How to disable startup apps on Windows 11

Here are four ways to prevent apps from running automatically on startup on Windows 11.

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Windows 11 disable startup apps
  • To disable apps at startup on Windows 11, open Settings > Apps > Startup, and turn off apps you don’t want to run at startup. Alternatively, you can use Task Manager, the “Startup” folder, or Registry.

On Windows 11, some programs can run automatically at startup. Although it may be convenient to access applications faster, they can slow down the startup process, impact performance, and waste system resources (processor and memory) and energy as they run in the background.

As a rule of thumb, having many apps running other than the essentials is never wise. If you notice that your computer is taking longer to start, the system becomes sluggish quickly, or specific apps keep popping up (I’m looking at you, Spotify) as you sign in to your account, Windows 11 provides different methods to disable programs at startup through the Settings app, Task Manager, Startup folder, and Registry.

This guide will teach you how to stop programs from running on startup automatically on Windows 11 22H2 or version 21H2.

Disable programs at startup on Windows 11

To disable startup apps on Windows 11, use these steps:

  1. Open Settings on Windows 11.

  2. Click on Apps.

  3. Click the Startup tab.

  4. (Optional) Use the “Sort by” setting and select the Startup impact option.

  5. Turn off the toggle switch to disable programs at startup.

    Settings disable startup apps

Once you complete the steps, the apps will no longer run automatically on startup, speeding up the startup process and overall system performance.

Disable programs at startup from Task Manager on Windows 11

To prevent apps from launching automatically on startup from Task Manager, use these steps:

  1. Open Start.

  2. Search from Task Manager and select the top result to open the app.

  3. Click on Startup apps.

  4. Select the app affecting performance.

  5. Click the Disable button.

    Task Manager disable startup apps

  6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 to disable other apps causing startup impact.

After you complete the steps, the programs will stop launching every time the computer starts.

Disable programs at startup from Startup folder on Windows 11

To remove apps from the Startup folder to prevent them from starting automatically, use these steps:

  1. Open Start.

  2. Search for Run and click the top result to open the app.

  3. Type the following command and click the OK button:

    shell:startup

  4. Right-click each link to the app and select the Delete option.

    Startup folder delete apps

  5. Repeat step 4 to disable other apps during startup.

Once you complete the steps, the applications will no longer impact the startup experience of Windows 11.

Disable programs at startup from Registry on Windows 11

Alternatively, it’s possible to disable startup programs from the Registry by deleting their entries from the “Run” and “StartupApproroved” keys.

Warning: It’s essential to note that modifying the Windows Registry can cause serious problems if not used properly. It’s assumed you know what you’re doing and created a full backup of your system before proceeding.

To disable programs at startup from the Registry on Windows 11, use these steps:

  1. Open Startup.

  2. Search for regedit and click the top result to open the Registry.

  3. Navigate to the following path:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

  4. Right-click the REG_SZ key for the app and select the Delete option to disable it at startup.

    Run registry delete startup app

  5. Repeat step 5 to disable other apps.

  6. Navigate to the following path:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StartupApproved

  7. Click on the Run key.

  8. Right-click the REG_BINARY key for the app and select the Delete option to disable it at startup.

    StartupApproved Run disable startup app

  9. Repeat step 8 to disable other apps.

  10. Click on StartupFolder.

  11. Right-click the REG_BINARY key for the app and select the Delete option to disable it at startup.

    StartupFolder registry disable startup app

  12. Repeat step 9 to disable other apps.

After you complete the steps, the programs will be disabled at startup, speeding up the startup process of Windows 11.

If none of these methods work, you may need to disable the option from within the application settings instead of the Windows settings. Since each application differs, you may need to check the developer’s documentation for more specific details.

In addition to startup programs, Windows 11 also includes a feature that restarts apps automatically to restore the last session and help you to pick up where you left off quickly. If you don’t want apps restarting automatically, disable the feature with these instructions.