How to Change the Startup Program on Windows 7

The startup program is saved in a special folder on the hard drive, and runs automatically when Windows starts. In Windows 7, the installation of the startup program is similar to that of previous versions of Windows. The following article will show you how to add or disable startup programs.

Table of Contents

Add or Remove Files from Startup Folder

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Open the Startup folder in the Windows Start menu. Click the Windows “Start” button and select “All Programs”. Scroll down the list to find the startup folder.

Right-click the “Startup” folder in the menu and select “Open All Users” to open the folder for all users on the computer.
Select “Explore” to open the folder only for logged in users.

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Create a shortcut for the program or file that you want to run at startup. Right click on the program’s file or icon and select “create shortcut” (create shortcut)

The shortcut will be created in the same folder as the original program.
The startup item can be another program or file. For example, you can set up word processing documents to open at startup.

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Drag, or cut and paste the shortcuts to the Startup Folder. The program will open the next time you start your computer. ^{[1] X Research Source}

To cut and paste: Right-click the shortcut item in the root folder and choose “cut” from the menu. Then, in the startup folder, right-click on an empty space in the window and select “paste”.
Or, highlight the shortcut icon and hold down ctrl + x. Then, with the startup directory working, press ctrl + v.

Change Current Startup Item Through MSConfig

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Click the Windows “Start” button and type “msconfig” in the search text box. Click MSConfig in the search results. This step will open the System Configuration console.

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Click the “Startup” tab. This gives you a list of programs that are installed as startup options on your computer.

Note that not all startup items are displayed.
You are not given the option to add a startup item to the list inside msconfig.
To add an item that is not in the Msconfig list, you need to use the Startup Directory method.

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Select the application that you want to run when you restart your computer. Any program you do not need can be unchecked.

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Click “Apply”. This step will revert the changes you made to the startup items.

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Restart the computer to finish changing the boot entries. A popup window will ask if you want to restart the computer. Click “Restart” to restart the computer and save all changes.

If you do not restart the computer, the startup program will return to its original settings.
When an item in MSConfig is unchecked, the computer will start operating in “Selective startup” mode. This information is located under the “general” tab in MSconfig.
In case you select “Normal Startup”, all disabled items will be re-enabled. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Using Other Methods to Change Startup Items

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Change program settings to manage preferences. This varies from program to program, and requires you to find your startup settings by searching through a menu like “options”, “preferences”, “settings” ( settings) or “tops” (tools), system tray icon, etc….

To learn how to change special program startup settings, you can consult the program’s “help” service, or search the internet.
For example, Skype, the internet telephony/chat program, can be disabled via Tops → Options → General Settings → Uncheck “Start Skype when I start Windows”. Windows).
Another example is Dropbox, the file sharing and storage program, which can be disabled by right-clicking the system tray icon (the icon in the window toolbar near the clock), tap the gear icon, then select “Preferences…”

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Use the computer registry to remove the startup entry. They can be deleted manually through the “regedit” program on the computer.

See an overview of the process here.
Editing the computer registry should only be done as a last resort and only if you know exactly what to do. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Using Programs and Databases to Define Startup Items

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Avoid indiscriminate deletion of files and programs. Deleting the startup program without knowing what it is can lead to the application not working properly.

Before making an uncertain change, you should use System Restore to create a “restore point” to revert back to the original settings if something goes wrong. ^{[4] X Research Sources}
Many startup items have obvious names, but others have obscure abbreviations, and include functionality that is difficult to identify.

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Use the online list of programs and processes, or search the Internet to determine what role they play.

This step is time consuming, as it requires you to search each file or process separately.
Some helpful lists include: ^{[5] X Research Sources}
- Process Library: included in PCMag’s Top 100 Classic Websites, 195k+ entries.
- Pacman’s Portal; online starter program database containing more than 35K entries

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Use a program that automatically cleans up startup items. There are many popular free programs that include cleaning up startup items, including entries in the system registry.

These programs often contain updated databases that include frequently occurring unnecessary items, as well as other tools to improve computer performance. ^{[6] X Research Sources}^{[7] X Research Sources}
As always, you should look for a reputable program to avoid damaging your computer.
Some popular programs include:
Ccleaner
Virtuoza In Contrp
Should I remove it?

Steps

Add or Remove Files from Startup Folder

Change Current Startup Item Through MSConfig

Using Other Methods to Change Startup Items

Using Programs and Databases to Define Startup Items

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