How to Add Programs to Startup in Windows 11
You can add or remove startup programs using a menu built into the Windows 11 settings menu. Here’s how to access it. The Startup menu will automatically list or remove apps when you install or uninstall them. It also provides an estimate of how much a program might increase the startup process. This estimate ranges from No impact to High impact. Don’t read too much into this estimate, however. In our experience, even older Windows 11 PCs can handle over a half dozen High impact startup programs without significantly slowing Windows 11’s performance.
How Do I Remove My Startup Programs in Windows 11?
You can remove programs using the same steps listed above. Flip a toggle to the off position on the list of Startup apps to stop it from starting when Windows boots.
What Programs Must Run at Startup?
None of the programs listed in Startup must run when Windows boots. You can still use the operating system with every program toggled to off. However, some programs are more important than others. Programs that automatically sync data with the cloud, such as OneDrive, iCloud, Slack, or Microsoft Teams, should generally be left on. Leaving them on means you won’t have to wait for files to download and won’t miss out on notifications. It’s safer to turn off programs that don’t sync data or only sync data you infrequently access. Examples could include software that manages a wireless keyboard or a background process that manages cloud sync for an image editor.
What If a Program Isn’t Listed in Startup?
The Startup list is useful, but it may not list every app that is installed. Windows 11 (as well as older versions of Windows) sometimes fail to detect all installed software. This happens most frequently with programs released prior to Windows 8. Odds are you can still add or remove the program from startup, but you’ll need to use an older method that digs deeper into Windows’ settings. Our guide to how to add programs to startup in Windows 10 provides detailed instructions.
