Windows Startup Assistant

Important processes, services, and even some applications automatically start right after you reach the desktop. Some are useful, while others intrusively add themselves as a startup option, thus slowing down Windows startup. Luckily, programs like Windows Startup Assistant give you the possibility to decide what may and may not run at startup.

You don’t even have to go through a setup process to make the application run, so you can launch it as soon as the download process is done. You can use it on other computers as well, directly from a USB flash drive. Moreover, system registries are not modified, so you don’t have to worry about the target PC being negatively affected.

Starting with Windows 8, Microsoft introduced its own startup manager inside the Task Manager, but it might not tickle your fancy. Windows Startup Assistant is fitted with a bit more options than what you get to work with by default.

On launch, the application brings up the main window, letting you navigate through different types of startup entries, each type in its own tab. As such, you can manage items for current user, all users, as well as registry keys that always run, or run once on HKCU (Hive Key Current User) and HKLM (Hive Key Local Machine).

Sure enough, it’s best to make a backup of the whole registry system if you want to manage related startup entries, because the application isn’t fitted with such safety measures. In any case, management is as easy as selecting one or more options, and pressing remove. There’s the possibility to add custom entries by selecting the target program, and additional parameters.

Taking everything into consideration, we can say that Windows Startup Assistant manages to live up to expectations, providing an intuitive workspace in which to decide what is allowed to run at startup, and what not. It comes with registry management options for advanced users, and also the possibility to add your own entries.