Allowing some of your apps to run at startup often comes in handy for the power user. Sadly, it has some drawbacks, one of which is a significantly extended boot or startup time. With this in mind, the demerits could outweigh the merits, and you may have to decide to disable windows 11 startup apps or at least some of them.
There are a few ways to turn off apps at startup, and I will show you how these are done. Before diving in, a point to note:
Don’t disable any apps you do not recognize. They may be essential apps and would make your computer misbehave if disabled.
1. Disable Windows 11 Startup Apps Using the Task Manager
On Windows 11, the task manager is an important utility that lets you manage and view your PC’s memory consumption. You can also use this utility to control what application will or will not run at startup. Here are the steps you must follow:
Step 1: Launch the task manager by right-clicking the Start Menu and selecting the Task Manager option. Alternatively, using the keyboard combination of Ctrl + Shift + Esc launches the Task Manager.
Step 2: Sometimes, you may be required to expand the task manager options. If this is the case, click on “More details” at the bottom left corner of the task manager.
Step 3: From the menu options, select the Startup tab. This tab reveals apps and their startup status and impact.
Step 4: Select any application you want to disable and click the “Disable” button at the bottom right.
2. Disable Windows 11 Startup Apps Using the Settings App
Windows 11 Settings app gives users the liberty to adjust startup behavior for applications all at once.
Here are the steps to disable Windows 11 startup apps using the Settings app:
Step 1: Open the Settings app using the keyboard combination of Windows Key + I or by navigating to the startup window and clicking the gear icon.
Step 2: Click the Apps option on the left pane, then select the Startup menu at the bottom of the right pane.
Step 3: Search through the apps on the right pane and turn off the switches to disable them running at startup.
It is good practice to research what every app is before disabling them. You want to avoid disabling essential startup applications.
3. Disable Windows 11 Startup Apps Using the Startup Folder
Most Windows versions have a startup folder, a utility that can run scripts, launch programs, and more.
To disable apps, here are the steps:
Step 1: Open Windows’ dialog box by pressing Windows Key + R. In the text field, type shell:startup and click ok.
Step 2: If any programs are set to run at startup, you should see their icons displayed in this folder. Once you select a program, delete is from startup by clicking the trash icon.
4. Disable Windows 11 Startup Apps by Tweaking the Registry
All startup applications are registered in the Registry Editor. A user can delete or edit entries for an app to disable it from launching at startup.
Before following this process, I recommend that you make a backup of your registry files; you would not want to lose important Windows 11 files by accident.
Here is the process:
Step 1: Launch the editor. You can do this by opening the run dialog (Windows + R), typing Regedit, and hitting the ok button.
Step 2: Navigate to the Run folder using the key below:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Step 3: The right pane contains all the entries for applications that launch on startup. Right-click on any app you need to disable and select the “Delete” option.
5. Disable Windows 11 Startup Apps by Modifying the In-App Settings
Tweaking in-app settings is a straightforward hack and probably should be your go-to solution.
Many apps that run on Windows, including Microsoft Teams, Telegram, Spotify, and more, have in-app settings that give you the liberty to change some of their behaviors. There are chances that some of the apps you love may not have this functionality. In such cases, please revert to using any of the other hacks in this article.
Final Thoughts
To prohibit apps from launching on boot, use any methods listed above. This will increase the boot speed of your PC and lessen the battery drain on Windows. On Windows 11, a few third-party programs can assist you in managing startup apps. For the best results, we recommend sticking to the strategies listed above.
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