[Windows Tip] How to Add or Remove Entries from Startup Programs List

We know that when we install 3rd party software programs in Windows operating system, some programs add their entries to system startup so that they can start automatically as soon as you sign into your Windows account. Sometimes these startup programs are necessary and we need these programs running in the background but sometimes some useless and unnecessary programs launch themselves with Windows and keep running in background. Having lots of programs running in background is not good for your computer health. These programs keep using system resources and can make your computer very slow.

To overcome this issue, Windows allows users to manage startup apps and programs using various tools. You can enable/disable desired startup programs so that only required programs run at startup.

To manage startup programs, we can use MSConfig, Task Manager and Windows 10 Settings app as mentioned in following tutorial:

[Tip] How to Manage Startup Apps and Programs in Windows 10

All the tools listed on the above mentioned article link, provide a list of all registered startup programs. But have you ever wondered from where do these tools retrieve this data? How do these different tools show exact same startup programs list?

Where does Windows Store List of All Startup Programs?

Actually all startup programs entries are stored in Windows Registry and all these tools take the data from Registry. There are some keys in Windows Registry which contain entries of all startup programs and we can use those Registry keys to add/remove entries from Windows startup programs list.

If you want to know which are the Registry keys storing startup programs entries, following steps will help you:

1. Press “WIN+R” key combination to launch RUN dialog box then type regedit and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following keys one by one:

3. When you go to the above mentioned keys, you’ll find String values present in the right-side pane. These string values contain the entries of startup programs. These strings contain the full path of startup programs executable files (EXE).

When a software program is installed and it needs to add its entry to Windows startup, it creates an entry of its EXE file in any of the above mentioned Registry keys.

As soon as a program creates its entry in Registry Editor, tools like MSConfig, Task Manager and Settings app start showing the program in Startup list.

BONUS TIP: There is also a folder called “Startup” which can also sometimes store entries of startup programs. You can open and access this folder using shell:startup command in RUN dialog box.

How to Add or Remove Entries from Windows Startup Programs List?

Although Windows allows users to enable/disable startup programs using various tools but it doesn’t provide any way to completely remove an entry from startup list. Sometimes we may want to completely delete a program’s entry from startup list so that no other person can re-enable the program in startup.

Now you know where are all startup programs entries stored in Windows, so now you also add/remove entries from startup programs list.

To remove a program’s entry from startup list, you just need to delete its String value from above mentioned Registry keys. Just go to the above mentioned keys one by one and when you find the required String value containing details of the program which you want to remove from startup list, delete the String. As soon as you delete the String value from Registry Editor, it’ll be automatically removed from startup programs list.

Similarly, to add a new program to startup list, go to any of the above mentioned Registry key. We’ll suggest to use the first one. Now in right-side pane, right-click on empty area and select “New -> String Value” option. Give any name to the string. Double-click on the String and in “Value Data” field, type the full path of the executable file (EXE) of the program which you want to add to the startup.

For example, if you want to add Mozilla Firefox to Windows startup, you’ll need to enter C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe in the Value Data field.

That’s it. Once you add new program’s entry to Registry Editor, all tools will start showing it in startup programs list.

So you see adding and removing programs to Windows startup is not a complicated task. You don’t need to use any extra 3rd party software for this task. You can manually add/remove entries from startup programs list by modifying Windows Registry.

Further Read:

[Windows Fix] How to Remove Unknown “Program” or Invalid Characters Entry from Startup Apps List