Windows comes bundled with a feature that enables programs to start up upon boot. This feature could be helpful, for instance, for cloud-syncing services. But in other cases, they may increase boot time considerably. Booting your PC along with other apps can constitute a significant drawback on your productivity. You may want to shorten this time.
To add Store apps to Startup in Windows 10, do the following. Press the Win + R keys together on your keyboard to open the Run dialog and type shell:AppsFolder in the run box. Press the Enter key to open the Applications folder. How To Add Programs To Startup In Windows 10. But be cautious: adding too many programs to the startup folder can make your PC boot slowly (especially if you are still using a classic hard disk drive as your system disk). Perform the following steps: STEP 1. Open the Startup Folder using any method explained above.
Some users may prefer to have a couple of essential applications start up with Windows upon booting. You can resolve all these peculiar needs in a few simple steps in Windows 10. This article will show how to create a custom startup app list.
Related: Is Your Windows 10 Slow to Boot? Make It Faster with These Tips
Identify and Disable Apps that You Don’t Need
To modify the list of custom apps, you must first identify the unnecessary apps that take up your startup time. You can then disable these apps from the startup list. Follow the steps below to identify and disable these apps.
1. Click on the “Search” icon in your taskbar. Type in the word “Task Manager,” and then click on the app to launch it.
2. In some cases Task Manager will start up with minimal details. Click on “more details” for a fuller list.
3. Now that Task Manager is in “full details mode,” click on the “Startup” Tab.
4. The next page should show you a list of all the apps on your PC that have startup permissions.
5. For any app you don’t want to start up at boot-time, click on it and select “Disable.”
6. A good tip is to look at the startup impact tab. If the startup impact is “Low” or “Medium,” you can choose to leave it enabled. If it is “High” or “Not measured,” then disable it.
Now you are set. This first step is important, as those unimportant apps consume a lot of processor resources and can slow down your PC remarkably.
Related: How to Schedule Windows 10 Shutdown and Startup
Add Your Preferred Apps to the Startup List
For the sake of clarity, what you are doing here is to point Windows to your preferred app. You will do this by copying the app’s shortcut directory to a specified location in Windows. Windows will start these apps along with your PC the next time you boot up the computer.
1. Click on the Win key and scroll to the app that you want to include. For instance, MS Word or Excel.
2. Right-click on it and select “More.” Now choose “Open file location.” Windows Explorer should open up to the file’s location now.
Note: if there isn’t an option for “Open file location,” then this app can’t be started during boot-up.
3. Right-click on the shortcut icon for the app you want to include. Click on “Copy.” Another way to do this is to use Ctrl + C on the selected shortcut app. Minimize the folder.
4. Press Win + R. This combination will start the Run program in Windows. Now type
shell:startup
inside the text-box of this program. Click “OK.” You will be directed to the startup app folder.5. Right-click and paste this shortcut app you copied in the previous step here, or you can use the Ctrl + V combination.
6. Repeat this process for all the apps you wish to include in the startup folder.
Note: if you delete any app shortcut here, it will be automatically be removed from your startup list. You can confirm this using Windows Task Manager.
Now reboot your device to enable these new settings to take effect.
Wrapping Up
Productivity for creatives is tied to how much they can customize their PC to serve their clients’ needs. Using the startup feature is one effective way to achieve this goal. Go ahead and add your most essential apps to your startup folder, and improve your workflow in Windows 10.
The Complete Windows 10 Customization Guide
In this ebook we’ll be exploring the multitude of options to fully customize Windows 10. By the end of this ebook you’ll know how to make Windows 10 your own and become an expert Windows 10 user.
How can I pin arbitrary programs to my Start Menu?
I can't create a shortcut in
C:ProgramDataMicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms
; Windows says:Can't create shortcut here; create on desktop instead?
I can't drag and drop it onto the Start Menu itself.
If I drag it onto the Start icon, it asks me if I want to pin it, but it doesn't do anything.
Run5k12k77 gold badges3636 silver badges5656 bronze badges
mpenmpen4,4641111 gold badges4242 silver badges6363 bronze badges
3 Answers
The
C:ProgramDataMicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms
start menu is for all users, and you will need administrative access to install anything here. Anything here will appear on the start menu all users that login.Instead use the
PaulPaul%appdata%MicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms
location, which belongs to your user and no additional privileges are required.49.3k1414 gold badges122122 silver badges152152 bronze badges
If your program was installed 'the right way', having a shortcut in 'All apps', use ᔕᖺᘎᕊ's answer.If it is a simple exe file running without installation, why not simply right-click on the .exe file, choose 'Pin to Start'.
MikMik
If you just want to pin a normal program to the start menu, you can simply:
![Add Program To Startup Windows 10 Add Program To Startup Windows 10](/uploads/1/2/3/9/123925998/135850670.jpg)
Click the start menu logo > Click 'all apps' > Right click the program you want to be pinned > Click 'Pin to Start':
ᔕᖺᘎᕊᔕᖺᘎᕊ5,33644 gold badges2525 silver badges4141 bronze badges