Most modern users know that when Windows starts, a huge number of software applets and services start with it, which are not required to ensure the operability of the operating system. Moreover - many of these components cause an additional load on system resources, which even leads to system braking. Further, we will talk about how to disable autorun programs in Windows-systems. There are several basic methods that for different modifications of the OS of this family themselves can vary quite a lot.
What is autostart and why is it needed?
As already mentioned, autorun is a system tool that allows some applications (user or system) to start directly with Windows, loading their own or the required executable components for work (usually in the form of dynamic libraries or device drivers) directly into RAM. However, if you look, by default, even after installing the system from scratch, there are too many such components, and not all of them are needed to work. The same applies to some components of user-installed applications, not to mention the fact that all sorts of virus applets are very fond of registering in startup.
What programs and processes start with the operating system?
Let us leave aside the issues related to how to turn off the autorun application in Windows, and see what processes can be activated when the system starts. Firstly, these are system services and the main device drivers that can be used directly for the correct functioning of the system (drivers for video cards, sound adapters, network equipment, etc.). Secondly, quite often it can be application components that were installed by the user. Most often, these are just unnecessary tools for tracking the release of all kinds of updates for installed applications.
The most striking example of this is the update tracking service of the Adobe Flash Player add-in. It goes without saying that in order to reduce the load on the central processor and RAM, most of these applets must be disposed of. But how?
How to disable autorun programs in Windows 7 and below?
Now directly on disabling unnecessary components. To begin, consider how to disable autorun in Windows 7 and earlier operating systems, since in later versions the methodology discussed below is somewhat different from the generally accepted standards.
You can deactivate unnecessary startup items in the system configuration, which is accessed through the Run console by entering the msconfig shortcut. The process must necessarily start with administrator rights, otherwise it will not work to make the necessary changes.
In the configurator, you must go to the appropriate tab and look at the applets presented there. By and large, absolutely everything can be deactivated. Only the ctfmon component should be left, which is the process responsible for changing the language and keyboard layout, and, accordingly, for displaying the language bar. If you disable this process, the language icon and the panel itself from the system tray will disappear, and switching between installed languages and layouts will become quite inconvenient.
Note: if the administrator’s launch point of the configurator in the “Run” menu is not available, you can create a similar task in the “Task Manager” and mark the point of its execution in the corresponding mode.
How to disable autorun in Windows 10?
In the tenth version of the system, the process is somewhat different from what was described for the seventh modification. Of course, the msconfig command for accessing configuration settings works, but the startup section is not there, because it was moved to the "Task Manager".
If you try to access autorun in the configurator, you will be redirected to the "Task Manager", so to forgive the actions performed, it is better to call it immediately (taskmgr).
The actions performed below are similar to those described above. But there is one caveat. The fact is that the language change service at startup in the form of the ctfmon component is not shown (it is in the tree of active background processes). That is why here you can turn off absolutely everything, as they say, without a twinge of conscience.
Actions in the registry
Separately, it is worth noting that in the auto start section, far from all the elements that are activated during the Windows boot process are shown. You can, of course, find unnecessary components in the active services section, but disconnection should only be done with knowledge. However, you can do a little different. Let's see how to disable autorun through the registry. Everything is simple even for a novice user.
First you need to enter the editor (regedit) and, in order not to search for necessary sections for a long time, going through directories and subdirectories, it is easiest to immediately use the search engine (Ctrl + F) and in the HKLM and HKCU branches find the Run and RunOnce directories (they will be in each branch). The first folders contain components that start all the time, and the second folder that runs once. Having deleted all the keys, you will get rid of unnecessary elements that are not visible in the main section of the auto start.
How to deactivate non-disconnect system components?
Now a few words about how to disable autorun of unused system components that can be represented as services. You can find them in the programs and components of Windows. In the list provided, turn off everything that you do not need.
For example, if you are not using virtual machines, you absolutely do not need the Hyper-V module. If you do not have a printer, you can disable the print service or virtual printers to convert some document formats. If you are not a fan of Internet Explorer, turn it off. At the very least, it will stop activating when you open some specific links for programs that suggest its use as the main means of accessing the Internet. Upon completion of all actions, by the way, as for the standard startup section, and after editing the registry, it is imperative to completely reboot the computer system.
Stop unnecessary services
And a few words about how to disable autorun, but already unnecessary services. But in this case, it is not only about stopping the currently active service, but about its complete deactivation and disabling of further start.
To perform such operations, go to the appropriate editor (services.msc), select the active process you need, through the PCM menu or double-click to edit the parameters, click the process stop button, then select the disabled startup type in the drop-down list, save the changes and restart the computer .
Note: if you don’t know exactly what can be turned off, it’s better not to do such things.
Optimizer Programs
Finally, sometimes questions about how to disable autorun of some system or user components can be solved in optimizer programs, many of which have corresponding modules in the operating system management tools.
Sometimes these are the auto start optimization points in the quick check section with one click, in some cases the modules are called up as separate tools. The essence of this does not change. As in all other cases, disable unnecessary components and reboot the system.