Apps Turn On or Off Run at Startup for PowerToys in Windows 10 and Windows 11


PowerToys_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off run at startup for Microsoft PowerToys for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Microsoft PowerToys is a set of utilities for power users to tune and streamline their Windows experience for greater productivity.

When you install Microsoft PowerToys, it will run at startup for your account by default. All users on the PC can turn on or off PowerToys to run at startup for their account.


Here's How:

1 Open the PowerToys app.

2 Open PowerToys Settings. (see screenshot below)

PowerToys_Check_for_Updates-1.png

3 In PowerToys Settings, click/tap on General in the left pane. (see screenshot below)

4 Under Appearance & behavior settings, turn on or off Run at startup for what you want.

5 You can now close PowerToys Settings if you like.

PowerToys_Run_at_startup.png



That's it,
Shawn Brink


Related Tutorials

 
Last edited:
Click to expand...
Shawn: After yesterday's update, PowerToys no longer runs at startup. In fact it's gone missing from the list at Apps > Startup. It will run if I start it, but even then it's not in Apps > Startup. It is a puzzlement.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 24H2 (Build 26100.3476)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    This laptop is an HP 840
    CPU
    i7-1360p 2.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    HP Model 8B41 KBC Version 51.40.00
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth® Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Digital Microphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    as outfitted
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (as recommended)
    Hard Drives
    one SSD 1TB
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    as outfitted
    Internet Speed
    800MB/sec up & down
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    Device name REC-840
    Processor 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1360P 2.20 GHz
    Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.6 GB usable)
    Product ID 00355-61334-62672-AAOEM
    System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
    Pen and touch Touch support with 10 touch points
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Altair 8800
create a shortcut to it and place it in:

win+r to open Run box:

Code: 
shell:startup
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
dacrone said:
create a shortcut to it and place it in:

win+r to open Run box:

Code: 
shell:startup
Click to expand...

Excellent idea and it worked... once. No more after the second boot, even though my shortcut is still in the Startup folder. I've had this experience with other shortcuts I put in the Startup folder.

BTW, also resulted in the PowerToys dashboard opening.. Why can't the darn setting in PowerToys just work?

Finally, I had a REG file to lose the '- Shortcut' text when making shortcuts, but that was for Win 10. Might we have one for Win 11?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 24H2 (Build 26100.3476)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    This laptop is an HP 840
    CPU
    i7-1360p 2.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    HP Model 8B41 KBC Version 51.40.00
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth® Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Digital Microphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    as outfitted
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (as recommended)
    Hard Drives
    one SSD 1TB
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    as outfitted
    Internet Speed
    800MB/sec up & down
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    Device name REC-840
    Processor 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1360P 2.20 GHz
    Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.6 GB usable)
    Product ID 00355-61334-62672-AAOEM
    System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
    Pen and touch Touch support with 10 touch points
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Altair 8800
same reg should work for the -shortcut tag.

if your startup apps arent loading properly - you can try adding the following after the target line text (right click > properties)

Code: 
[space here]-tray-only
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
System does not like:

"C:\Program Files\PowerToys\PowerToys.exe"-tray-only
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 24H2 (Build 26100.3476)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    This laptop is an HP 840
    CPU
    i7-1360p 2.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    HP Model 8B41 KBC Version 51.40.00
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth® Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Digital Microphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    as outfitted
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (as recommended)
    Hard Drives
    one SSD 1TB
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    as outfitted
    Internet Speed
    800MB/sec up & down
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    Device name REC-840
    Processor 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1360P 2.20 GHz
    Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.6 GB usable)
    Product ID 00355-61334-62672-AAOEM
    System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
    Pen and touch Touch support with 10 touch points
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Altair 8800
put a space before the -tray switch
should read (works. just did it on mine to verify)

Code: 
"C:\Program Files\PowerToys\PowerToys.exe" -tray-only
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
System took that, but incredibly PowerToys did not load. I kid you not. Tried rebooting twice. It's a poltergeist.

BTW, thank you.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 24H2 (Build 26100.3476)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    This laptop is an HP 840
    CPU
    i7-1360p 2.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    HP Model 8B41 KBC Version 51.40.00
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth® Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Digital Microphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    as outfitted
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (as recommended)
    Hard Drives
    one SSD 1TB
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    as outfitted
    Internet Speed
    800MB/sec up & down
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    Device name REC-840
    Processor 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1360P 2.20 GHz
    Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.6 GB usable)
    Product ID 00355-61334-62672-AAOEM
    System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
    Pen and touch Touch support with 10 touch points
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Altair 8800
thats odd. something may have been corrupted. use revo uninstaller (id use portable) to uninstall it, delete leftovers and reg keys and then download and reinstall powertoys. best first start since it just a free app
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
Well, failure. The first reboot it loaded; after that, no. Sometimes computers are programmed to gaslight us. Thanks again for your attempted assist.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 24H2 (Build 26100.3476)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    This laptop is an HP 840
    CPU
    i7-1360p 2.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    HP Model 8B41 KBC Version 51.40.00
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth® Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Digital Microphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    as outfitted
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (as recommended)
    Hard Drives
    one SSD 1TB
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    as outfitted
    Internet Speed
    800MB/sec up & down
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    Device name REC-840
    Processor 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1360P 2.20 GHz
    Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.6 GB usable)
    Product ID 00355-61334-62672-AAOEM
    System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
    Pen and touch Touch support with 10 touch points
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Altair 8800
TonyCzar said:
Well, failure. The first reboot it loaded; after that, no. Sometimes computers are programmed to gaslight us. Thanks again for your attempted assist.
Click to expand...
after you reinstalled it?

*also - what version PT are you running?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
dacrone said:
after you reinstalled it?
Click to expand...
Yes. I wish it weren't so. PT 0.85.1, and the issue is specific to one of my six computers. We're not likely to track this problem down. Fortunately, that computer has a BIOS issue that remains for me to solve and so there no sense fretting until that's fixed. Again, many thanks.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 24H2 (Build 26100.3476)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    This laptop is an HP 840
    CPU
    i7-1360p 2.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    HP Model 8B41 KBC Version 51.40.00
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth® Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Digital Microphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    as outfitted
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (as recommended)
    Hard Drives
    one SSD 1TB
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    as outfitted
    Internet Speed
    800MB/sec up & down
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    Device name REC-840
    Processor 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1360P 2.20 GHz
    Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.6 GB usable)
    Product ID 00355-61334-62672-AAOEM
    System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
    Pen and touch Touch support with 10 touch points
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Altair 8800
ok your call. we could always use a scheduled task to launch it in the background as well... that shouldnt have any issue/should not fail
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
dacrone said:
ok your call. we could always use a scheduled task to launch it in the background as well... that shouldnt have any issue/should not fail
Click to expand...

Hmmm. Even after my BIOS fix PT still refuses to load at startup. I'd appreciate your suggestions for a scheduled task launch.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 24H2 (Build 26100.3476)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    This laptop is an HP 840
    CPU
    i7-1360p 2.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    HP Model 8B41 KBC Version 51.40.00
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth® Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Digital Microphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    as outfitted
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (as recommended)
    Hard Drives
    one SSD 1TB
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    as outfitted
    Internet Speed
    800MB/sec up & down
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    Device name REC-840
    Processor 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1360P 2.20 GHz
    Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.6 GB usable)
    Product ID 00355-61334-62672-AAOEM
    System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
    Pen and touch Touch support with 10 touch points
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Altair 8800
TonyCzar said:
Hmmm. Even after my BIOS fix PT still refuses to load at startup. I'd appreciate your suggestions for a scheduled task launch.
Click to expand...
www.wintips.org

How to Start a Program at Startup using Task Scheduler.

If you want to learn how to start a program automatically at Windows Startup or at specific time by using the Task Scheduler, then continue reading this tutoria
www.wintips.org www.wintips.org

this will show you how to schedule it for startup

*EDIT*
on step 6c, you may be able to use the -tray-only switch. not 100% sure it will work, but can try. worst it will do it 1) throw an error or 2) not minimize to tray/ignore switch
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
dacrone said:
www.wintips.org

How to Start a Program at Startup using Task Scheduler.

If you want to learn how to start a program automatically at Windows Startup or at specific time by using the Task Scheduler, then continue reading this tutoria
www.wintips.org www.wintips.org

this will show you how to schedule it for startup

*EDIT*
on step 6c, you may be able to use the -tray-only switch. not 100% sure it will work, but can try. worst it will do it 1) throw an error or 2) not minimize to tray/ignore switch
Click to expand...

Worked like a charm! Absolutely beautiful. I have other programs on other computers that refuse to run at start even though they've been properly configured in Settings. I'll be trying this method on those as well. Many thanks!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 24H2 (Build 26100.3476)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    This laptop is an HP 840
    CPU
    i7-1360p 2.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    HP Model 8B41 KBC Version 51.40.00
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth® Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Digital Microphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    as outfitted
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (as recommended)
    Hard Drives
    one SSD 1TB
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    as outfitted
    Internet Speed
    800MB/sec up & down
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    Device name REC-840
    Processor 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1360P 2.20 GHz
    Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.6 GB usable)
    Product ID 00355-61334-62672-AAOEM
    System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
    Pen and touch Touch support with 10 touch points
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Altair 8800
TonyCzar said:
Worked like a charm! Absolutely beautiful. I have other programs on other computers that refuse to run at start even though they've been properly configured in Settings. I'll be trying this method on those as well. Many thanks!
Click to expand...

Well, @dacrone... when it works it's grand. But after a couple of reboots it stops working. I tracked it down to the Task Scheduler event becoming Disabled; it's reproducible. Can you think of different settings that might avoid the problem?

Screenshot (23).pngScreenshot (24).pngScreenshot (25).pngScreenshot (26).pngScreenshot (27).pngScreenshot (28).png

EDIT: I re-enabled the History and saw the info below. Event fine after one reboot; stopped after a second.

Screenshot (30).png
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 24H2 (Build 26100.3476)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    This laptop is an HP 840
    CPU
    i7-1360p 2.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    HP Model 8B41 KBC Version 51.40.00
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth® Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Digital Microphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    as outfitted
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (as recommended)
    Hard Drives
    one SSD 1TB
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    as outfitted
    Internet Speed
    800MB/sec up & down
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    Device name REC-840
    Processor 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1360P 2.20 GHz
    Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.6 GB usable)
    Product ID 00355-61334-62672-AAOEM
    System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
    Pen and touch Touch support with 10 touch points
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Altair 8800

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 24H2 (Build 26100.3476)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    This laptop is an HP 840
    CPU
    i7-1360p 2.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    HP Model 8B41 KBC Version 51.40.00
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Bluetooth® Audio; Intel® Smart Sound Technology for USB Audio Intel® Smart Sound Technology for Digital Microphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    as outfitted
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (as recommended)
    Hard Drives
    one SSD 1TB
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    as outfitted
    Internet Speed
    800MB/sec up & down
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    Device name REC-840
    Processor 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1360P 2.20 GHz
    Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.6 GB usable)
    Product ID 00355-61334-62672-AAOEM
    System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
    Pen and touch Touch support with 10 touch points
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Altair 8800
Not sure what antivirus you use but I read multiple threads of people using avast with “do not disturb” it was disabling their scheduled tasks. Does your antivirus have a game mode or dnd mode or something similar?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
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