Steps to Fix startup program error not starting with Windows 10

It's annoying when startup programs don't work as expected. Although the reason behind this can lie anywhere, from a faulty program to corrupted system files, there are several solutions you can try to solve this problem. In this article, let's take a look at those solutions with Tipsmake.

1. Check Startup Manager

If the startup program does not launch as it should, the first thing to do is to check that the program is configured to launch at startup. Here's how to check.

Step 1: Press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Esc to launch the Task Manager. Switch to the Startup tab and check if the program is set to Enabled state.

Step 2: If the program has a Disabled status, select it and click the Enable button.

Steps to Fix startup program error not starting with Windows 10 Picture 1

Now restart the PC and see if the program runs as expected.

2. Run DISM

Sometimes, corrupted system files on a PC can prevent programs from launching when the computer boots up. To make sure of that, you can try running a DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) scan to see if that helps. This tool is designed to find and edit related system files on its own.

Wait until the scan is complete and then restart the PC to see if the problem is resolved.

3. Add the program to the Startup folder

Another way to launch programs at startup is to use the Startup folder on Windows. Refer: How to add a program that starts with Windows, macOS, Linux for details on how to do it

4. Use Task Scheduler

With Task Scheduler, you can automate almost any task on your computer. You can start programs, execute commands, or even send emails when certain triggers and conditions match. Of course, you can also use this tool to launch startup programs. How to do it in detail is in the article: How to make the software run automatically on Windows?

5. Turn off UAC

Some programs on Windows require admin rights every time they launch. Therefore, if the problem is related to one of these programs, then you can try disabling the UAC (User Account Control) feature to see if that helps. Refer to the how-to in the article: Instructions on how to turn on and off UAC on Windows 10.

6. Create batch files to launch programs

In addition to the above, to launch programs at startup, you can also create and run a batch file containing the file paths of all the programs you want to launch. Here's how to do this.

Step 1: Open File Explorer and fetch the EXE file of the program you want to launch at startup. Now click on the Copy path option at the top to copy the file path.

Steps to Fix startup program error not starting with Windows 10 Picture 2

Step 2: Now right click anywhere on the screen and go to New > Text Document.

Steps to Fix startup program error not starting with Windows 10 Picture 3

Step 3: In the Notepad window, paste the command below.

@echo off '' Exit

Replace in the above command with the path of the previously copied program.

Steps to Fix startup program error not starting with Windows 10 Picture 4

Step 4: Now save that file with .bat extension instead of .txt extension.

Steps to Fix startup program error not starting with Windows 10 Picture 5

Step 5: Double-click the file to run and the program will run at startup.

Similarly, you can also paste more than one path into the above file to launch multiple programs at startup.

7. Add Startup Program via registry

If the above methods don't help, you can also use the Windows Registry to launch programs at startup.

NOTE: Tweaking the Windows Registry without knowledge can lead to serious consequences. Therefore, make sure you follow the steps correctly.

Step 1: Open the Start menu, enter the registry and press Enter.

Steps to Fix startup program error not starting with Windows 10 Picture 6

Step 2: Use the address bar at the top to navigate to the following key.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun

Step 3: In the Run key, right-click anywhere on the right, select New > String value. Name it exactly like the name of the program you want to launch.

Steps to Fix startup program error not starting with Windows 10 Picture 7

Step 4: Right-click on the newly created string value and select Modify.

Steps to Fix startup program error not starting with Windows 10 Picture 8

Step 5: In Value data, paste the path of the program you want to launch and click OK.

Steps to Fix startup program error not starting with Windows 10 Picture 9

Now restart the PC and now the desired program will run on startup.

Hope you are succesful.

David Pac

Update 14 September 2021