Where are startup programs in Windows 11 and 10? Every location

Every place startup programs live

Where	How to open it	Use it to
Settings startup page	Settings > Apps > Startup	Turn apps on or off
Task Manager	Ctrl + Shift + Esc, Startup apps tab	Check the impact, enable or disable
Your Startup folder	shell:startup	Add or remove shortcuts for your account
All users’ Startup folder	shell:common startup	Add or remove shortcuts for everyone (admin)
Registry Run keys	regedit	Find entries apps added themselves
Task Scheduler and services	taskschd.msc, services.msc	Find tasks and services that run at boot or sign-in

The first two show the same list: entries from the Startup folders and the Run keys. Turning an app off there is the safe choice because it doesn’t delete anything and you can turn it back on later.

Settings: the easiest switch

1. Select Start, then Settings > Apps > Startup. The path is the same in Windows 10 and 11.
2. Turn the switch next to an app Off to stop it starting when you sign in, or On to let it start.
3. Sort the list by Startup impact to find the apps that cost the most time.

If an app shows We couldn’t find this app, Microsoft explains that the icon next to its switch reveals the file or registry path it points to, so you can remove the leftover entry after uninstalling the program.

Task Manager: see the impact

Right-click Start and select Task Manager. In Windows 11 open the Startup apps page; in Windows 10 it’s the Startup tab (select More details first if you only see a small window). Select an app and choose Enable or Disable.

The Startup impact column uses Microsoft’s own thresholds:

Value	What Microsoft says it means
High	More than 1 second of CPU time or more than 3 MB of disk activity at startup
Medium	Between low and high
Low	Less than 300 ms of CPU time and less than 292 KB of disk activity
Not measured	Enabled, but Windows has no data yet
None	Disabled

Disabling a High-impact app is the quickest win if sign-in feels slow. For a slow start before the sign-in screen, see Windows 10 slow boot instead.

The Startup folders

Anything you put in a Startup folder runs when you sign in. There are two:

• Just you: press Win + R, type shell:startup and press Enter. The full path is %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.
• All users: type shell:common startup instead. That opens C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp, and changing it needs administrator rights.

To add a program, Microsoft’s method is to open shell:appsfolder in a second window and drag the app into the Startup folder, which creates a shortcut. For a desktop program you can also right-click its .exe, choose Create shortcut, and move the shortcut into the folder. Put shortcuts there, not the program files themselves. To stop it, delete the shortcut.

The folder is only one of several locations. Most installers register themselves elsewhere, which is why an app can start even when the folder is empty.

The Run and RunOnce registry keys

Many programs add themselves to these keys, documented by Microsoft:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce

HKEY_CURRENT_USER entries run for you; HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE entries run for every user. On 64-bit Windows, 32-bit programs usually write their machine-wide entries under the WOW6432Node branch of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software, so check there too.

Microsoft’s documentation adds a few rules worth knowing:

• Each value is a command line of no more than 260 characters.
• A RunOnce value is deleted before its command runs, so it only fires once.
• These keys are ignored in Safe Mode by default.
• If several programs are listed, the order they start in isn’t fixed.

Before you edit: export the key first (right-click it in Registry Editor and choose Export), and prefer the switches in Settings or Task Manager, which disable an entry without deleting it. If restoring a .reg file fails, see cannot import a .reg file.

Task Scheduler and services

Some software, including many updaters, starts through a scheduled task rather than a startup entry. Open Task Scheduler (taskschd.msc), select Task Scheduler Library, and look at the Triggers column for At log on or At startup. You can right-click a task and choose Disable.

Background services set to Automatic in services.msc also start with Windows. Leave Microsoft services alone; only change third-party ones you recognise, and set them to Manual rather than disabling them if you’re unsure. If the PC is busy right after sign-in, 100% disk usage on Windows 11 shows how to find what’s responsible.

See everything with Autoruns

Autoruns is a free Microsoft Sysinternals tool that, in Microsoft’s words, shows what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login, including the Startup folder, Run, RunOnce and other registry keys, plus Explorer shell extensions, auto-start services and much more. It also has a tab for scheduled tasks.

1. Download Autoruns from the Microsoft Sysinternals page, extract it and run Autoruns64.exe as administrator.
2. Use the Options menu to hide Microsoft and Windows entries, so mostly third-party items remain.
3. Clear the tick box next to an entry to disable it. Unticking is reversible; avoid Delete unless you’re sure.

Autoruns lists far more than most people need, so change only entries you can identify. Fast Startup is a separate feature that affects how Windows boots, not which apps start; see how to disable Fast Startup if that’s what you were looking for.

Related guides

• Windows 10 slow boot: how to find the cause and fix it
• How to disable Fast Startup in Windows 11 and 10
• 100% disk usage on Windows 11: how to find the cause and fix it
• Cannot import .reg file, error accessing the registry: how to fix it

Official sources

• Configure startup applications in Windows (Microsoft Support)
• Run and RunOnce registry keys (Microsoft Learn)
• Autoruns for Windows (Microsoft Sysinternals)