The location of the Startup folder in Windows 10 and how to add or remove programs from it: The Startup folder in Windows 10 is where you can place shortcuts to applications that you want to launch automatically when you start your computer. Here's how to locate it and manage the programs that run at startup: 1. **Accessing the Startup Folder:** - Using File Explorer: Press `Win + E` to open File Explorer, then type `%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup` in the address bar and press Enter. - Using the Start Menu: Click on the Start button, type "startup," and select "Startup" from the list of results. 2. **Adding Programs to Startup:** - To add a program, right-click on its shortcut or executable file, choose "Copy," navigate to the Startup folder, and right-click inside the folder, selecting "Paste." Alternatively, you can drag and drop the shortcut directly into the Startup folder. 3. **Removing Programs from Startup:** - Simply right-click on the shortcut of the program you want to remove from startup and select "Delete" or "Remove." Confirm the action if prompted. 4. **Managing Startup Programs via Task Manager:** - Press `Ctrl + Shift + Esc` to open Task Manager, then click on the "Startup" tab. Here, you can see a list of all the programs that start with Windows, along with their impact on startup time. - To disable a program, right-click on it and select "Disable." To enable it again, right-click and choose "Enable." Remember, adding too many programs to the Startup folder can slow down your computer's boot process. Therefore, only add essential programs that you need running from the start.

The Windows Startup folder is a hidden yet essential system folder where any program placed in it will automatically run when the computer starts up. Here, you'll learn a comprehensive guide about the Windows 10 Startup folder, including:

Where is the Startup folder in Windows 10?

The "Startup" folder contains shortcuts to programs that run when Windows starts up. You can access the Startup folder on Windows 10 or 11 by following these steps:

The location of the current user's "Startup" folder is at:

< li >< em > C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup< /em >

The location of the Startup folder for all users is at:

This text refers to a folder path in the Windows operating system. Translated into English, it is: "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs"

Locate the Windows 10 Startup Folder from the Command Prompt

Alternatively, you can access the Windows 10 Startup folder from the Command Prompt.

Step 1: Press Win+R to open the Run dialog box.

Step 2: Type shell:startup and click “OK” to open the Startup folder for the current user.

Alternatively, type shell:common startup and press "Enter" to open the "All Users" Startup folder.

Show Hidden Files in Windows 10

Note that AppData is a protected system folder that's hidden by default. You'll need to change your settings to display hidden files in order to access it.

Step 1: Press Win + E to open the Windows File Explorer.

Step 2: Click on "View" then "Options" from the top menu bar.

Step 3: In the Folder Options window, click on the “View” tab and select “Show hidden files, folders, and drives.”

Step 4: If it's checked, uncheck the “Hide protected operating system files” option.

Step 5: Click “OK” to save all the changes.

How to Change the Programs in the Windows 10 Startup Folder

How to add or remove programs from the Startup folder in Windows 10 You can easily add or remove apps from the Startup folder using the following steps.

Add the application to the Startup folder to run it at startup

Step 1. Right-click the app you want to launch automatically, select “More,” then choose “Open file location.” This opens the location where the program's shortcut is saved. If you don't see “Open file location,” it means the app can't be set to run at startup.

Step 2. Open the Startup folder on your computer, or use the above command to open it.

< strong >Step 3 . Copy and paste the application's shortcut into the Startup folder. The program will then run automatically whenever Windows starts up.

Remove Startup Programs from the Windows 10 Startup Folder

Step 1: Access the Startup folder through the following file path: C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Step 2: Right-click the program you don't want to open at startup, then click “Delete.” This will prevent the app from opening when you boot up your computer.

The shortcut will remain in the Recycle Bin until you empty it.

How to Fix the Windows 10 Startup Folder Not Working in 4 Simple Ways

Having your favorite programs open automatically every time you boot up your computer can save you a lot of time. What if they stop opening automatically, though? How do you fix a Startup folder that's not working in Windows 10? Try these methods.

Solution 1: Check Windows Startup Items in Task Manager

Please proceed to the Task Manager and locate the program that is preventing the startup folder from loading applications.

Step 1. Open Task Manager by pressing either CTRL + SHIFT + ESC or CTRL + ALT + DELETE.

Step 2: Click on the "Start-up" tab in the Task Manager window.

Step 3. Right-click the program you want to run at startup, and select “Enable.”

Step 4. Restart your computer and check if the program starts up automatically.

Solution 2: Manually create a shortcut to the app

Step 1: Press Windows + R to open the Run command.

2. In the Run dialog box, type shell:startup to open the Startup folder.

Step 3: Copy and paste the shortcut to the program in the "Startup" folder.

Step 4. Restart your computer and see if anything has changed.

Solution 3: Create a batch file to force the program to start

You could try creating and running a batch file that would run any program at startup:

Step 1: Create a new text file.

Step 2. In the document, paste the following line, replacing the file path with the location of your program:

Disable echo
C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
Exit

Step 3: Click “File” > “Save As…” and change the file extension of your TXT file to .bat.

4. Double-click the batch file to run it. The program will run on startup from now on.

Fix 4: Edit the Windows 10 Registry

If all else fails, you can try editing the Registry to resolve the issue with the Startup folder not working in Windows 10.

Step 1: Open the search bar > Type regedit in the search bar. Click on "Registry Editor" in the search results.

Step 2. Navigate to the following registry key to modify the specific entry:

"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run"

Step 3: Right-click on the empty area, and select "New" -> "String Value".

Step 4: The name of the value should be exactly the same as the name of the program you want to run.

Step 5: Right-click the new value and select "Modify."

Step 6. In the “Value data” field, paste the path to the .EXE (executable) file of the program you want to run.

Step 7: Save the changes and reboot your computer.

How to Restore the Startup Folder in Windows 10/11

Some users reported that for unknown reasons, their Windows 10 Startup folder and programs disappeared. If you're having the same issue and want to recover the missing Startup folder on your Windows computer, you might want to try using a data recovery software.

Data Recovery Wizard Pro, equipped with advanced data recovery algorithms, covers all storage media, including HDD, SSD, external devices, memory cards, USB drives, and more. You can easily use this software to recover accidentally deleted files and folders, whether due to accidental deletion, hard drive formatting/damage, system crash, virus attack, or other reasons.

The tool also supports repairing corrupted files after recovery. It supports document, photo, and video recovery in all formats. Download this all-in-one file recovery and repair tool to restore your missing folders.

Step 1: Select the folder where you lost your files

Launch the Data Recovery Wizard. Under "Select Location," choose "Select Folder." Click "Browse," locate the missing folder, and click "OK" to scan for the lost folder.

Step 2: Look for and preview the found files in the lost folder

If you remember the name of the folder, type it in the search bar to quickly locate the missing file. Then, open the found folder and double-click to preview the scanned files. Alternatively, you can use the "Filter" feature to look for a specific type of file.

Step 3. Recover and save the lost folder

Finally, select the folders and files you need and click “Recover” to save the retrieved data to a new secure location on your computer.

Conclusion

The Startup folder on a Windows computer is helpful for managing programs that run at startup. In Windows 10, the Startup folder is located at `C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup`. You can also access the Startup folder by using the `shell:startup` command.

This article also shows you how to fix a startup folder that isn't working and how to easily recover a deleted or lost startup folder with a data recovery tool.