Windows 10 Startup Programs

The more software you install on your computer, the longer it may seem to take to start up Windows. Applications such as Google Drive, Adobe Reader, iTunes and many others will load automatically when you start your computer. Many programs add themselves to the list of programs started when you boot your computer, and that list can get long. We show you how to change Windows 10 startup programs, and remove any that are slowing your system down.

Disabling Startup Programs in Windows 10

Windows 10 make it really simple to disable startup applications. You can change startup programs in Task Manager. To launch it, right-click on the Start button (the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner) and choose Task Manager from the menu which appears.

When the utility is first launched it will default to the programs that are currently running on your system. To access the information you need move the cursor down to the bottom left corner where it says More details. Click on this.

Now you’ll see a wealth of information displayed, including background processes and the resources that they are currently using. To find the startup items click on the tab along the top that is marked Startup.

This displays a list of everything that can load when you turn on your machine. It’s important to note the Status column, as not everything on the list is actually enabled. If an item it marked as Disabled then you can ignore it as it will not load in the startup sequence. To simplify matters click on the Status column so that it sorts the items into groups of enabled and disabled apps.

If you see any apps that you don’t want as part of your startup sequence then it is very easy to remove them. Simply right click on the relevant app, then select the Disable option from the pop up menu.

The app will remain in the list, but will no longer launch automatically when you turn on your machine. To enable it again just right click on it and select Enable. Remember that you’ll need to reboot your machine for these processes to take effect.

Note that some applications need to be configured to stop launching themselves when the computer boots, or they will just add themselves to the list of startup programs again. In this case, there is usually a setting in a program’s options to prevent it from starting with Windows.