How to get rid of Start up programs in Windows 8.1

Too many startup programs can be very bad and it can significantly slowdown your system. Generally when we install the softwares it, on default, includes itself in the startup programs. Softwares consume memory (RAM) and it may harm your hardware if there are too much load on the RAM. But don't worry we got very easy method to remove programs from startup.

You can click on the images to zoom in for a better view.

Easy Method:

This procedure doesn't require any external tools to disable the start up programs. You can use in-built Task Manager to delete the start up entries.

1. Right Click on the Task Bar which is located at the bottom of your screen (Grey colored horizontal bar) to bring in the pop up menu.

2. From the available options, click on the Task Manager. Alternatively, you can use the shortcut to open the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc.

This is the Task Manager window but currently what you are seeing is not the start up entries. As you can see there are multiple tabs in the Task Manager viz. Processes, Performance, App History, Startup, Users, Details and Services. On default, 'Processes' tab is open. But we are concerned with only the 'Startup' tab which includes the entries. Simply navigate to the 'Startup' tab by clicking it as shown in the above image.

1. When you click on the 'Startup' tab, similar-looking image will appear. You may have more or less entries depending upon how many Softwares and Games you have installed.

2. It is advised to sort this list according to 'Status'. Because we are only concerned with items which are labeled as 'Enabled' in 'Status' column. It is not necessary to sort this way but it significantly reduces our work and probably avoids confusion if you don't know anything about this. Since we are looking for only 'Enabled' entries, you need to click the 'Status' title two times. Because clicking only once will give 'Disabled' entries at the top and 'Enabled' entries to the bottom. But we want 'Enabled' entries to be at the top so you have to click it again.

3. Now we got the list we wanted. Go through the list one by one and select the entry which you want to disable. Then 'Right Click' on the entry to bring in a small pop up menu. From that menu simply click on 'Disable' to remove the program from startup entries. Alternatively, you have disable button at the bottom right corner of the Task Manager window. Repeat this procedure on the entries you don't need. And make sure you are not disabling the security programs like Antivirus or any other important programs.

Using CCleaner:

CCleaner is a very easy-to-use and a powerful tool to get rid of startup programs. It gives us more options on removal process. If you don't have CCleaner, you can download it from the following official website - https://www.ccleaner.com

1. As instructed in the image, first click on the 'Tools' button which will give you 6 different tools listed right side to that.

2. Now click on the 'Startup' button to list the entries in the middle of the window.

3. There are several tabs viz windows, internet explorer, scheduled task etc but don't worry the tab we are looking is already selected and the startup entries are listed below that tab. Now as we discussed earlier, you have to sort the list according to the 'Yes' (Because there are no 'enabled' and 'disabled' tag here, instead there are 'yes' and 'no' tags). Click on the 'Enabled' title two times to list the entries. Now, go through the entries and click on the entry you want to disable.

4. Now, simply click on the 'Disable' button at the right side of the window. Alternatively, you can 'Right Click' on the list and select 'Disable'. You might be wondering what could be the third button i.e 'Delete'. The button has similar function that of 'Disable'. The button 'Delete' will not only disable the entry from start up entries but also it will delete the entry from this window. So, in the future, if you want to enable the entries that you disabled, go for the 'Disabled' button.

1. And now switch to 'Scheduled Task' tab. Scheduled task refers to the tasks which are executed at a pre-defined interval of time and these tasks are executed by Microsoft Windows or your operating system.

2. Click the 'Enabled' title two times,  and select the entry you want to disable.

3. 'Right Click' on the entry or simply click on the 'Disable' button situated at the right side of the window.

Even after following all the steps, if you are still experiencing computer-slowdown, it maybe a sign of Malware infection. But don't worry we got you covered. You can browse our article on How to get rid of a Malware on PC for a detailed instruction on removal process. Malware infection is bad since it has destructive goals - corruption or deletion of personal files, system slowdown, reinforcement of viruses and more. Make sure your computer is protected from these evil things and safeguard your valuable files.