With the rising complexity of computer OS, it becomes very important to track the different apps running in the system. Windows initiated this from its 95 version of OS with the feature called Startup folder. This tab helps out in gaining the exact details on the apps that get launched during every start-up of the system.
From Windows 95 to NT versions, the programs in the Startup folder used to get booted via autoexec.bat program in a single go. With time, this concept was moved to a graphical interface model and therefore in the recent versions of Windows, like 7, 8, and 10, you would find the Startup folder in a different format.
In our blog for the day, we would be discussing in detail the Windows 10 Startup Folder format and location.
Contents
Dual locations : Startup Folder
You would be amazed to learn that in the case of Windows 10, there are two locations for the Startup folders. They are as follows:
- One folder is found at the system level, which is shared by all of the users having Windows account on the same computer or laptop.
- The other folder is unique to each user and is thus found only within the individual accounts.
These startup folders come in handy in troubleshooting any serious issue and preventing backlog of the PC. One of the ways to interact with the Startup folder, which is almost known to everyone, is Task Manager. Though it has the limitation of inability to add any programs, it can only disable the faulty ones running currently in the Startup folder.
Ways to access the Startup folder
In Windows 10, the Startup Folder can be accessed via the following methods:
- The first method involves accessing from the File Explorer. Before this, the ‘Show Hidden Files’ option needs to be checked in the settings to enable access to the folders that are generally hidden from the public. Then go for either of these paths in the quick bar:
- C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp — For accessing all users Startup folder
- C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup– For accessing the current user Startup folder or the one specific to the individual account.
- The alternative method includes via Run command. Launch it by the shortcut of Windows Key+ R simultaneously and then go for either of these paths:
- Shell:common startup for All users Startup folder.
- Shell:startup for Current user startup folder.
In the former method, all of the folders running under the Startup folder can be viewed in one go and then added or removed accordingly. Whereas, in the case of the latter method, you can jump to the specific folder of your interest and then make changes accordingly.
Other shortcut methods
Apart from these two, there are few other shortcut methods also to play with the folders of the Startup folder. The following speak about those:
- Launch Task Manager and then go to the Startup tab out of the list of tabs mentioned at the top. Then, right-click on any of the running programs and click on Enable or disable to control the settings accordingly.
- Launch the Start menu and then go to the Settings option. Go to Apps->Startup (Present as an option on the left side). Out of the list of apps, click on the different toggles to turn on and off the programs.
Key takeaways
Therefore, cheers to all of you who learned about the different ways of accessing the Startup Folder in Windows 10. Remember, that the speed of opening the folder depends on the type of applications that you have in the system. If you are heavily dependent on third-party applications, then the time of launch would be higher.
Hence, this folder indirectly indicates your device’s health and actions that need to be taken on this front.
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