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How to Disable Startup Apps in Windows 10

Learn how to improve your PC’s performance

7 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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AlthoughWindows 10is pretty fast, after using a while, it will start to lag, especially when you have many apps and desktop programs installed.

While uninstalling them would make it faster, this is not a good solution, so how could you improveperformanceinWindows 10?

The short answer is to disable these apps, so they won’t take up precious memory when booting your device.

Today I’ll show you how to close and disable apps in order to improve theperformanceof yourWindows 10device. It’s quite simple and it offers a visible improvement.

What subjects will we cover?

Your PCperformanceis rather important, and in this article, we’re going the cover the following topics:

How can I disable apps in Windows 10?

The process itself is pretty simple, all you need to know is what to disable and what to keep active. There are two methods by which you can do this.

While the first method I’ll be showing you is the simplest, it is not as thorough as the second one, but at the same time, it is easier and safer to do.

1. Disable Startup apps via Task Manager

Press theCtrl + Shift + Esckeys at the same time to startTask Manager.

Alternatively, you can pressCtrl + Alt + Delkeys and selectTask Managerfrom the list of options.

2.Navigate to theStartuptab. A list of all startup applications will now appear.

3.Find the application you want to disable from starting with Windows and right click it.

ChooseDisablefrom the menu.

5.Repeat this procedure for all the applications you want to disable.

This method was used in older versions of Windows to improve performance and it still works pretty good in Windows 10.

While until now you could disable apps on Windows 10 from themsconfigwindow, Microsoft moved theStartupoption toTask Manager.

The Startup tab is rather useful for disabling applications because it shows you the startup impact of each application on your PC.

If you want to improve your startup time, it’s always good to disable apps that have a high startup impact on your PC. In most cases, almost all apps are safe to disable and by disabling them you won’t cause any problems with your PC.

Certain applications, such as Skype, for example, can have a medium impact on your PC, so they are usually okay to be left enabled.

Even though you can disable all startup applications, you probably shouldn’t permanently disable your antivirus from starting with your PC if you want to keep it safe.

If you’re looking for a tool that offers more control over your startup items, we recently covered some of thebest tools to manage startup items, so be sure to check them out.

2. Disable Services via Computer Management

You can also disable apps and improveperformanceby disabling certain services. Many third-party apps have their own services, and in order to disable those apps from starting automatically, you just have to disable their services.

To see the active services you need to do the following:

If you want to quickly open the Services window you just need to pressWindows Key + Rand enterservices.msc. Now pressEnteror clickOK.

Using the Services window to disable apps offers users more options, but it is also more dangerous to use and should be attempted only by those who know what they are doing.

Many of these services are used byWindows 10for normal operations, so closing them might result in an unstable system.

In the Services window, you can see the description, status, and startup type of each service. Thanks to this information you can easily find a service that is running or automatically starting with your PC.

To stop a certain service, you just need to right-click it and chooseDisablefrom the menu. Of course, it’s just as easy to enable any service.

Keep in mind that many services are starting automatically with your PC, and by stopping a service you’ll just end it for this session. Once you restart your PC, the service will be back and running.

By double clicking on a service, you open its Properties, and from the Startup Type drop-down menu, you can select what type you want it to be.

By doing so, you can easily prevent a service from starting with your PC and disable it completely.

However, you better search for what services are safe to disable or modify, so you don’t damage your device. Don’t overlook the description of each one which you should read before making any changes. Here’s a list of some you can modify if you want to try:

Local Services

Internet Services

3. Use the System Configuration window

If you want to disable all third-party services instantly on your PC, you can do that from the configuration window. This is rather simple and you can do it by following these steps:

By following this method you’ll disable all non-Microsoft services from starting. Of course, you can always uncheck individual services in order to prevent them from starting.

4. Close Background Apps

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Even if Microsoft is trying to promote leaving apps in hibernation mode when you exit them, it is still a good idea to close them from time to time.

I can attest to the fact that after leaving open about 15 apps, my Windows 10 computer started lagging. After I closed them, everything came back to normal.

In order to close apps, all you have to do is move your pointer to the left side of the screen and open the Last Used Apps panel. From here, you have to open the apps and move your pointer to the top of the screen until it looks like a hand.

When you click and drag the app, it will minimize to a window, just like when you add apps side by side. While keeping the app selected, drag it down to the bottom of the screen and release it.

This is how you close apps inWindows 10.

As you can see, disabling startup apps and improvingperformanceonWindows 10is rather simple. If you want to improve your startupperformance, be sure to try some of the methods from this article.

How to Disable Startup Apps in Windows 10#

What subjects will we cover?#

How can I disable apps in Windows 10?#

1. Disable Startup apps via Task Manager#

2. Disable Services via Computer Management#

3. Use the System Configuration window#

4. Close Background Apps#