default and ended up doing it 
>> with a registry entry. The registry entry is removed by the 
>> uninstaller and can be also disabled from the options menu, so I don't 
>> think it's such a big menace to the user after all.