How to Find and Manage the Windows Startup Folder for All ...

To locate the startup folder path for the current user in Windows 11/10, go down the following path: C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft ... Skiptocontent SayakBoral Nov10,2021 WheneveryoubootupyourPC,Windowsloadsstartupprogramsthatopenatthesametimeastheoperatingsystem.TheseprogramsarecontrolledthroughastartupfolderonyourWindowsPC.HereweshowwheretofindtheWindows11/10StartupFolderandhowtocontrolwhat’sinsidethatfolder–forallusersaswellasthesigned-inuser. ContentLocatingtheWindowsStartupFolderinFileExplorerLocatingtheWindowsStartupFolderProgramsfromTaskManagerLocatingWindowsStartupFolderProgramsfromCommandPromptLocatingStartupProgramsinRegistryHowtoAddProgramstoStartupFolderinWindows11/10HowtoRemoveProgramsfromStartupFolderinWindows11/10HowCanYouDelaytheLoadingofWindowsStartupPrograms?FrequentlyAskedQuestions Alsoread:HowtoGetaListofAllSoftwareInstalledonaWindowsSystem FindtheStartupFolderinWindows11/10 FindingtheWindowsStartupfolderiseasy,astherearemultiplewaystodothat.HerewediscusshowtolocatethestartupappsusingWindowsutilities,suchasFileExplorer,TaskManager,CommandPrompt,andRegistryEditor. LocatingtheWindowsStartupFolderinFileExplorer TherearetwodifferentkindsofstartupfoldersinWindows:oneforallusersandtheotherforthecurrentuserwho’sloggedinonthedevice.BothfolderpathscanbeeasilylocatedfromtheFileExplorerwindow. TolocatethestartupfolderpathforthecurrentuserinWindows11/10,godownthefollowingpath:C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\StartMenu\Programs\Startup. Similarly,theWindows11/10StartupfolderforallusersislocatedatC:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\StartMenu\Programs\StartUp Insteadofnavigatingthroughthislongpath,youcansimplypressWin+RtoopentheRunbox,thentypeshell:commonstartup,andtheabovefolderwillopenatthatlocation. TofindtheWindows11/10Startupfolderforthecurrentuser,justtypeshell:startupafterWin+R. Onceyou’reintheStartupfolder,youmaybesurprisedtoknowthattheprogramsthatusuallystartupwithWindowsaren’tactuallyhere. Youcanmanuallyaddprogramshortcutshere,whichwehavecoveredinalatersectionbelow,andthey’llstartupwithyourPCfromnowon.Buttheappsthathavebeenautomaticallyaddedbythird-partysoftwareorWindows11/10arecontrolledbytheTaskManager. LocatingtheWindowsStartupFolderProgramsfromTaskManager ThestartupfolderisemptyinWindows,asitsfunctionshavebeensupersededbytheTaskManager,Registry,CommandPromptandothersystemapps.That’swhysomeoftheprogramswhichyoucommonlyencounterinstartupcan’tbelocateddirectlyfromtheFileExplorer. ToaccessthesefromtheTaskManager,pressCtrl+Shift+Esc,thenclicktheStartuptab.Fromhereyoucancontroltherestofyourstartupprograms,right-clickingtoenableordisablethemasyouplease. ForsomeofthesestartupprogramsinTaskManager,their“openfilelocation”issometimesgreyedout.Ifyouwantthepreciselocationofthesestartupfiles,thereareothermethodsdetailedbelow. LocatingWindowsStartupFolderProgramsfromCommandPrompt YoucanlocatetheprogramsintheStartupFolderfromtheWindowsCommandPromptorthenewlylaunchedWindowsTerminal. OpeneitheroftheseprogramsinAdminmodeandenterthefollowing: wmicstartupgetcaption,command Theabovecommandsandcaptionswillgiveyouaquicksummaryofallyourstartupapplicationsandtheirprecisepathswhichrunthestartup.Oncetheirfilelocationisrevealed,youcaneasilysearchfortheindividualstartupappsinFileExplorer. LocatingStartupProgramsinRegistry Ifyoucan’taccessanyunwantedstartupprogramsthroughtheabovemethods,theWindowsregistryisoneofthelastplacestosearch. Toaccessit,pressWin+Rfollowedbytypingregedit.Onceopen,godownthefollowingpathtofindallthestartupprograms. Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run IdentifythestartupprogramsyouwereunabletodisablefromtheTaskManagerwindow.Right-clicktodeletethemfromAutoStart. Replace“HKEY_CURRENT_USER”with“HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE”andgodownasimilarpathtofindsystemappsonstartup,suchas“RealTekAudio”and“WindowsSecurityHealthsystray.exe.” Althoughyoucan,youshouldn’tremoveafewoftheimportantprograms,suchasthemainbrowseryou’reusingorRealTekAudio. Theabovemethodswillhelpyoufindanystartupfoldersonyourcomputer,includingtheonesthatseemdisabledorhiddenfromsight. Alsoread:HowtoGetaListofAllSoftwareInstalledonaWindowsSystem ManagetheWindows11/10StartupFolder TherearemanythingsyoucandotomanagetheStartupfolder:add/removethestartupprograms,delaytheirindividualorcollectiveloading,andsomewhatchangethelaunchsequence. HowtoAddProgramstoStartupFolderinWindows11/10 IfyouwanttochangeWindowsstartupprogramsbyaddingthem,thefastestwayistocreateashortcutoftheappintheWindows11/10StartupFolder. SelecttheStartbuttonanduseitsmenusearchtolocatetheprogramorapplication.Select“Openfilelocation”tonavigatetotheFileExplorerlocationwheretheappshortcutissaved. OpentheStartupfolderinWindowsusingWin+Rfollowedbyshell:startup.Dragorcopy-pastetheprogramfileshortcuttomoveittotheStartupFolder. HowtoRemoveProgramsfromStartupFolderinWindows11/10 Howdoyoustopappsfromopeningonstartup?TheeasiestwayistonavigatetotheStartupFolderusingWin+Rfollowedbyshell:startup.IdentifytheprogramyouwanttoremovefromtheStartupFolder,right-clickandselect“Delete.” NotallprogramfileswillbevisibleinStartupFolder.AnotherwaytoremoveprogramsfromyourWindowsstartupistogoto“Startupapps”fromthesearchmenu.Hereyoucandisableanyotherprogramsyoudon’tneedduringWindowsboot. HowCanYouDelaytheLoadingofWindowsStartupPrograms? ToomanystartupprogramscanslowdownyourWindowsdevicebooting.YourWindowsdesktopscreenisheldhostagebytheCPU-intensivelaunchscreenapps. Youcandelaytheloadingoftheseprogramsindividuallyorasagroup.Forthis,considerusingaGitHubapplicationcalledLaunchLater.Atlessthan2MB,it’saverylightweightapplicationandverysafetoutilize. Goto“Code”inthedownloadpageandselect“downloadZIP”todownloadtheprogram’sZIPfile. Unzipthedownloadedfileusinganapplicationlike7-Zipandclickthe“setupprogram.” Youhavetocarryoutasimpleinstallation.Followtheon-screeninstructionsuntilLaunchLaterisinstalledonyourcomputer. Launchtheinstalledappandclick“Importstartupitems.”ThiswillpopulatethescreenwithallofyourWindowsstartupapps.Selecttheprogramsyouwanttocreateadelayforandclick“Importselected.”Foreachandeveryapp,youcanintroduceadelayinsecondsorevenminutes.Click“Save”tofinalizeyourconfigurations. ItisnolongerpossibletochangethelaunchorderofWindowsstartupprogramsthroughWindowsbuilt-inoptions.However,youcanusetheLaunchLaterappsharedabovetointroduceagentledifferenceinsecondsforthelaunchofindividualapps. AnotherprogramyoucanuseforastartupdelayinWindows11/10isStartupDelayer. FrequentlyAskedQuestions 1.WhichprogramsshouldbeintheWindowsstartupmenu? Whileit’sdowntoindividualchoice,it’sagoodideatohaveaminimumofthefollowingintheWindowsstartupmenu: RealTekHighDefinitionAudioDriver:withoutthis,yourWindowscomputerismute.Youdon’twanttosetupyourPCaudioeverytimeyoulogin.TheBrowserYouUse:toconnecttotheInternetquickly,it’sbettertoenableyourfavoritebrowserinthestartupapps. ManyotherstartupappswhichseemimportantcanactuallybesafelydisabledfromtheStartuplocation.TheseincludetheWindowsDefenderIcon,Skype,SendtoOneNote,Zoom,andMicrosoftTeams. 2.HowdoIremovethestartupdelayinWindows11/10? Ifyoudon’twantanystartupdelaybetweenWindowsbootandthelaunchingofapps,there’saregistryhackcalled“Serialize”thatachievesthis.Thefollowingisasummaryofthesteps: PressWin+Randfollowitbytypingregedit.Godownthispath: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer Addanewkeycalled“Serialize”followedbyanotherkeycalled“StartupDelayInMSec”andsaveitsD-Word32valueas0.RestartyourPCforthedelaytodisappear. Toensureyoudon’thaveanycorruptprogramsfrombadsourcesinyourStartupmenu,alwaysdownloadthemfromthislistofsafewebsites.Ifyou’restruggling,checkoutthislistoffixesforcommonWindowsproblems. Isthisarticleuseful? Yes No Subscribetoournewsletter! Ourlatesttutorialsdeliveredstraighttoyourinbox Signupforallnewsletters. Bysigningup,youagreetoourPrivacyPolicyandEuropeanusersagreetothedatatransferpolicy.Wewillnotshareyourdataandyoucanunsubscribeatanytime. Subscribe Leaveacomment Facebook Tweet PopularPosts HowtoConvertLegacyBIOStoUEFIinWindows SettingsAppNotWorkinginWindows?HereAretheFixes TheBestWindows10and11EasterEggstoSeekOut HowtoRemoveOldandUselessDriversinWindows HowtoCaptureaScrollingScreenshotinWindows HowtoUseYourSmartphoneasaMicrophoneinWindows HeadphonesNotWorkinginWindows?HereAreSomeFixes Can(andShould)YouContinuetoUseWindows8or8.1? 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