Those of you who use a Windows computer on a regular basis must know that as soon as you turn on your PC, there are a lot of programs that start in the background. Such programs are known as startup programs which can be launched due to various reasons. And while most of these programs are quite handy to have and important to be started as soon as your computer boots, there are still many cases where you may want to disable them.
Whether you want to disable startup programs in Windows for performance reasons or just for clearing cutters in Windows on boot, you need to use the Windows 10 startup folder for managing the same. And to help you with the same, we are here with a complete guide regarding Windows 10 startup folder. Here, you can find details related to accessing it, managing it, and much more information related to the Windows 10 startup folder that you can learn by the end of this guide.
How do you Access the Windows 10 Startup Folder?
Now that you have a pretty good general idea about the Windows 10 startup folder and its importance, the chances are that you would also want to access the same on your computer. And while we are here with a complete instructional tutorial for the same, there is still a lot that you should know before you go ahead and access the Windows 10 startup folder which includes the following instructions:
Startup Folder Present in the Windows Start Menu
If you are coming from older versions of Windows like Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7, then you may remember the Startup folder being present in the Windows Start Menu.
This allowed the users to easily check all the programs which get started on the boot. But because of the changed Start Menu design introduced in Windows 8, the Startup Folder was removed from the Windows Start Menu. Due to this, you have to use different methods for accessing the Startup Folder in newer Windows versions like Windows 10 you will see down below in this tutorial.
Two Startup Folders in Windows 10
Other than changing the Windows Start Menu design, newer versions of Windows like Windows 10 also have some internal changes to the Windows Startup folder. This primarily includes the fact that Windows 10 has two different startup folders and not a single one. Windows 10 uses two different startup folders at the same time since these are made for different users.
While the first startup folder in Windows is made for all the users or for the All Users folder, the other one is made for the current user or for the Current User folder. As a result, while some programs will be started for all users of a computer on boot, other programs will launch only for selected users on a computer during boot.
Accessing the Startup Folder in Windows 10
After learning these two important points regarding the startup folder in Windows 10, you would want to access the same right away. And even though Windows 10 has removed the startup folder from the Start Menu, you can still access it quite easily. This can be done using File Explorer in Windows as shown here:
- To access the Windows 10 startup folder using File Explorer, you have to first open the File Explorer by pressing Windows Key + E on your keyboard.
- Once you are in here, you can simply click on the address bar and enter the following addresses to open the Windows 10 startup folders:All Users Startup Folder: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp
Current User Startup Folder: C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
Within these locations, you can simply add or remove any programs that you want or don’t want to be launched when your computer boots up. But if you are not able to access these folders using File Explorer in Windows due to certain reasons, then you can also access them using Windows Run by following these steps:
- First, open up Windows Run on your computer by pressing Windows Key + R on your keyboard.
- Inside the Windows Run window, you can type the following commands followed by pressing enter on your keyboard to open Windows 10 startup folders:All Users Startup Folder: Shell:common startup
Current User Startup Folder: Shell:startup
Enable and Disable Startup Programs
While accessing the Windows 10 Startup folder within the File Explorer is quite easy and simple, managing the programs is not the easiest with the same. Thankfully, if you want to enable and disable startup programs in Windows, then you can also find other ways to do so. In fact, Windows 10 offers two different ways for the same which includes these ones:
Accessing Startup using Windows Task Manager
The primary and one of the best ways to access the Startup Programs or the Startup Folder on your Windows 10 computer is via Task Manager. Not only does it show you a complete list of all Startup programs, but you can also disable and enable them as needed. And as shown in the following instructions, accessing startup using Windows Task Manager should be fairly easy:
- You have to first open the Windows Task Manager on your computer by pressing Control + Shift + Escape on your keyboard.
- After opening the Windows Task Manager, you have to click on the More Details option.
- Finally, go to the Startup tab where you can see a complete list of all the startup programs installed on your computer.
- Now, you can simply right click on them and choose either enable or disable as per your preferences.
Accessing Startup using the Windows Settings
If you are not an advanced user and not familiar with the Windows Task Manager, then you may have issues accessing the Startup list using the same. Thankfully, Windows 10 also offers a way to access the Startup folder in Windows using Windows Settings which can be done as explained here:
- In order to access the Windows Settings on your computer, you need to press Windows Key + I on your keyboard.
- Once you are inside Windows Settings, head over to the Apps menu where you need to open the Startup tab from the left hand side menu.
- After that, you will see a complete list of all startup programs in Windows 10 along with a toggle which allows you to turn on or turn off startup programs on your computer which essentially enables or disables them.
Windows 10’s Startup Folder Launch Order
After checking the Windows 10 startup folder on your computer, you must have noticed that it has multiple programs listed there. Due to this, you might be wondering about Windows 10’s startup folder launch order.
And when it comes to the order in which the programs will be launched, Windows 10 generally prefers launching system processes, services, background tasks, and programs first. Once all of those are launched, all user programs will start launching one by one. And depending on the number of Windows services and user applications present in the Windows 10 startup folder, this can even take a few minutes in some cases.
Why Should you Manage the Startup Folder in Windows 10?
Now that you know how to access, modify, and manage the startup folder in Windows 10, you might be thinking about the use for the same. Regarding the same, you will be glad to know that accessing and managing the Windows 10 startup folder can be quite handy for various reasons.
For starters, if you feel that you regularly use a certain program again and again on your computer right after booting it, then you should add it to the Startup folder. By doing so, you can save a lot of time since you won’t have to launch your regularly used programs manually every time you boot your computer. But if there is any other program which you do not want to use at all, then you can remove it from the Windows 10 startup folder.
Apart from improving your boot times since the removed program will not launch at startup anymore, managing the startup folder can also free up system resources since disabling Windows 10 startup programs means that they won’t hog up system resources in the background once your computer has been fully booted up.
What Programs Should be Added to Startup in Windows 10?
In case you are still confused about what programs to be added to the Windows 10 startup folder, then you may need further help. Since all of the programs present in the Windows 10 startup folder launch right at boot, it should include programs that you want to be running at all times in the background.
In simpler words, you need to ensure that programs like security software and antivirus programs, backup software, and any other software that you use daily should be added to the startup list in Windows 10. But if you feel that any given program, service, or app can be launched later on when needed, then you should remove it from the Windows 10 startup folder for improving your computer’s performance.
For adding as well as removing programs from the Windows 10 startup folder, you can use either of the various methods given above.
Conclusion
After going through this complete guide and tutorial on Windows 10 startup folder and all its major details, you must have a pretty good idea about it. Not only have we described the importance of the Windows 10 startup folder, but you can also learn how to access it and manage the various startup programs in Windows 10.
With the Windows 10 startup folder, you can improve boot times, increase overall system responsiveness, clear background clutter, and much more. For all of this, the guide given above takes a deep and detailed look at various details regarding the Windows 10 startup folder. If you have gone through all the information regarding the Windows 10 startup folder given above, make sure to share your thoughts in the comments section. You can also post any questions down there if you have any!
