How to add a new app entry to the Windows 10 startup? Here's two ways to do it

In the last post we learned how to enable or disable an existing app from running on Windows 10 startup. But, what to do if you want to add a new app entry to the Windows startup or completely delete an existing entry without marking it as disabled?

Today we will be discussing this topic and learn different ways to add a new app entry to the Windows 10 start.

In Windows, when you boot to your computer, some apps start running without any manual actions. These are either defined by Microsoft or any other 3rd-party apps that you have installed on your system. The more software you install on your system, the more time it takes to start the operating system. This happens because of those auto running apps at boot time.

Generally the entries of such apps reside either in the Windows "Startup" folder, or in the Registry config. Here we will learn how to add a new app entry to the Windows 10 startup folder. If you are an advanced user, you may also try modifying the Windows Registry config discussed here.

How to add a new app to the Windows 10 startup folder?

The "Startup" folder is present in two different paths. One path is applicable for all users (C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup), whereas the other is user-specific (C:\Users\[USER_NAME]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup). You can select any one of them based on your requirement.

Then follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Right-click inside the "Startup" folder, and select New | Shortcut.
2. Click the Browse... button, and select the application that you want to run automatically when the user logs-in to the system.
3. Click Next and provide a name to the shortcut.
4. Click OK to continue.
5. The next time when the user logs-in to the system, the said application will run automatically. You may pass specific parameters to the shortcut path to run it silently.

In case you want to remove an application permanently from the Windows startup, just remove the shortcut of the application that present in the "Startup" folder.

How to add a new app to the Windows 10 startup by modifying the Windows Registry?

If you are an advanced user, you know about HKLM and HKCU. The first one stands for all users in that system, whereas the second is specific to the current user.

If you want to add a new startup app entry for all users, open the Registry Editor and navigate to the following path: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. In case you want to restrict it to the current user, navigate to the following path in Registry Editor: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.

Then follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Once you navigate to the correct registry path, right-click on it.
2. Select New | String Value.
3. Give a proper name to the KEY that you just created.
4. Double-click on the newly created KEY, and enter the path of the application that you want to run at system startup.
5. Click the OK button to save the changes to the Windows registry.
6. The next time when the user logs-in to the system, the said application will run automatically. You may pass specific parameters to the application path to run it silently.

In case you want to remove an application permanently from the Windows startup, just remove the associated KEY of the application from the Windows registry path.