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Computers may sometimes behave like cats. They totally ignore you as if they have plans of their own. You will see apps popping up and mysterious processes starting in the background. Now your PC takes 5 minutes to load, what’s happening? Your computer probably has too many apps sitting in Autorun.
First, like most settings on your Mac, the options we need to use to manage login items are located in System Preferences. You can launch System Preferences from the Apple Menu in your menu bar at the top-left corner of your screen, by clicking the System Preferences icon in. While apps like Spotify jump up front and center when they launch, alerting the user, other apps are happy to chug away in the menubar with nary a user interaction for months. If you find that your Mac doesn’t start as quickly as it used to, or your mouse is non-responsive when first turning on and logging in to your computer, you should. There are some apparent approaches to control startup apps on Mac, but a few hidden hints as nicely. If you love your Mac but hate ready around for apps to load, here’s the way to disable them on startup. Disable Startup Apps from Dock. The best way to disable an app from launching on startup. Jan 15, 2020 How to set apps to launch at startup on a Mac: From the Dock menu. The dock is an easy way to get the everyday use app as soon as you open the Mac, but setting the apps to launch at startup will make the process even faster. There is an option to set apps to launch at startup on a Mac from the Dock menu in case the app you are looking to set in. Temporarily Disable Startup Apps on Mac. There might be days when you don’t have time to enable your computer’s normal boot process. Thankfully you can temporarily stop them from launching when you log in. Start your laptop as per usual. Type in your log-in password, press.
What Is Autorun?
Autorun is simply the list of apps that load automatically each time your computer starts. When the Autorun is overloaded you’ll sometimes see more and more icons appearing in the system tray (in the bottom right corner, where the clock is). The list could be long: Microsoft Office, media players, video drivers, Anti-viruses, software updaters and the like. They would often start their dialogue windows begging for your attention which is far from normal experience.
Why Are Autorun Apps a Problem?
According to MacPaw’s support statistics, adding 5 extra programs to Autorun slows down your boot time by 20 seconds. That’s because most of your applications come from different developers. It’s natural they are competing for PC memory, each trying to get its share of CPU resources — literally like snakes in a jar. They would add themselves to Autorun and busting them out is not easy. Some apps, though useful in theory, are extremely memory-hungry. For instance, game launchers like Steam or Origin eat up pretty much of your computer’s RAM. You may safely switch them off until the next time you need them.
In a nutshell, apps that run upon Windows startup are all real apps. They demand memory and waste your CPU resources, and not all of them are necessary to you. The more apps in Autorun, the slower the performance of your PC. Further down, we will tell you how manually clean Autorun.
How to Edit Autorun Programs in Windows 7
Since Windows 98 all Windows computers have a special MSConfig utility developed to troubleshoot Autorun applications. It allows users to disable or re-enable their Startup programs. You can access it via Task Manager or directly. Here’s a path to access MSConfig in Windows 7.
1. Press Win button + R
2. Type Msconfig in the command bar
This brings you to the System Configuration menu. Now just click Startup to see the list of all your Autorun programs. Take a close look at these applications, as some of them may be unrecognizable to you. When you are doubly sure about what to remove, simply tick off the unwanted items. Then click Apply.
2. Type Msconfig in the command bar
This brings you to the System Configuration menu. Now just click Startup to see the list of all your Autorun programs. Take a close look at these applications, as some of them may be unrecognizable to you. When you are doubly sure about what to remove, simply tick off the unwanted items. Then click Apply.
There’s one more thing to keep in mind. Don’t remove apps from Startup on PC just for the sake of it. Are you sure your computer will be better off with an Antivirus or Firewall protection? These apps might be your first line of defense against malicious software.
How Do I Know What to Disable?
Tricky as it is, about half of the programs’ names you’ll see in Autorun will not be self-explanatory. If so, study closely the path under Command where the app’s folder is located. If you don’t see the full path to the file, just drag the dividing element between Command and Location to the right. This should give you a clue what the program is about. This way you can safely disable the apps like Download Master, Adobe Reader or your torrent client. Launch them only when you do need them.
Ways to Disable Startup Programs in Windows 10
Windows 10 is smarter and more user-oriented than its predecessors. However, it’s not prone to Autorun issues as well. Sometimes it only takes to download one suspicious app and it will forever lurk in your Autorun list. Below is how to handle it and make your boot process fast again.
- Right-click an empty area on the Taskbar
- Choose Task Manager in the menu
- Hit Startup tab in the upper menu
You will see the list of apps enabled at startup. As you can see there is a line next to each app which indicates how heavily it impacts the startup process. Now right-click an app and choose Disable to turn it off. Once again, before you do it, inspect closely what each app does. You may also google the app’s name if you’re not sure.
You may even go as far as to disable every single item in the list — don’t worry — anyway your computer will boot successfully. It’s really all about your user preferences: keep the apps you will be using anyway.
You may even go as far as to disable every single item in the list — don’t worry — anyway your computer will boot successfully. It’s really all about your user preferences: keep the apps you will be using anyway.
This manual way to disable Autorun apps is a bit risky, though. For less geeky users it’s probably easier to use an automatic solution. There are many dedicated apps that should do the job at the stroke of a button. Our favorite is CleanMyPC for its crystal-clear user interface. Download it for free to keep your Autorun programs under control.
A Direct Way to Disable Startup Programs on PC
As we’ve mentioned above, many of the apps in your Autorun list will have confusing names. What exactly library-auto32.exe stands for? To make sure you won’t accidentally disable an important file, you may switch off an app directly, through its main menu.
Launch an app (that is particularly bothering you) and go to its Settings. You should be looking for Preferences, Options or similar titles in the program menu. There will be an option to disable this program running at startup. Now restart your computer and that’s all there is to it.
Launch an app (that is particularly bothering you) and go to its Settings. You should be looking for Preferences, Options or similar titles in the program menu. There will be an option to disable this program running at startup. Now restart your computer and that’s all there is to it.
Rely on this method each time you install a new app to your computer. Before you forget it, go to a program’s main menu and disable it at startup. For example, here's the path to disable Skype at Startup.
Safest Option: Turn off Startup Apps in One Click
The methods described above have but one major flaw. Not all apps that launch at startup are actually visible, even through Windows system services. To see and disable all of them we recommend to go with a special app. Below we’ll explain how to use CleanMyPC utility for that purpose, as it is simple and most intuitive of its kind.
- Download CleanMyPC , it’s free to try
- Install the app and go to the Autorun tab
- Move the switch left or right to disable an app
Unlike Windows-based solutions, CleanMyPC conveniently informs you about the publisher and the original folder for each app. At least now you know what you are disabling and this method is safe. After you’ve organized your startup applications the performance of your PC should go up. This is by far the most simple way to turn off Autorun apps in Windows.
To give your computer performance even bigger boost, you can run a few more built-in utilities that come with CleanMyPC — as it’s actually 8 tools in one. Here’s what you can do with this utility:
- Clean up system junk
- Uninstall hard-to-delete apps
- Clean Registry junk
- Disable browser extensions
- Remove the hibernation file (quite memory-hungry)
Remove Programs From Autorun via Registry
Meddling with Windows Registry isn’t generally recommended as it requires some degree of experience and chances of something going wrong are high. But still, it’s a good alternative way to lessen your program load.
- Press Win button + R
- Type in regedit command
Now you have to look for the following Registry entry:
Mac Remove Apps From Startup
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun
This file contains Autorun applications linked with your user profile. To remove a program from Autorun, just an entry corresponding to its name.
Warning: doing this is risky and may cause damage to your system. Or just don’t do it if you can tell a Task Manager from a System Tray. For a reliable risk-free solution, once again, download CleanMyPC. It’s a safe way to disable startup applications that even a kid can use.
Hope that article was helpful. Stay tuned for more tips and tricks about your Windows PC.
Does your Mac slow to a crawl thanks to apps that spring to life upon startup? Here's how to disable and manage startup items so you can stop them in their tracks.
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Does your Mac take an abnormally long time to boot up? And when it does start, are you bombarded with a series of programs you didn't open? Startup apps are convenient, but too many can eat up precious memory and slow down your computer. The good news is, you can fight back.
There are some obvious ways to manage startup apps on Mac, but a few hidden tricks as well. If you love your Mac but hate waiting around for apps to load, here's how to disable them on startup.
Disable Startup Apps from Dock
The simplest way to disable an app from launching on startup is to do it from the Dock. Right-click on the app and hover over Options in the menu. Apps that are set to open automatically will have a check mark next to Open at Login. Tap that option to uncheck it and disable it from opening.
Disable Login Items on Startup
You can also manage multiple startup items at one time. Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items to view a list of all apps set to launch on startup. To remove a specific app, highlight it and click the minus button under the list.
Hide Login Items on Startup
Certain apps can still launch at startup without necessarily popping up on the screen. By hiding itself at startup, the item runs in the background and is ready to go when you need it. To hide a startup app, go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items and tick the Hide box next to it.
Temporarily Disable Startup Apps
You're starting up your Mac but don't have time for the computer's normal boot process. Instead of waiting for all those startup apps to load, you can temporarily stop them for just this one session.
Enter your login information as you normally would, but hold down the Shift key on the keyboard before submitting your credentials. Hold down Shift until the Dock appears, and the startup apps won't load this time.
Mac Disable Apps On Startup Windows 7
Delay Startup Apps with Delay Start
You can delay the launch of startup apps rather than disable them entirely. The third-party app Delay Start lets you set a timer for specific apps to control when they start up.
Delay Start works similarly to the Mac's own internal interface. Click the plus sign to add a program to the list. Change the time setting to indicate how long (in seconds) you want the apps to be delayed. On the next startup, the items you added will launch with the delay you set.
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Have a Windows PC? Here's how to stop apps from automatically starting when you turn on your computer.