Startup Items - Manage in Windows 8

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

   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

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

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1. Open Task Manager into the More details view, and click/tap on the Startup tab. (see screenshots below)​

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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.​

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​

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3. To Disable a Startup Program​

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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.​

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​

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

OPTION TWO

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

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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.​

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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.​

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[B]C:\Users\[COLOR=#ff0000](User-Name)[/COLOR]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup[/B][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2]

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B) Go to step 4.​

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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.​

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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.​

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[B]C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup[/B][/INDENT]
[INDENT=2]

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B) Go to step 4.​

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4. You can now either add or delete shortcuts for what items you like in the Startup folder.​

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5. When finished, close the Startup folder.​

OPTION THREE

To Delete Startup Programs in Registry Editor

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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.​

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2. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.​

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3. To Delete Startup Programs for the "Current User" Only​

NOTE: This will only be applied to your currently signed in user account.​

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​

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A) In regedit, navigate to the locations below one at a time.​

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[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]

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B) Go to step 5.​

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4. To Delete Startup Programs for "All Users"​

​

NOTE: You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do this step.​

​

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A) In regedit, navigate to the locations below one at a time.​

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For 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 8​

[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]

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In Addition for Only 64-bit Windows 8​

[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]

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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)​

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6. Click/tap on Yes to confirm deletion.​

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7. When done, close regedit.​

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OPTION FOUR

To Enable, Disable, or Delete Startup Programs in CCleaner

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1. If you have not already, download and install the latest version of the free CCleaner program.​

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2. Run CCleaner, click/tap on the Tools icon on the left, then click/tap on the Startup tab. (see screenshot below)​

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3. From here, you can select a startup item, then either enable, disable, or delete it. (see screenshot below)​

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​

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Create a Startup Programs Shortcut in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Run Specific Programs and Documents at User Logon in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8
• How to Troubleshoot a Problem by Performing a Clean Boot in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Turn On or Off Bing Desktop to Run at Windows Startup
• How to Open Advanced Tools in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to to Turn On or Off SkyDrive Desktop App to Start Automatically at Sign in to Windows
• How to Reduce the Startup Delay Time for Desktop Apps in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Turn On or Off the On-Screen Keyboard in Windows 8 and 8.1

 

[bwood720]

negative, just standard privileges--from what I can tell. I can even double-click the shortcuts that I put in the ProgramData startup folder and they run successfully. I also tried checking the "Run as an administrator" on the RealTemp shortcut. The taskmanager shortcut or .exe don't have the compatibility tab.


I tried another .exe, for ms word. That one launches successfully in both startup folders. I did some more googling and found that other people have had the same problem specifically with task manager. The only way around it for them was through group policy scripts, task scheduler or registry lines. I assume that RealTemp isn't launching for whatever is the same reason. Must be one of those, "you're not a real administrator on your administrator account" issues in Windows 8 that I see creep up every once in a while.

 

[Brink]

Odd, but at least the other options work.

 

[mabelandbess]

Thank you for this. I have to install a program for work. When I installed it once before, it wouldn't let me change the folder that it installed in so every time I started my computer, that program started. I have to reinstall it again tomorrow. How can I change the folder it gets installed in so that doesn't happen again? The other issue I had was after I installed the program, every time I started the computer, the help pdf file for that program (it is a lousy psych test grade program I have to use for work) opened and I would have to close it to then use my computer. I want to prevent that from happening! Please help, or direct me to a tutorial that can help me (I will keep looking too).

Again, thank you so much for this tutorial, it has helped a lot.

 

[Brink]

Hello Mabelandbess,

Unless the program gives you an option during it's installation to specify where you want to install it to, there's not going to be a way.

As for the .pdf file opening at startup, you could see if it may be listed to run at startup at any of the startup locations in this tutorial. If it is, then you can disable or delete it to stop it.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[mabelandbess]

Thank you

Thank you for the help. I am going to have to wait because my brand new dell computer is now having to be completely replaced after having 2 new motherboards and 1 new hard drive installed plus 5 days of my life on hold. The new one should come in 2 weeks and hopefully works. We've had 8 dell computers and this is the only one we've had problems with, so disappointing. Anyway I will be using your tutorial as soon as it arrives! Thank you!

 

[Brink]

I'm sorry to hear that you got lucky enough to find the bad apple in the batch.

 

[AhrimanSefid]

Hi All.
Me Test All OPTION But Not Working For Me.
Me Need Help For Add Running Software In Logan User Desktop.
Plz Help Me.

 

[Brink]

Hello Ahriman, and welcome to Eight Forums.

Is this for a program that runs elevated (Run as administrator)?

Please post some screenshots showing how you added this program to run at startup to see if it may help reveal what the issue may be.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2598-screenshots-files-upload-post-eight-forums.html

 

[AhrimanSefid]

Me Send 2 File.


Me Need Help For Run In Logon Win.

#Region ;**** Directives created by AutoIt3Wrapper_GUI ****
#AutoIt3Wrapper_Compile_Both=y
#EndRegion ;**** Directives created by AutoIt3Wrapper_GUI ****
Local $hDownload = InetGet("http://www.autoitscript.com/autoit3/files/beta/update.dat", @TempDir & "\update.dat", 1, 1)
Do
    Sleep(250)
Until InetGetInfo($hDownload, 2) ; Check if the download is complete.
Local $aData = InetGetInfo($hDownload) ; Get all information.
InetClose($hDownload) ; Close the handle to release resources.
MsgBox(0, "", "Bytes read: " & $aData[0] & @CRLF & _
        "Size: " & $aData[1] & @CRLF & _
        "Complete?: " & $aData[2] & @CRLF & _
        "Successful?: " & $aData[3] & @CRLF & _
        "@error: " & $aData[4] & @CRLF & _
        "@extended: " & $aData[5] & @CRLF)

RegWrite("HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run", "InetGetInfo.exe", "REG_SZ", @WindowsDir & "\InetGetInfo.exe")

 

[Brink]

Ahriman,

This looks like it needs to run elevated. Try using the tutorial below to create a task for an elevated shortcut of this script file. When you get to step 23 in the tutorial below, use the "run at startup as a task" option to create another task to run the elevated shortcut.

Elevated Program Shortcut without UAC Prompt - Create - Windows 7 Help Forums​

 

[TonyB]

hi I have a wired process I cant find any info on it dose not even show up on CCcleaner how do I find this . here is a picture for you.

 

[Brink]

Hello Tony,

If you right click on it, does it allow you to click on Open file location or Properties?

If so, then either may help ID what this is for.

If not, then you might check all locations in the registry from OPTION THREE to see if you may find it listed in one of these registry locations.

If found in the registry, then disable this startup program in Task Manager and restart the computer first to see if you have any adverse effects with it disabled. If not, then create a restore point to be safe, then go back to the registry and delete this startup program's entry.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[TonyB]

sadly i did that it not listed i even d-loaded Sysinternals autoruns and it did not show in there ether what could it be? virus scans come up normal and all malware scans are normal.

 

[Brink]

Are you able to disable it?

 

[TonyB]

yes it list that but what if i do that and PC dont boot or some wired stuff like that?

 

[TonyB]

i disabled it nothing happened i wonder what it may be kinda makes me wonder if its a hidden virus or something.

 

[Brink]

Possible, or some program that didn't install or uninstall properly.

You might go ahead and do a full scan of your system at boot with Windows Defender Offline to help make sure you are clean.

 

[TonyB]

Sadly i can't run windows defender offline i tried it but my Rom is to new for it it UEFI Bios and windows defender offline dont recognize it. Any other offline tool i may try ?

 

[Brink]

It's not a boot scanner, but you could give Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free a try from within Windows 8 to help make sure you're clean.

 

[TonyB]

ok i will do that any other suggestions as to what it could be Autoruns did show something called Samsung Kies air messenger with file not found do you think maybe that could be it? i did recently install Samsung Kies to update my android phone. but would it now show up in windows startup as this?