[Windows 7] Disable Windows Explorer from starting with Windows?

If you're running Windows XP/Vista/7:

1. Open the start menu
2. Type "regedit" (without the ") and hit enter (UAC might come up)
3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>Software>Microsoft>Windows NT>CurrentVersion>Winlogon
4. Change the value of "Shell" to the .exe you want to use

reference: http://windows7themes.net/how-to-replace-explorer-exe-in-windows-7.html

For Windows 9x:

1. Open c:\windows\system.ini with the editor
2. Replace the Shell=explorer.exe line with Shell=your.exe

reference: http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions/trench/3458.html