How to Change Startup Program on Windows 7

Add or Remove Files from Startup Folder

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Open the Startup folder in the Windows Start menu. Click the Windows "Start" button and select "All Programs." Scroll down the list to find the startup folder.

Right-click the "Startup" folder in the menu and select "Open All Users" to open the folder for all users on the computer.

Select "Explore" to open the folder for logged in users only.

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Create shortcuts for programs or files you want to run at startup. Right-click on the file or program icon and select "create shortcut".

The shortcut will be created in the same folder as the original program.

The startup item can be another program or file. For example, you can set a word processing document to open on startup.

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Drag, or cut and paste shortcuts into the Startup Folder. The program will open the next time you start your computer.

To cut and paste: Right-click the shortcut item in the root folder and select "cut" from the menu. Then, in the startup folder, right-click a white space in the window and select "paste".

Or, highlight the shortcut icon and hold down ctrl + x. Then, with the startup folder active, press ctrl+v.

Changing the Current Boot Entry Through MSConfig

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Click the Windows "Start" button and type "msconfig" in the search text box. Click MSConfig in the search results. This step will open the System Configuration console.

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Click the "Startup" tab. This gives you a list of programs installed as startup options on your computer.

Note that not all startup items are displayed.

You are not given the option to add a startup item to the list inside msconfig.

To add an entry that is not in the Msconfig list, you need to use the Startup Directory method.

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Select the application that you want to run when you restart your computer. If you do not need any programs, you can uncheck them.

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Click "Apply". This step will revert the changes you made to the startup items.

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Restart the computer to complete changing the startup items. The popup window will ask if you want to restart your computer. Click "Restart" to restart your computer and save all changes.

If you do not restart the computer, the startup program will return to its original settings.

When you uncheck an item in MSConfig, your computer will start operating in "Selective startup" mode. This information is located under the "general" tab in MSconfig.

In case you select "Normal Startup", all disabled items will be re-enabled.

Use Another Method to Change Startup Items

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Change program settings to manage preferences. This operation varies from program to program, and requires you to find startup settings by searching through menus such as "options", "preferences", "settings" ( settings) or "tools", system tray icon, etc.

To learn how to change a particular program's startup settings, you can consult the program's "help" service, or search the internet.

For example, Skype, the internet phone/chat program, can be disabled via Tools → Options → General Settings → Uncheck "Start Skype when I start Windows". Windows).

Another example is Dropbox, a file storage and sharing program, which can be disabled by right-clicking on the system tray icon (icon in the windows toolbar near the clock), Tap the gear icon, then select 'Preferences…'

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Use the computer registry to delete startup entries. They can be deleted manually through the "regedit" program on the computer.

See an overview of this process here.

Editing your computer's registry should only be done as a last resort and only if you know exactly what needs to be done.

Using Programs and Databases to Identify Startup Items

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Avoid deleting files and programs indiscriminately. Deleting a startup program without knowing what it is can result in the application not working properly.

Before making any uncertain changes, you should use System Restore to create a "restore point" to return to the original settings if something goes wrong.

Many startup items have clear names, but others have obscure abbreviations, and include functionality that is difficult to determine.

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Use the online program and process listings, or search the Internet, to determine what role they play.

This step takes time, as it requires you to search for each file or process separately.

Some useful lists include:

Process Library: in PCMag's Top 100 classic websites, 195k+ entries.

Pacman's Portal; The online startup program database contains over 35K entries

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Use an automatic startup item cleanup program. There are many popular free programs that include functionality to clean up startup entries, including those in the system registry.

These programs often contain updated databases that include frequently occurring unnecessary items, as well as other tools to improve computer performance.

As always, you should look for a reputable program to avoid damaging your computer.

Some popular programs include:

Ccleaner

Virtuoza In Control

Should I remove it?

Lesley Montoya

Update 19 June 2024