While Windows allows apps to start up with the computer and become available for your immediate use, it also provides the option to prevent apps and programs from opening at startup on your Windows 11/10 computer.
Hence, if you feel that your computer is slowing down due to resource intensive apps starting up with the computer, you can disable or prevent such unwanted apps from opening or starting up with the computer.
Prevent Apps from Opening at Startup in Windows 11/10
As you must have noticed, both third-party and native Microsoft apps like Skype, Teams, OneDrive have an inherent tendency to automatically start with the computer and keep running in background.
If these are not your go to apps, you can prevent such apps and programs from automatically starting up with the computer by using different methods as provided below in this guide.
1. Disable Startup Programs Using Settings
An easy way to disable startup apps and programs is by going to the Settings menu on your Windows 11/10 computer.
1. Go to Settings > select Apps in the left-pane and click on Startup in the right-pane.
2. On the Settings screen, you can disable any App or Program from startup by moving the toggle to OFF position.
After this, when you restart the computer, you should no longer find the disabled Apps starting up with the computer.
Windows 10: Go to Settings > Apps > Startup (left-pane) and disable Apps in the right-pane.
When you restart the computer, the disabled apps won’t be allowed to start up with the computer.
2. Disable Startup Apps & Programs Using Task Manager
Another way to prevent unwanted apps and programs from starting up with the computer is by using Task Manager.
1. Right-click on the Start button and select Task Manager.
2. On the Task Manager screen, go to Startup tab > right-click on the program that you want to remove from startup and click on Disable.
Repeat the above steps to prevent other unwanted Apps from starting up with the computer.
3. Remove Apps from Windows Startup Folder
Another way to prevent unwanted apps from opening at startup in Windows 10 is to remove the app or program from the Startup Folder on your computer.
1. Right-click on the Start button and click on Run.
2. In the Run Command window, type shell:startup and click on OK to open the Startup Folder on your computer.
3. In the Startup Folder, right-click on the Program that you want to stop from opening at startup and click on Delete.
Once the program is removed from the Startup Folder, it won’t be able to start up automatically with the computer.