Windows 10 Startup Folder | Everything You Need to Know

What Is Windows 10 Startup Folder

The Startup folder contains lots of programs. The programs in Windows 10 Startup folder runs automatically when boots your computer. In this case, putting favorite programs in Startup folder cuts down on the loading time of these apps, folders and files.

In fact, there are two kinds of Startup folders on Windows 10, the personal Startup folder for the current user and another Startup folder shared with all users.

How to Access Windows 10 Startup Folder

In the previous Windows version, the Startup folder can be found in its Start Menu. But now, this folder is no longer accessible in Windows 8 or Windows 10 Start Menu. So how to find the Windows 10 Startup folder? There are two methods to access this Startup folder on Windows 10.

Method 1: Access Windows 10 Startup folder by using Command dialog

Step 1: Press ‘Windows+R’ to open Command dialog.

Step 2: Type ‘shell:startup’ to access personal Startup folder or type ‘shell:common startup’ to access the Startup folder for all users and hit the Enter key.

Step 3: Then all the Startup programs were listed in the Startup folder.

Method 2: Access Windows 10 Startup folder by using File Explorer

There are two paths to locate Startup folder on Windows 10.

For current user:

Step 1: Type ‘File Explorer’ in Cortana search box.

Step 2: Input the following path and hit the Enter key to open the current user Startup folder.

C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

For all users:

Step 1: Open File Explorer.

Step 2: Type the following path and hit the Enter key to locate the Startup folder shared with all users.

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Kindly reminder: If you want to locate the Startup folder by File Explorer, please make sure to enable ‘Show hidden files, folders, and drives’ option.

1. Type ‘File Explorer Options’ in Cortana.
2. Click View to find Show hidden files, folders and drives in Advanced settings and choose it.
3. Then click OK.

In most cases, launching programs waste a little time. It is a good idea adding the programs you use often to Startup in Windows 10. In this way, the loading time of programs would be greatly saved, because the programs start as soon as the operating system boots.

However, the more programs you add to the Startup folder, the slower boot time your computer enjoys. In this case, if you want to boot your computer faster, it’s better for you to disable the automatic start of unnecessary programs right now. Check out how to manage Windows 10 startup folder programs in detail.

How to Add Programs to Windows 10 Startup Folder

Way 1: Add programs in the Windows 10 Startup Folder

Step 1: Right-click on the program you’d like to add. Then click Create shortcut to create a shortcut for the program.

Step 2: Press ‘Windows+R’ to launch Command dialog, type ‘shell:startup’ and hit the Enter key to open the personal Startup folder.

Step 3: Select the program shortcut you want to add to Startup, press ‘Ctrl+C’ to copy the shortcut and press ‘Ctrl+V’ to paste the shortcut to Startup folder.

How to Disable Programs in Windows 10 Startup Folder

Three ways to disable auto-starting programs in Windows 10 Startup folder.

Way 1: Use Task Manager in Windows

Startup of Task Manager shows all the programs start with Windows 10.

Step 1: Press ‘Ctrl+Shift+Esc’ to launch Task Manager. On this page, click Startup to find the program you want to stop.

Step 2: All the programs were listed in Startup. Choose the program you’d like to stop automatically running. Then right click on the programs, click Disable to stop startup program to save boot time. In addition, you can also directly click the disable button at the bottom to disable the program in Startup.

Way 2: Delete startup programs in Windows 10 Startup folder

Step 1: Click ‘Windows+R’ to launch the Run window and type ‘shell:startup’ to access the current user Startup folder. Then you’ll see all Startup programs in here.

Step 2: Choose the Satrtup program you want to disable forever, then click Delete in the toolbar.

Way 3: Turn off Startup apps by Startup App Management

Step 1: Type ‘Startup tasks’ in Cortana and hit the Enter key to get its interface.

Step 2: All startup apps in here include the disabled program. Select Startup apps you want to disable, then turn it off.

Programs to Be Added to/Disabled from Windows 10 Startup Folder

Programs You Need to Add to Startup Folder

First, you should add the program you always run it first after booting Windows 10. Second, your favorite programs in frequent use should add to the startup folder.

After you’ve added programs based on needs, you should take the following programs into consideration:

1. Antivirus software: To avoid virus attack, you’d better run antivirus software in the background all day.
2. Cloud storage software: To avoid data loss, it’s necessary to launch cloud storage software for file sync or file backup, like OneDrive, Dropbox etc.

Programs You Don’t Need to Add to Startup Folder

1. Gaming software: If you are not a professional gamer, adding the game to the Startup folder would greatly affect your boot time. Unless you’re a pro gamer, running game at Startup would reduce the loading time to help you enter game faster.
2. Large-scale software: It’s unwise to run serval large-scale software at startup. Although the loading time of software gets faster, you sacrifice the boot time. In this case, Windows may stuck on loading screen.

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How to Fix Windows 10 Startup Folder Not Working

Usually, the common issues for Windows 10 Startup folder not working: Windows 10 start-up button not working and Windows 10 start-up folder not working.

This part gives you three ways to fix Startup folder not running on Windows 10.

Way 1: Reinstall the Programs

The simplest way to solve Windows 10 Startup folder not working is reinstalling the programs.

Step 1: Type ‘Control Panel’ in Cortana search box and hit the Enter key to access its main interface.

Step 2: On this page, choose Category view option, then you will find Programs at first sight. Click Uninstall a program option to go on.

Step 3: In the following programs, select the program that probably causes Windows 10 startup folder not working error. Then click Uninstall above the program list or right click on the chosen program, tap Uninstall option. In the pop-up window, click Yes to execute the operation.

Step 4: Input the software name in File Explore and find out the folder, then choose the folder and delete it.

Step 5: After that, you can reinstall the program and check if the error still exists or not.

Way 2: Fix Windows 10 Startup Registry

If you fail to solve Windows 10 Startup folder issue, you can check Windows 10 Startup registry, such as adding a new String Value or editing the String Value by Registry Editor.

Step 1: Press ‘Windows+R’ to open the Run dialog box and input the command ‘Regedit’ in the dialog box to launch Registry Editor.

Step 2: Find out the Run folder, right click on this folder. Then select New > String Value to create a string value.

Step 3: Then right-click on the file you create, select Modify and copy the path of the program you want to run at Startup to Value data. To distinguish the file, you can change the name. Then click OK.

Way 3: Reset Your Computer

If the above ways cannot help you fix the problem, resetting your computer can solve the issue. To protect data security, you can use MiniTool Partition Wizard to copy partition or copy disk.

Since, you can have the chance to keep your personal file when resetting the computer. But to avoid data loss, you can back up some important data by MiniTool ShadowMaker.

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First of all, back up important data.

The following part will tell you how to back up files.

Step 1: Download and install MiniTool ShadowMaker Trial edition. Launch the software, click Keep Trial and tap Connect in Local to manage the local computer.

Step 2: Tap the Source to the type of backup. There are two backup type, Disk and Partitions and Folders and Files. Choose Folders and Files to back up some important files.

Step 3: Check the folders you’d like to do backup and click the OK button.

Step 4: Tap the Destination to select a destination path, then click Computer to choose a drive to save data and click the OK button. We recommend you to select USB as the destination drive, because resetting computer would bring you back to its factory configuration.

Step 5: Choose Back up Now to do file back immediately. In the pop-up window, click Yes to confirm the operation.

Now, reset your computer.

After backing up files, you can reset your computer at ease.

Step 1: Hold the Windows key and press the I key to enter settings page. On settings page, tap Update & Security to access its interface.

Step 2: On this page, click Recovery option in the left panel and tap Get started in the right panel to reset this computer.

Step 3: If you want to keep your personal files, choose Keep my files. Since you’re already back up important data on your computer, you can choose Remove everything to its factory defaults.

Step 4: After selecting Keep my files, the pop-up will tell you your apps will be removed and click Next to continue. Then on Ready to reset this PC page, click Reset to execute the operation.

You may also like: Quickly Remove There was a Problem Resetting Your PC – 2019

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Conclusion

To sum up, Windows 10 Startup folder is a good choice to decrease the loading time of programs. This post not only tells you how to add or disable Startup programs, but also shows three ways to fix Windows 10 startup folder not working.

If you have any question about Windows 10 Startup folder or file backup, please feel free to contact [email protected] or post your comment in the comments area.