Are there programs on your computer that start up when Windows starts that you want to stop? It's a common frustration that can slow down your boot time. If you're running Windows 11, let's check out the various locations where these startup applications hide. There might be other ones out there, but these are the ones that I know of and use to keep my own system free of unwanted startup applications.
Check out the video on YouTube for more details on each option:
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Windows Settings
First off, the default area to check is within the Windows Settings app. It's the most user-friendly place to start and where you'll find most of the common startup culprits.
There are various ways to get to the settings. You can right click on the start button and click 'Settings', or you can simply search for it in the start menu. Once you're in the Settings window, click on 'Apps' in the left-hand menu, and then scroll down to find and select 'Startup'.
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| The Startup Apps list within Windows 11 Settings, showing various programs with on/off toggles. |
Here you'll see a list of the easy-to-find stuff. On my system, I have my audio interface software, which I'm going to leave running. But other random things I don't need running at boot, like Microsoft Teams, can be easily toggled off. Obviously, a good rule of thumb is don't disable something you don't understand, as it could be important for your system's operation.
Task Manager
The next place to check is the good old Task Manager. Again, there are several ways to open it. You can search for it, or you can right click on your taskbar and select 'Task Manager'.
In the new Windows 11 Task Manager, you'll see a set of icons on the left side. Select the one that looks like a speedometer for 'Startup apps'.
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| The 'Startup apps' tab within the Windows 11 Task Manager, displaying a list of applications and their startup status. |
In here, you'll find another list that looks very similar to the one in Settings. Most likely, the items will be the same, but it's always worth checking this out just in case something appears here that didn't in the other menu.
The Startup Folder
Another option, which accesses a specific system folder, is to use a special command in File Explorer. Open up File Explorer (I have it pinned to my taskbar, but you can also find it via search) and go to the address bar at the top.
In the address bar, type the following command and press Enter: shell:startup
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| The 'shell:startup' command being entered into the address bar of File Explorer. |
This command is a shortcut that takes you to a very long file path where some programs place shortcuts to launch themselves at startup. In my case, this folder is empty, but in your case, it might not be. So check it out, you might find something hiding in there.
Task Scheduler
Now we're getting into the more advanced areas. A lesser known option where startup tasks can be configured is the Task Scheduler. You can find this by searching for 'Task Scheduler' in the start menu.
From this application, you'll see a lot of stuff going on. On the left, we want to select the 'Task Scheduler Library'. This will give us a list of tasks, some of which are configured to run when you log on or at other specific triggers.
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| The Task Scheduler Library, showing a list of scheduled tasks with details like name, status, and triggers. |
This is actually where I found the application I didn't want running. From here, you can right-click on a task to enable, disable, or delete it entirely. I found an entry for a few old programs I no longer use and was able to get rid of them like a GPU utility I was testing out.
As always, be careful what you disable or delete, as some of these tasks are essential for Windows or other applications to function correctly.
Microsoft Autoruns
For those who want to see absolutely everything that starts with your computer, there's a powerful, free tool from Microsoft's own website called Autoruns. Since it's on Microsoft's own site, it should be safe to download and use.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns
Sysinternals is a suite of over 70 advanced system utilities for Windows, originally developed by Winternals Software and acquired by Microsoft in 2006. These tools are designed for system administrators and power users to manage, diagnose, and troubleshoot the Windows operating system. Autoruns is one of the most popular utilities in this suite.
After you download the zip file and extract it, you'll see a few different versions. I just use the 64-bit version.
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| The official Microsoft Learn page for the Sysinternals Autoruns utility. |
This is where it gets more technical, and you have to be very careful. This program is an option, but if you don't know what you're doing, you could probably break something pretty easily. The application shows you an exhaustive list of locations where programs can be configured to run automatically.
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| The interface for the Autoruns utility, showing the 'Task Scheduler' entry for a QNAP application. |
For example, when I searched for a QNAP application, Autoruns showed me that it was located in the Task Scheduler, confirming what I found earlier. But as you can see from all the tabs, there are even more locations that this program checks. It's not all about startup in here, so again, be careful.
Taking Control of Windows
Anyways, that was a quick list of places to find startup applications. It's frustrating that it's separated into different areas, but at the very least, with a little bit of knowledge, you can find the place that you're looking for and take back control of your PC's startup.