How to change Windows 10 startup programs: Speed up your PC load times by removing unnecessary apps

Over time a Windows PC will build up quite a number of applications that are automatically started when you first turn on the PC or laptop. While some of these are useful – cloud syncing services for example, which work best when you don’t have to remember to enable them – not everything that inserts itself into your startup sequence is really necessary. Here’s how to change Windows 10 startup programs and speed up your computer.

Every little helper program adds a bit more time between you pressing the power button and your computer being ready to use. Thankfully in Windows 10 it’s very easy to see what’s causing the delay, and quickly remove the culprits.

Read next: How to get Windows 10 for free

How to change Windows 10 startup programs: Using the Task Manager

You can change startup programs in Task Manager. To launch it, right-click on the Start button (the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner) and choose Task Manager from the menu which appears.

When the utility is first launched it will default to the programs that are currently running on your system. To access the information you need move the cursor down to the bottom left corner where it says More details. Click on this.

Now you’ll see a wealth of information displayed, including background processes and the resources that they are currently using. To find the startup items click on the tab along the top that is marked Startup.

This displays a list of everything that can load when you turn on your machine. It’s important to note the Status column, as not everything on the list is actually enabled. If an item it marked as Disabled then you can ignore it as it will not load in the startup sequence. To simplify matters click on the Status column so that it sorts the items into groups of enabled and disabled apps.

 How to change Windows 10 startup programs: Disabling apps

If you see any apps that you don’t want as part of your startup sequence then it is very easy to remove them. Simply right click on the relevant app, then select the Disable option from the pop up menu.