Auto-launching applications is a very useful feature in Windows. If you know that some utility should always work, you can add it to the list - and the system will automatically launch it at startup. However, if there are too many applications in this list, the computer resources may not be enough. In this case, it will load very slowly or even freeze at startup. This post describes how to disable auto-run of unnecessary applications in Windows 7.

Often, the autorun list includes instant messengers (Skype), torrent trackers, clients for services in the cloud (Google Drive), antivirus systems, and modules for auto-updating some programs. Users who are fond of computer games often add clients here, like Steam or Battle.net.

This service is very convenient. It allows you not to be distracted by the launch of many utilities at OS startup. All you have to do is turn on your computer and you can immediately open the desired program and start working.

Often, when installing software, you yourself add yourself to this list. This creates an unnecessary load on the resources of the personal computer. The system takes longer to boot because it wastes time on applications that you probably won't use at all. In this case, you can disable autorun programs.

Program settings

You can disable autorun programs directly from the configuration menu. In every application that involves autoloading, you can find this option and turn it off. This guide describes how to disable autorun using the example of the popular Skype messenger (Skype):

The next time you start the operating system, this program will no longer be turned on automatically. Similarly, most other utilities are disabled.

system configuration

You can also use an internal utility called System Configuration. With its help, users are able to centrally enable and disable the automatic download of various programs. Before you disable autorun programs in Windows 7, you must run this utility. To do this, you need to follow a few simple steps, as indicated in the instructions.

• 1. Why you need to disable autoload programs
• 2. How to remove a program from startup
• 3. We remove programs from Windows 10 startup
• 4. What programs can be removed?

Most of the programs that are in startup are added to startup for a reason. But we are talking only about the standard software of the operating system, while during the operation of the computer and the clogging of the OS with various software, unnecessary applications on autostart can significantly slow down the launch of Windows and the operation of the computer as a whole. After reading this article, you will learn how to remove Windows 7 startup programs and solve this problem.

Why you need to disable autoload programs

When the operating system starts, along with the desktop and basic processes, certain programs are loaded that the user has added to the autorun list. It can be any application: for communication like Skype, torrent trackers or other utilities for downloading files, and so on. On any PC, you can find a certain number of such programs, the icons of which are usually displayed in the Windows notification area (near the clock in the lower right corner of the screen). They can also be hidden, in which case to see the icons you need to click the arrow symbol located there.

Each autostart application adds to the Windows boot time, which can become obscenely long if autostart is configured for heavy, resource-intensive applications. For understanding, even on new laptops, pre-installed by the manufacturer and often unnecessary applications can slow down the system start for a minute or more. It also directly affects the performance of the computer, since they consume RAM, which is especially critical when the latter is small.

How to remove a program from startup

In most popular software, like Skype, uTorrent, Steam and many other programs, you can disable autorun in the settings of the application itself. This is not the most convenient option, it takes a lot of time, and it is not available in many programs. But there are other ways to solve the problem.

You can quickly disable autorun programs in Windows 7 using the msconfig utility. To open it, call the console using the Win + R key combination and enter / copy the msconfig.exe command into the “Open” line, then click “OK”.

In the window that appears, select the "Startup" tab, which will show all the programs that load when the computer starts, you just have to remove the unnecessary ones. This method is relevant only on Windows 7.

Remove programs from startup Windows 10

In the latest versions of Windows (8 and 10), the startup menu has been moved to a separate tab in the task manager. To get into the dispatcher, hold down the key combination Ctrl|+Alt+Delete or Win+X and select the appropriate items in each of the menus.

By opening the autorun tab in the manager, you will see the state of the programs (autorun enabled or disabled) and the impact on system boot. To remove a specific program, click on it in the list and press the "Disable" button located in the lower right corner of the dispatcher window / or right-click and select the same item in the context menu.

What programs can be removed?

Now you know how to remove a program from Windows 7/10 startup, but what software does this apply to and is it possible to harm a computer with such actions? Do not worry, all critical for the operation of the operating system are hidden from the inquisitive hands of inexperienced users and are not displayed in the autorun menu, so even if you delete all the programs available there, this will not affect the operation of Windows in any way. The autorun menu includes programs downloaded by the user, most of which no one uses all the time. For example, few people need a torrent client hanging in the background - it will start itself if you want to download something. The same applies to Skype, if you do not use it for work and do not receive incoming calls every 5 minutes, but only communicate with relatives and friends a couple of times a week, it is rational to launch the program as needed.

The same is true for all other software. The most useless are the maintenance programs for printers, scanners, cameras and other peripherals. The equipment will continue to work and connect to the computer even if they are removed from autorun, and they consume a significant amount of system resources. If the name of a program is unfamiliar to you, right-click on it and select "Search the Internet" from the context menu - this will help you find out the purpose of the software and decide whether it needs to autostart.

That's all, you have received information on how to remove autorun of unnecessary applications. Keep your system clean and it will thank you with fast and stable performance.

There are several ways, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages, so let's get started. The easiest way is to find the Startup folder in the Start menu. All shortcuts found here will be loaded with Windows. Depending on the language of the operating system, this folder may be called "Startup" or "Startup".

As you can see, I have BingDesktop, Punto Switcher and SpeedFan loaded. To exclude a program from the Startup folder, you just need to right-click and delete the shortcut. But when Windows boots up, many more processes and programs are launched than are presented in this folder.

Built-in startup management utility

This is the easiest and most affordable way for Windows 7. To launch the "msconfig" utility, press the key combination "Win + R" and in the window that appears, enter the word "msconfig"

A window appears in front of us, in which we need to go to the "Startup" tab. Here are all the programs of the autorun section that are registered in the Windows 7 registry.

What do we see here:

• The startup item is the name of the program
• Producer - software developer
• Command - path to the program with launch keys
• Location - registry key or folder where this command is located
• Disabled date - respectively, the date when this item was disabled by you

Now we find the application in the list, uncheck it and click "OK". Msconfig will prompt us to reboot, but this can not be done.

Startup Management in Windows 8/10

The beauty of this program is that it finds all possible places where anything can be downloaded from and allows you to disable hidden programs with a single click! And all this is completely free! Installation is not required, but during the first launch, you will need to confirm the license agreement by clicking the "Agree" button.

You need to run the file "autoruns.exe" or "autoruns64.exe" for 64-bit Windows. The second file "autorunsc.exe" is designed to run in command line mode. The Autoruns window looks like this:

At the top are tabs, each of which indicates the location of startup objects. These are not only programs, but also libraries (dlls), toolbars, widgets, drivers, services, and much more. The first tab "Everything" presents everything at once in order. On the "Logon" tab, you will find those programs that we could disable in the previous ways.

In the middle part, in fact, a list of programs. To disable the program from autorun, simply uncheck it. If the checkbox to the left of the entry is unchecked, then it is already disabled. Lines that are listed in autoload, but their files are deleted, are marked in yellow; they won't load anyway. Programs without a description (“Description” column) or without a manufacturer (“Publisher” column) are marked in pink, which, as it were, hints at a viral origin, but it is not at all necessary that it is a virus.

By right-clicking on any line and selecting "Search Online ..." a search bar with the name of the file being launched will open in the browser so that you can analyze how safe the object under investigation is. More detailed information is displayed at the bottom of the window. I told how to determine the level of trust level of applications.

Using the "Save" button on the toolbar, you can save the current state of startup, and then compare after some time, in order to find out what's new added. By the way, also a very useful tool. I noticed that for some reason Autoruns does not check the launch parameters "userinit.exe" and "explorer.exe", so it's better to check these keys manually, more on that later.

Editing autorun in the registry

Now we smoothly move on to manually editing the registry. Press "Win + R" and enter "regedit" in the line. A registry editor will open in front of you, in which you need to go to the startup section.

There are two of them:

• global for the entire system, from which programs are launched under any user: "Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run"
• current user environment: "Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run"

We go into both registry keys in turn and find in the list on the right the application that needs to be excluded from autorun, and delete the entry with the right mouse button. A little lower there is one more section, which are called "RunOnce". These sections can contain commands for one-time execution, for example, to complete the installation of some software package. You can search there, but most likely it will be empty.

Unlike the "msconfig" utility, in the registry editor we can see more loopholes from where something can start. I will show the two most vulnerable places, both of them are along the way: "Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon"

Pay attention to these two options:

There should be exactly what you see in the picture (the paths may differ). If something else is written after “userinit.exe,” or after “explorer.exe”, then it will also automatically start with Windows. In 99% of cases it is a virus! Simply editing these entries is unlikely to help. After all, if the virus is in memory, it will quickly overwrite the record again. Therefore, you will need a complete .

What else can be done?

If you tried all these methods, but you still couldn’t find and disable the program, then look at the services and the task scheduler. It is possible that the program is launched from there. Autoruns has corresponding tabs "Services" for services and "Sheduled Tasks" for scheduled tasks.

Without Autoruns, you can easily see the services if you press "Win + R" and enter "services.msc" in the window. The "Services" window will open in front of you, in which you need to search for the name of the program you are looking for.

How to start the task scheduler and look for scheduled tasks there.

Another note for you:

• Windows Safe Startup does not start most startup objects
• if the program that put itself in autoload is launched again, and it considers that it still needs to be in autoload, then it will register there again! Therefore, you need to look in its settings where you can disable autorun.

If you use any other interesting method, then please tell me about it in the comments.

When you turn on the computer, in addition to loading the files and services necessary for its functioning, third-party (user) files and applications are loaded into RAM. For months, and for someone even weeks of operation of Windows 7, it acquires all sorts of software. Some of these programs are loaded shortly after the launch of all the services and applications necessary for the functioning of the operating system. These include various emulators, download managers, messengers and other software from the category of "should always be at hand."

Once upon a time, a situation occurs that during the launch of Windows 7 you have time to drink a cup of coffee or after turning on the PC, errors appear about the inability to load the program due to the lack of any libraries. It happens that you simply need to remove a couple of applications from the list of automatically launched ones that were added there during the installation process. Let's look at how to prevent the download of unnecessary programs in Windows 7 using the tools included in it and using third-party utilities.

Let's start with the means of the operating system itself, and there are several of them in the "seven".

Shortcuts in Start

Any user noticed the presence of the "Startup" directory in the Start menu. Some applications are included in the list of automatically executed when Windows 7 boots up by adding their own shortcuts to this folder. The user can also add them.

It doesn't apply to all software.

It’s easy to refuse to run such programs - we remove unnecessary shortcuts.

1. Open Start and switch to the list of all applications (games) installed in the system.

1. Expand the contents of the "Startup" or "Startup" directory.

1. Through the context menu of the element, call the "Delete" command.

1. We confirm the operation, if required by the system settings.

The same shortcuts can be found along the path:

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

There are cases when software is introduced into the list of automatically launched applications for all PC accounts, and not just for the current user. Then we go to:

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

Application settings

Many programs are endowed with an option that allows them to be excluded from startup. But such annoying instances as advertised browsers, the Mail.ru agent, various Chinese service utilities are not affected.
Disabling autorun is carried out through the application settings interface, less often through the context menu of the software icon in the tray, if it is minimized in this way.

System configurator

This is the name of the interface that provides access to virtually all programs and services that run after the OS is loaded on the computer. You can run the utility with the "msconfig" command.

1. In this case, you need to open "Start" and click on the "Run" button or simultaneously hold down the Win + R buttons.
2. Type "msconfig" and press Enter or OK.

The operation can only be performed if you have administrator privileges! They will have to be acquired if the current settings do not allow working on a PC as an administrator.
By the way, the command can be executed directly in the search bar of Windows 7.

1. Switch to the penultimate tab "Startup".
2. Here we remove the checkboxes located near the name of applications, the execution of which is not desirable after turning on the laptop or computer. You can also use the "Disable all" button.

Nearby, additional information about automatic download items is displayed:

• Manufacturer;
• Executable command - a link to the executable file, arguments (parameters) for its execution are also shown here;
• Location - the item is interesting in that some objects are stored in the system registry keys (more on this below), while others are stored in the Startup directory discussed above;
• Shutdown date.

The advantage of the configurator is the ability to remove software from startup without deleting its shortcuts, so that in which case everything can be quickly returned to its place.

1. Depending on the situation, click on the desired button, and by activating the option, we will get rid of this window forever.

In the "Services" tab, you can deactivate unnecessary services that will still start, even if the application that depends on them does not start. Such services must be installed with antiviruses, emulators (Daemon Tools, Bluestacks), peripheral device drivers (printers). In order not to harm the system, use, create backup copies of the registry or its branches (we will mention which ones later) and the function to exclude Microsoft services from the list.

Registry Editor

Wherever the launch of the program is registered, data about this is ultimately stored in the system registry. Let's consider how to get to them and disable autorun programs in the "seven" through the registry.
To enter the registry editor will help the search line in the start or the command interpreter "Run".

1. We call it through the "Start" or the key combination Win + R.
2. Run the "regedit" command.

Here, subsections of two registry branches are responsible for the automatic launch of programs (as in the case of deleting shortcuts):

• HKLM - global settings (applies to all accounts);
• HKCU - current account configuration.

1. We go into the desired bush (the so-called main registry keys) and expand the Software branch.

1. We go to the address: Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion (these branches should be exported through the "File" menu item before setting).

Autorun items are located in the Run directory.

1. To prohibit loading the program into RAM along with the OS, delete the key responsible for this (see its name or value - the path to the executable file).

1. We confirm the operation, which will disable the download of the selected application.

Third Party Solutions

When the computer is turned on, services, drivers, codecs are started, extensions for IE, dynamic libraries, gadgets are loaded, scheduled tasks and other components are executed. You can see what, in addition to programs, is forced to load Windows 7 using the Autoruns program from Sysinternals, if you do not take into account the system registry. In its editor, all this is displayed, but in a very inconvenient form for the user in various subsections.

The Autoruns utility allows you to remove any component from autorun, including the system one, so before using it, you need to take care of security (rollback point, registry backup).
Using the tabs, we switch between the sections by which startup items are grouped. By deselecting the checkboxes, we disable unnecessary elements.

You don't have to delete them - it's safer that way. The "Jump to..." commands will help jump to the registry key, file, or scheduler job responsible for the recording. Incorrect entries are highlighted in yellow.

More simple and popular to use is CCleaner, although it is inferior to Autoruns in terms of functionality.

In order to cancel the download of any program after the start of the "seven" through the cleaner, go to the "Service" section, where we switch to the "Startup" tab.

There are several tabs here:

• Windows - shutdown programs;
• Scheduled tasks - delete unnecessary scheduler entries;
• Context menu - if any program integrates into the context menu of files / directories, it can be prevented from doing so.

You can delete an application, disable or enable its autorun through the context menu of the element or using the buttons in the upper right corner.

If any program appears in the list of automatically launched again, most likely it is a virus or malware.

Starting a program automatically when your computer boots is a handy feature and worth using if you have a basic set of applications that you always keep open. Some programs have their own settings in which you can set them to start automatically with each new Windows boot, others do not have such functionality, but the operating system allows you to do this. In this article, we will see how to disable startup programs using Windows tools and, if necessary, enable automatic launch of individual applications.

Starting with Windows 7, the standard "Task Manager" of the operating system has a lot of useful functions and is used not only to terminate frozen programs and diagnose the load on computer components. In particular, the "Startup" item appeared in the "Task Manager", which displays all programs that automatically start when Windows boots. To get to this point, call the task manager by pressing the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys and select the “Startup” tab at the top of the window that opens.

To disable the startup of an application in Windows through the "Task Manager", you must right-click on a specific program in the list and select "Disable".

Please note that the Task Manager also displays the impact of a particular application on the operating system startup speed. Through the "Task Manager" you can not add new programs to automatic loading when the computer starts.

How to enable or disable autorun programs through the registry

The registry allows you to access almost any function of the operating system. In particular, through it you can configure a list of programs that are automatically loaded when Windows starts. To do this, you need:

1. Press the key combination Windows + R on the keyboard and write the command regedit;
2. Next, in the registry, go to the following path:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Run

It should be noted that according to the instructions above, the startup parameters of programs are set for the user on whose behalf the registry is currently being edited. If you want to set the settings for all users, in the left part of the registry editing window, right-click on the Run folder and select "Go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key". Then follow the procedures to add or remove a program from the startup list.

You can enable autoloading of individual applications through a special folder. It is enough to place a shortcut to the program in it so that it automatically starts every time you boot Windows. To go to this folder, just press the key combination Windows + R on the keyboard and enter the command in the Run window shell:startup.

It should be noted that this folder does not contain all programs that are set to automatically start when the operating system starts. Through it, you can not disable system applications.