Startup folder processing

XP SP2--
With XP you can hold down the Shift key during boot to stop the startup
items from being processed. Details outlined here.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...t/nostart.mspx

Do we have a way prevent users from doing this or even a way to tell that it
has been done (aside from the obvious lack of running processes that is set
to startup?)

If on a network you can use a logon script. Or, there are various ways of
hooking the launch of a program within the registry.