When your computer boots up, it will start a variety of processes, services and programs that need to run in order for your computer to function properly. This is true for all operating systems including Windows, Linux, macOS and others.
Even though it’s necessary for many of these programs to run when your computer starts, there are usually some that don’t need to be running, especially if you don’t want them to. And many times, things like viruses and malware can configure themselves to run when your computer starts.
If you are a Windows user, you can check these startup items using the Windows Task Manager, the Windows settings app and even the classic MSconfig. But if you want an easy to use and effective way to view and edit these Windows startup apps, you should try the free WhatInStartup tool. This tool can be very handy when you cannot use the right click Properties or Open file location options in Task Manager if they are greyed out.
Once you download the software, you will only need to extract the zip file since there is nothing to install. Then you can simply run the WhatInStartup.exe file to start the program.
You will then see what apps are set to start when your computer boots up. There are several columns of useful information such as the file path, product name, version, process path and whether or not its disabled.
If you go to the View menu and then select Choose Columns, you will then be able to uncheck any columns you do not want to see as well as change their order. You can also drag and drop the column order around within the app itself.
When you select a startup item from the list, you can take specific actions on that app such as enable, disable, delete and view its properties. You can also save the startup items in the app to a text file if you want to send the information to someone else to look over.
Right clicking on an entry in the list will give you similar options and you can also do things such as perform a Google search on the app to see if its something that may be dangerous. If you want to know the location of the app, you can choose the Properties or File Properties option. The Execute Command option can be used to start the program manually if its set to disabled and not running.
As you can see, WhatInStartup is an easy way to view and edit your Windows startup apps and is a great alternative to Task Manager or the Windows settings app.
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