What "I" usually do is go to START>ALL PROGRAMS> START UP and remove all of the short cuts there.
You can also go START>RUN> then type in MSCONFIG. ***warning*** this is and advanced user tool. be careful what you tinker with.
Last but not least, what ever is left I just go into each individual application that I don't want to run at start up, go in to the options or preferences or settings and turn off "Run when windows starts" or something to that effect.