Below is a breakdown of the four primary methods, reviewed by effectiveness and difficulty.
If you are an average user looking to speed up your PC: how to stop programs opening on startup
Back in the Windows 7/XP days, this was the only way to control startup. It is now largely obsolete but still functional for specific shortcuts you place there yourself. Below is a breakdown of the four primary
If you see a small window, click More Details at the bottom. If you see a small window, click More Details at the bottom
For the vast majority of Windows users, the primary tool for this task is the Task Manager. In older versions of Windows, users had to run the “msconfig” command, but modern versions (Windows 8, 10, and 11) have integrated startup management directly into Task Manager. To access it, a user can simply right-click on the taskbar and select “Task Manager,” or press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Esc. If Task Manager opens in a compact view, clicking “More details” reveals the full interface. The “Startup” tab presents a clear list of all programs configured to run at boot, along with useful columns showing the program’s publisher, status (Enabled or Disabled), and most importantly, a “Startup impact” rating (Low, Medium, or High). To disable a program, the user simply selects the entry and clicks the “Disable” button at the bottom right, or right-clicks the entry and chooses “Disable.” It is a non-destructive action; the program remains installed and can be launched manually at any time. A reboot will then show the effect of these changes.
Managing startup programs helps speed up your boot time and improves system performance. Here is how to handle it for both Windows and Mac. 🪟 Windows 10 & 11
Below is a breakdown of the four primary methods, reviewed by effectiveness and difficulty.
If you are an average user looking to speed up your PC:
Back in the Windows 7/XP days, this was the only way to control startup. It is now largely obsolete but still functional for specific shortcuts you place there yourself.
If you see a small window, click More Details at the bottom.
For the vast majority of Windows users, the primary tool for this task is the Task Manager. In older versions of Windows, users had to run the “msconfig” command, but modern versions (Windows 8, 10, and 11) have integrated startup management directly into Task Manager. To access it, a user can simply right-click on the taskbar and select “Task Manager,” or press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Esc. If Task Manager opens in a compact view, clicking “More details” reveals the full interface. The “Startup” tab presents a clear list of all programs configured to run at boot, along with useful columns showing the program’s publisher, status (Enabled or Disabled), and most importantly, a “Startup impact” rating (Low, Medium, or High). To disable a program, the user simply selects the entry and clicks the “Disable” button at the bottom right, or right-clicks the entry and chooses “Disable.” It is a non-destructive action; the program remains installed and can be launched manually at any time. A reboot will then show the effect of these changes.
Managing startup programs helps speed up your boot time and improves system performance. Here is how to handle it for both Windows and Mac. 🪟 Windows 10 & 11