{"id":4892,"date":"2016-12-19T23:11:28","date_gmt":"2016-12-19T23:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=4892"},"modified":"2026-04-01T23:15:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T17:45:26","slug":"task-manager-startup-tab-entries-remove-invalid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/task-manager-startup-tab-entries-remove-invalid\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Remove Invalid Entries from Task Manager Startup tab"},"content":{"rendered":"

Managing startup entries was possible using the System Configuration Utility (msconfig.exe<\/code>), in Windows 7 and earlier. This functionality is now provided by the Task Manager in Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11, which features a new “Startup” tab that lists all auto-start entries in the system.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

You can enable or disable items listed in the Task Manager Startup tab, but there is no option to delete obsolete entries. Over time, old entries may accumulate in the Startup tab as you uninstall programs you no longer use.<\/p>\n

Here is an example in which the OneDrive entry remains in the Startup tab even after uninstalling the OneDrive client<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"task<\/p>\n

When you right-click\u00a0it, the\u00a0Open file location<\/strong> option is grayed out if the executable doesn’t exist at<\/span>\u00a0the specified location.<\/p>\n

This post explains how to remove leftover or invalid entries from the Task Manager Startup tab. Also, see the note included at the end of the article for Store apps<\/a>.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> How to Open Task Manager to a Specific Tab Directly<\/a><\/div>\n

Remove invalid entries from Task Manager Startup tab<\/h2>\n

Invalid startup entries can be removed via the registry or with a specialized program like Autoruns.<\/p>\n

Method 1: Using Autoruns<\/h3>\n

Using Task Manager, you can manage startup entries only from the above auto-start launch points. However, there are many other launch points in obscure registry locations from where programs can run. And to manage most, if not all, of them, Autoruns is the tool you need. Autoruns, as they say, is like MSCONFIG on steroids.<\/p>\n

\n

\"warningImportant:<\/strong> Task Manager won’t display entries that are disabled via the Autoruns utility because they are stored in a different registry location.<\/p>\n

\n
    \n
  1. Download Autoruns<\/a> from Microsoft.<\/li>\n
  2. Unzip and run the tool elevated (“Run as administrator”).<\/li>\n
  3. Click the “Logon” tab<\/li>\n
  4. Remove unwanted startup entries there. It’s important<\/strong> to make sure you don’t remove Microsoft entries<\/a> there, especially the Userinit<\/code> entry.
    \n\"remove
    \nTip:<\/strong> Autoruns\u00a0lets you\u00a0<\/em>    hide Microsoft and Windows entries<\/em><\/a> in the Options menu so you don’t accidentally remove important auto-start programs that Windows needs<\/em>.<\/em><\/li>\n
  5. After you’ve cleaned up the dead startup entries, proceed to delete the invalid shortcuts in the Startup<\/strong> folders. Follow the instructions in Step 2<\/a> (under Method 2) below.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    RELATED:<\/strong> What is Startup Impact in Task Manager and How is it Calculated?<\/a><\/div>\n
    \n

    Method 2: Using the Registry Editor<\/h3>\n

    The auto-start programs listed in the Task Manager Startup tab can load from the registry or from the Startup folders. Follow these steps to manually clean invalid entries from the registry and the two Startup folders.<\/p>\n

    Step 1: Clean up the “Run” keys in the registry<\/h4>\n
      \n
    1. Create a System Restore Point<\/a> or take a complete registry backup<\/a> first.<\/li>\n
    2. Start the Registry Editor (regedit.exe) and go to the following location:\n
      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Run<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n
    3. Each value in the right pane is an auto-start entry. Right-click on an unwanted entry in the right pane, and choose Delete.
      \n\"remove<\/li>\n
    4. Repeat the same in the Run key under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE<\/code> root key (applies to all users) mentioned below.
      \n
      \nHint:<\/strong> While you’re in the previous registry location, you can right-click on the “Run” key and choose Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE<\/code> option in the right-click menu, which       automatically<\/a> gets you to the following path:<\/p>\n
      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Run<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n
    5. 32-bit programs on a 64-bit Windows computer use the following WOW6432Node\\...\\Run<\/code> registry locations. You need to follow the same procedure here, as well:\n
      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\SOFTWARE\\WOW6432Node\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Run\r\n\r\nHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\WOW6432Node\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Run<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n
    6. Additionally, clean up the corresponding entries (for each item removed from the above locations) under the following keys.\n
      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\StartupApproved\\Run\r\n\r\nHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\StartupApproved\\Run\r\n\r\nHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\StartupApproved\\Run32\r\n<\/pre>\n
      \"remove<\/p>\n
      (Note:<\/strong> The disabled items in the Task Manager startup tab are stored in the StartupApproved<\/code> registry locations.)<\/em><\/li>\n
    7. Exit the Registry Editor.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      <\/a>Step 2: Clean up the items in the Startup folders (per-user & common startup)<\/h4>\n
        \n
      1. Open this folder by typing the path in the File Explorer address bar:\n
        %ProgramData%\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Start Menu\\Programs\\Startup<\/pre>\n
        \"remove<\/li>\n
      2. Delete the unwanted shortcuts there.<\/li>\n
      3. Open this folder by typing the path in the File Explorer address bar. This opens the per-user Startup folder (shell:startup<\/a>)\n
        %Appdata%\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Start Menu\\Programs\\Startup<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n
      4. Delete the unwanted shortcuts from the above folder.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        RELATED:<\/strong> What is “Program” in Task Manager Startup Tab<\/a><\/div>\n
        Hope you were able to remove dead or invalid entries in the Task Manager Startup tab using one of the two methods above!<\/p>\n
        <\/a>What about startup entries of Store apps?<\/h3>\n
        Note that the above methods are to remove only the classic desktop (Win32) apps from Startup. The modern Universal Web Apps (Store app) startup entries can’t be removed using the registry or Autoruns.<\/p>\n
        For classic desktop apps, you’ll either see the words Registry<\/code> or Folder<\/code> in the “Startup type” column, denoting whether the entry originates from the Startup folder or from one of the Run<\/code> keys in the registry.<\/p>\n
        \"store
        The “Startup type” column is blank for UWP\/Store apps.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
        RELATED:<\/strong> Task Manager Startup Entries Keep Getting Disabled<\/a><\/div>\n
        For Store apps (e.g., ShareX, Skype, Cortana, Your Phone apps) the Startup Type column would be blank. That’s because for UWP apps, the startup entries come from the manifest file<\/a> included at the time of compilation. The only way to remove the Store app startup entry is to uninstall the software.<\/p>\n
        Last reviewed on 1-April-2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
        Managing startup entries was possible using the System Configuration Utility (msconfig.exe), in Windows 7 and earlier. This functionality is now provided by the Task Manager in Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11, which features a new “Startup” tab that lists all auto-start entries in the system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,869,10],"tags":[56,441,543,580],"class_list":["post-4892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows-10","category-windows-11","category-windows-8","tag-autoruns","tag-registry","tag-startup","tag-task-manager"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":76085,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/task-manager-startup-tab-guid-number\/","url_meta":{"origin":4892,"position":0},"title":"Task Manager Startup tab has two strange entries (a GUID and a number)","author":"Ramesh","date":"July 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"After installing or uninstalling a game app, two strange startup entries may appear in the Startup tab of Task Manager. One entry may be a random Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) string, and the other may be a number. 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But what does \"Startup Impact\" mean and how is it assessed? Task Manager Startup tab lists all startup apps loading from Run, RunOnce registry keys and from the user's Startup folder,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"task manager startup impact","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/taskmgr-startup-impact-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/taskmgr-startup-impact-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/taskmgr-startup-impact-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6479,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/task-manager-unknown-program-startup-entry-fix\/","url_meta":{"origin":4892,"position":2},"title":"What is “Program” in Task Manager Startup Tab","author":"Ramesh","date":"August 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"When you open Task Manager and click on the Startup tab to manage auto-start entries, you may notice one or more entries showing up as \"Program\" showing up with a blank or generic icon and\u00a0without any Publisher information. 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