Do you know exactly everything that launches when Windows starts on your PC? Probably not… Use Autoruns, a free utility from Microsoft, to see clearly and sort it out by keeping only what is really useful to you.
To manage what happens when you open your Windows session (10 or 11), you may rely on Task Manager and its Startup Applications tab as we explain in our practical sheet. Perhaps you also take care of the apps that come to nest in the system startup folder (read our practical sheet). A good start… except that Task Manager doesn’t tell you everything! And you’re probably going to be very surprised at what’s actually happening in the shadows, “unbeknownst to you of your own free will”….
To convince you of this, we invite you to use the Autoruns tool. It is part of the suite of utilities present in Sysinternals offered by Microsoft. Totally free, but in English only, Autoruns draws up a very precise list of everything that launches when Windows starts. You will discover thanks to it that many software and processes sneak among the items launched automatically even though you thought you had deactivated them from the Task Manager. In fact, these are “bits of software” that continue to run to, for example, monitor the presence of an update or ensure that an app is responsive when you decide to launch it. However, Autoruns allows you to monitor these autoruns and terminate them if you wish. Despite a somewhat dated interface, it is very complete and, above all, very effective.
How to stop applications or processes at Windows startup with Autoruns?
Autoruns has an “old school” interface, stark and cluttered with tabs and text, which can seem intimidating. Nevertheless, its principle remains very simple.
► Start Autoruns. It is a portable application and therefore does not require installation. The Autoruns window is displayed and immediately presents the content of the tab Everything (All). These are all processes that start when Windows starts. At the top, there are a string of tabs allowing you to sort the different elements.
► An app seems useless to you at startup? Uncheck the box to the left of its name. The setting is saved and it will be applied immediately after a restart.
► If you want to rid the Windows registry of this entry in the startup folder, right-click on the name of the app and choose the option Delete.
► Autoruns warns you that the operation is irreversible. Click on OK if you are sure of your choice.
► For experienced users, Autoruns also allows you to directly consult the registry entry attached to the listed app. Right-click on its name and choose Jump to entry in the menu that appears. You are prompted to restart Autoruns with administrator permissions. Click on Run as administrator. The software restarts. Repeat the manipulations and the registry editor displays the selected key.
► If you are in doubt about a listed item and cannot determine whether it is reliable software or malware, Autoruns allows you to verify with the service Total virus. Right-click on the fishy item name and choose Submit File to Virus Total. Your default web browser then takes over and displays the Virus Total result for your file.
► Caution. Like all tools for editing the registry and deleting items, Autoruns should be handled with care. If you don’t know what this or that file is, right-click on its name and choose Search Online. Your web browser will appear and show the results of a search for the given name, conducted in Bing (Microsoft’s search engine). If in doubt, leave the file in place.