Startup Items - Manage in Windows 8

How to Manage Startup Programs and Items in Windows 8 and 8.1


information   Information
Startup items are the programs, shortcuts, folders, drivers, etc... that are set to run automatically at startup when a user signs in to Windows 8. Startup items can be added by either the programs or drivers you install, or manually by you.

This tutorial will show you how to manage your startup items to add, delete, enable, and disable them in Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 8.1, and Windows RT 8.1.

Note   Note
When you first sign in to Windows 8, there will be a short delay (few seconds) before the added startup programs open by default.

See: How to Reduce the Startup Delay Time for Desktop Apps in Windows 8 and 8.1


CONTENTS:

  • Option One: To Enable or Disable Startup Programs in Task Manager
  • Option Two: To Add or Delete Startup Programs in the "Startup" Folder
  • Option Three: To Delete Startup Programs in Registry Editor
  • Option Four: To Enable, Disable, or Delete Startup Programs in CCleaner





OPTION ONE

To Enable or Disable Startup Programs in Task Manager


1. Open Task Manager into the More details view, and click/tap on the Startup tab. (see screenshots below)​
2. To Enable a Startup Program
A) Click/tap on a disabled startup item, and click/tap on the Enable button.​
NOTE: If the Enable button is grayed out, then it means that you must be signed in as an administrator to be able to.​
Task-Enable.jpg

3. To Disable a Startup Program
A) Click/tap on a enabled startup item, and click/tap on the Disable button.​
NOTE: If the Disable button is grayed out, then it means that you must be signed in as an administrator to be able to.​
Task-Disable.jpg

4. When finished, you can close Task Manager.​






OPTION TWO

To Add or Delete Startup Programs in the "Startup" Folder


1. Open Windows Explorer, and do step 2 or 3 below for what you would like to do.​
NOTE: You could do so by pressing the :winkey: + E keys.​
2. To Add or Delete Startup Programs for a "Specific User" Only
A) In Windows Explorer, navigate to the hidden system folder below:​
NOTE: You could also press Windows+R to open Run, type shell:Startup, and click/tap on OK.​
Code:
[B]C:\Users\[COLOR=#ff0000](User-Name)[/COLOR]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup[/B][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2]
B) Go to step 4.​
3. To Add or Delete Startup Programs for "All Users"
NOTE: You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do this step.​
A) In Windows Explorer, navigate to the hidden system folder below:​
NOTE: You could also press Windows+R to open Run, type shell:Common Startup, and click/tap on OK.​
Code:
[B]C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup[/B][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2]
B) Go to step 4.​
4. You can now either add or delete shortcuts for what items you like in the Startup folder.​
5. When finished, close the Startup folder.​






OPTION THREE

To Delete Startup Programs in Registry Editor


1. Open regedit, and do step 3 or 4 below for what you would like to do.​
NOTE: You could do this by pressing :winkey: + R to open Run, type regedit, and click/tap on OK.​
2. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.​
3. To Delete Startup Programs for the "Current User" Only
NOTE: This will only be applied to your currently signed in user account.​
A) In regedit, navigate to the locations below one at a time.​
Code:
[B]HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run[/INDENT]
[INDENT=2][COLOR=red][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2]AND[/COLOR][/B][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2][B][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2]HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce[/B]
B) Go to step 5.​
4. To Delete Startup Programs for "All Users"
NOTE: You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do this step.
A) In regedit, navigate to the locations below one at a time.​
For 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 8
Code:
[B]HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run[/INDENT]
[INDENT=2][COLOR=red][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2]AND[/INDENT]
[INDENT=2][/COLOR][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2]HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce[/B][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2][COLOR=red][B][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2]AND (If added by [/B][/COLOR][B][URL="http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/208799-programs-documents-run-user-logon.html"]Group Policy[/URL][/B][COLOR=red][B])[/B][/COLOR][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2][B]HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\Run[/B][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2][B][COLOR=#ff0000]AND (If added by [/COLOR][URL="http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/208799-programs-documents-run-user-logon.html"]Group Policy[/URL][COLOR=#ff0000])[/COLOR][/B][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2][B]HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\Run[/B]
In Addition for Only 64-bit Windows 8
Code:
[B]HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run[/INDENT]
[INDENT=2][COLOR=red][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2]AND[/COLOR][/B][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2][B]HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce[/B]
5. In the right pane of Run or RunOnce, right click or press and hold on a listed startup item that you would like to delete, and click/tap on Delete. (see screenshot below)​
REG.jpg
6. Click/tap on Yes to confirm deletion.​
7. When done, close regedit.​





OPTION FOUR

To Enable, Disable, or Delete Startup Programs in CCleaner


1. If you have not already, download and install the latest version of the free CCleaner program.​
2. Run CCleaner, click/tap on the Tools icon on the left, then click/tap on the Startup tab. (see screenshot below)​
3. From here, you can select a startup item, then either enable, disable, or delete it. (see screenshot below)​
CCleaner.jpg


That's it,
Shawn


 

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Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for this Brink,but I have a problem,in task manager\startup tab I have YMessenger but I can't see it for my user account in

C:\Users\(User-Name)\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 (X64) Ultimate
Hello Sali, and welcome to Eight Forums.

If you were wanting to disable or remove YMessenger from running at startup, then you might check to see if it may be listed using OPTION ONE or OPTION THREE to do so. :)

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
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    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
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    Corsair Hydro H115i
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    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
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    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Thanks Brink,but why I can't do this with option Two? There's empty while I have YM in my Task manager\startup tab!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 (X64) Ultimate
Instead of typing in the long path to user folder or "All Users" folder you can just type in Windows Explorer:

shell:Startup
or
shell:Common Startup
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Thanks Brink,but why I can't do this with option Two? There's empty while I have YM in my Task manager\startup tab!

Sali,

If you wanted to have YM run at startup for only your user account, then you could add a shortcut of YM in the Startup folder step 2 of OPTION TWO. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
You're most welcome Sali. I'm glad that we could help. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
In my Win 8 Task Manager Startup Tab, I found two entries that were enabled called 'Program'. No Publisher is listed. If I right click on them, the Open File Location and Properties are grayed out. I disabled both of them. How can I find out what these are and delete them? Thanks!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8
Hello egruber, and welcome to Eight Forums.

Double check using OPTION FOUR instead to see if it may show a file path to help see what it is. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hello egruber, and welcome to Eight Forums.

Double check using OPTION FOUR instead to see if it may show a file path to help see what it is. :)

I tried that before I submitted the post. I didn't see them in there. Weird.

My apologies. I had not done Option 4, I had done Option 3. I did execute Option 4, found them and deleted them. Thanks very much for your help!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8
Great news. You're welcome. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
You're welcome D3l7a3ch0, and welcome to Eight Forums. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
thanks....helping hands
Hello Sali, and welcome to Eight Forums.

If you were wanting to disable or remove YMessenger from running at startup, then you might check to see if it may be listed using OPTION ONE or OPTION THREE to do so. :)

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win 8
Neither method in option #2 works for me. If I add them manually in the registry, they work, but I'd rather not do that long-term, as I always have to go look up the location in the registry. Also not a very option for less-experienced users.

I have found that adding a task in the task scheduler works, but that's also not a very good option for less-experienced users.

Mainly just wondering if I'm an anomaly with option 2.

Thanks!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro, 64-bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E6510
    Internet Speed
    Insanely fast when at work, insanely slow when at home
Hello bwood,

What shortcuts were you adding using OPTION TWO?

There is a short delay after signing in before the start up programs actually open.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Shortcut to taskmanager and also a cpu temperature program (RealTemp) that also sits in the taskbar.

Waited several minutes--they never start. I guess you could say I'm still waiting on this current boot. I've noticed that task scheduler has a delay for them to start, but with the startup folder, they never start. There are other shortcuts in those folders (one in the AppData folder and two in the ProgramData folder) that do actually start at login. Not sure why no new ones launch at startup when I add them. Only one of those 3 shortcuts show up in the various Run folders in the registry, so that can't be the only reason why mine aren't launching.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro, 64-bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E6510
    Internet Speed
    Insanely fast when at work, insanely slow when at home
Odd. Not sure why they wouldn't run from the Startup folder, but do from the registry location.

Do they run elevated?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
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