You probably already knew this, but if you want to see a list of all programs that start when Windows starts, you can simply go to the MSCONFIG tool and click on the Startup tab! Here you can easily enable or disable startup programs. You can read my previous article which explains in detail how to use MSCONFIG
It’s worth noting that in Windows 8 and Windows 10, the Startup tab has been removed from MSCONFIG and is now included in the Task Manager. You can go to Task Manager simply by right-clicking on the Windows 8 or Windows 10 Start button and choosing Task Manager from the list.
Knowing which programs run at startup can be very useful for debugging all sorts of performance issues related to your computer. One recommendation that I always give is to make a list of all startup programs included as long as your computer is running normally. Thus, if your computer becomes slower in the future, you can always return to MSCONFIG and uncheck anything that was not originally specified.
In addition, there are times when technical support may request a list of startup programs to diagnose a problem with your computer. Creating a list and sending them an email can save you a lot of time and save someone from having to remotely connect to your computer, which I never prefer since I don’t trust anyone else with access to my computer.
In addition to making the Task Manager look a little better and cleaner in Windows 8 and Windows 10, it also lacks check boxes and displays a column called Startup Impact to help you evaluate how this item startup affects boot time.
In fact, you can create a list of all startup programs in Windows using the command line or PowerShell and save the list as a text file or HTML document. Follow the instructions below.
Command prompt
Step 1. Open a Command Prompt by choosing Start, Run and typing CMD. If you are unfamiliar with the command line, feel free to read my beginner’s guide to the command line first.
Step 2. Now enter the following WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) command at the command prompt and press Enter.
wmic startup get title, command
You should now see a list of all applications with their paths that start when Windows starts.
If you need more information, you can also just type wmic startup and you will get some extra fields like Location, UserSID and User.
Step 3. If you want to export the list as a text file, enter the following command:
wmic startup get title, command> c: StartupApps.txt
And if you want to create an HTML file, just type instead:
wmic startup get title, command> c: StartupApps.htm
PowerShell
If you prefer to use the more modern and powerful PowerShell, the command below will give you almost the same results as the WMI command above.
Get-CimInstance Win32_StartupCommand | Select object name, command, location, user | Format-list
If you want to send the output of the PowerShell command to a text file, you can simply add the following part to the above command after Format-List.
| Source file c: scripts test.txt
Don’t forget to include the pipe symbol | this is at the very beginning. In fact, I prefer the PowerShell output because the formatting is much easier to view in a text editor.
That’s all. You should now have a list of startup programs that you can save and use later. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to leave comments. Enjoy!
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