How can I find what is opening an app on boot, got a strange app issue?

hey LindaHamilton,

from what you’re describing (it only launches after you move the mouse), it sounds like it’s being triggered by a hidden auto-start entry or an event-based task rather than the normal “startup Apps” list.

Here are a few things you can check:

Task Scheduler
Open Task Scheduler and look under Task Scheduler Library → ASUS or similar vendor folders. Sometimes ASUS apps set up scheduled tasks that run “on logon” or “on event” (like when you move the mouse/unlock). If you see a Dial/Control Panel entry there, you can disable it.
Autoruns (Sysinternals)
Startup Apps in Windows Settings won’t show everything. Grab Microsoft’s Autoruns tool, run it as admin, and search for “ASUS” or “Dial.” It’ll show hidden auto-start entries in the registry, scheduled tasks, services, and shell extensions. This is usually the quickest way to find what’s really causing it.
Process Monitor (Procmon)
If you really want to see what’s actually launching it when you move the mouse, Procmon can help. Filter by the Dial/Control Panel exe name, restart your machine, then move the mouse and check the Parent Process column. That’ll tell you exactly which service or task is spawning it.
Services
If you don’t want to break the dial functionality, don’t set the whole service to manual. Instead, see if you can switch the ASUS Dial service to Automatic (Delayed Start) in Services.msc, or disable just the UI startup while leaving the backend service running.

tldr
Check Autoruns first that’s the easiest way to find the hidden startup entry. If that doesn’t show anything obvious, use Procmon to catch the parent process when it launches.