Windows 10 offers a startup application manager that practically any Windows user can use. It’s integrated into the operating system and simple to understand – it’s even the program whose program is slow at booting the most.
Windows computers tend to start slower over time as you install more desktop programs, many of which are added to startup processes and start automatically every time you start your computer. The new Startup manager helps you to cut things down.
Access Windows 10’s Startup Manager
You will find this feature in Task Manager. To open it, right-click the taskbar (or press and hold on it with touch) and select Task Manager.
You can also press Ctrl + Shift + Escape to open Task Manager directly, or press Ctrl + Alt + Delete and click Task Manager.
Task Manager usually only shows a list of open programs, so you will need to click on the “More details” button after opening it.
Click the Startup tab after accessing the Task Manager full interface.
Disable startup programs on Windows 10
The program startup manager should be able to better understand than other startup program managers. You should see the name of a program with its app icon on the left and the program’s publisher name on the right.
You will also see the “Startup impact” of each program that starts – either low, medium, or high. If you see “Unmeasured”, it’s because it was recently added, and Windows hasn’t had a chance to observe any programmed behavior. Restart your computer, and you should see an impact appear.
To disable a program, click it, click the Disable button – or right-click it and choose Disable.
The real challenge here is deciding what to disable. Some programs are self-explanatory – for example, if you have Dropbox or Google Drive installed, they usually start when your computer boots up so they can sync files. You can disable them, but then they won’t automatically sync files in the background. You can disable a chat program like Skype here, but you won’t be automatically logged in when you start your computer.
Other programs are less obvious, especially system utilities and driver-related software that came with your computer. Much of this manufacturer-installed junkware isn’t necessary, but you might want to do a bit of quick research to understand what you’re going to disable.
For more help, you can right-click on a program and select “Search online.” Windows will open up a search page with the program’s name and its .exe file, allowing you to pinpoint what the plan is and what it is doing if you are unsure. The “Open file location” option will show you exactly which .exe file on your computer starts to boot.
Another way to boot Windows 10 faster
There are other ways to make your computer boot faster, too. If your computer doesn’t have a solid-state drive – significantly if you’ve upgraded a Windows 7 machine with a mechanical hard drive – upgrade your Windows 10 computer to a drive. Solid-state will substantially improve its boot speed along with everything else that requires saving and accessing files. An SSD is the single most important upgrade a computer can get, and yes, you will notice it.
Computers that came with Windows 10 – like the one that came with Windows 8 – use the UEFI firmware and boot faster for that reason alone. On an older PC that has been upgraded to Windows 10, you could potentially get some boot speed savings by tweaking a few BIOS settings. For example, if your BIOS checks your computer’s DVD or network drive every time you boot before it boots from your hard drive, you can change the boot order and have it Boot from the hard drive first, which will speed up.
Other general Windows tweaking tips aren’t necessarily helpful. Disabling system services won’t provide a noticeable improvement on most computers unless you have bulky service from third-party apps installed. Windows 10 will automatically defragment the mechanical hard drive and optimize the SSD drive, so you shouldn’t worry about defragging manually. Cleaning your registry won’t help. “PC cleaner” applications that promise faster PC speeds don’t deliver on this promise, although they can remove temporary files and free up disk space.
The startup manager is added to the new Task Manager in Windows 8, but most Windows 10 users will be coming directly from Windows 7. The whole management task has been overhauled from Windows 7, too – Felt Comfortable around if you are used to an old one. You’ll find a more streamlined way to see the resources used to run the program and the entire system.
