5 Ways to Disable Startup Programs in Windows.
Many programs are configured to run from Windows when installed, and usually without your permission. Skype, CCleaner and uTorrent are some of the popular examples. However, you may not always need the services of such programs immediately after starting Windows. These programs will slow down boot times, open up your face as soon as your desktop appears, and force you to close them every time you restart your computer.
So yes, unnecessary launchers are really bad for the Windows experience in general. Fortunately, you can easily disable programs from starting in Windows in a variety of ways, and in this post, we’ll show each of them.
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1. Disable the startup programs in Windows 7, Vista and XP
In older versions of Windows, the System Configuration windows are the best place to find and disable startup items. To access the system configuration, press Windows Key + R and type “msconfig” in the Run dialog box.
System Configuration will open when you press the Enter key. Here go to the Startup tab and you will see all startup items in the list. Just uncheck the boxes next to any programs you don’t want to run from Windows. Then click “OK†to apply the settings. Now, any launchers you have not checked will not start from Windows.
2. Disable startup programs in Windows 8, 8.1 and 10
In newer versions of Windows, the Startup Manager has been moved to the Task Manager. To open Task Manager, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
In Task Manager, go to the Startup tab and you will see all the programs that can be configured to start when Windows starts. Programs that are set to open at startup will have an “Enabled” status. Right-click these programs and select Disable to disable them.
3. Disable startup programs from the Windows registry
The above are the simplest ways to disable startup programs in Windows, but if you’re looking for other options with different use cases; here are some.
Like other things, startup items also create an entry in the Windows registry. You can remove this entry to prevent the program from starting at startup.
Warning: Before making any changes to the Windows Registry, make sure you back it up. Any misconfiguration in the registry can damage Windows.
Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog box and type regedit to launch the Windows Registry. Here you will find startup items in the following locations:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Software Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER Software Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion Run
Move to these locations and look for a program that keeps running from Windows. Once found, double click on it and delete all the text written in the “Value Data” section. You can also delete the entry to stop this program from running.
Why it’s useful: Disabling startup programs from the Windows registry is a good option for programs that allow themselves to run from Windows every time you use them, such as CCleaner. This will disable their registry entry and stop them from being automatically added in the future.
4. Use a third-party application to disable startup programs
There are many third-party applications available that will allow you to control the programs you run. Oddly enough, CCleaner is one of the best tools for disabling startup items with the click of a button. Download and install CCleaner and run the program.
Go to the “Tools” section on the left side and click “Launch”. You should see all startup programs here. Just select any of the programs you want to disable and select Disable on the right to disable it.
Why it’s useful: A third-party program like CCleaner loads all types of startup programs from both the registry and the Windows startup folder. Windows built-in startup manager may skip some programs.
5. Disable startup programs from Windows startup folder
It’s not one of the best ways to disable startup programs, but it’s definitely the fastest and sometimes necessary. Programs added to the Windows Startup folder are automatically launched when Windows starts. Although many programs create a registry entry instead of adding their own shortcut to the Windows Startup folder, there are programs that add a shortcut to the Startup folder.
What’s more, if you’ve manually added a program or script to your startup folder to start with Windows, you’ll have to disable it here instead of using the built-in startup manager.
To open the Windows Startup folder, press Windows Key + R and type “shell: startup” in the Run dialog box. This command will open the startup folder with all the listed startup programs / files. Just remove the shortcut of the program so it doesn’t start with Windows.
Why is it useful. As stated above, some programs write to the startup folder; from here you can quickly disable them. In addition, you will also have to process manually added programs from here.
Packaging
If you want to speed up the boot process and prevent programs from eating up your computer’s precious resources, you should disable unnecessary startup programs. However, keep in mind that it is not necessary to disable all startup programs, some programs are useful (and sometimes required) when running from Windows. For example, your antivirus program needs to run from Windows to keep you protected, or you can turn on a program like Skype if you use it heavily.
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