Run a script on start up on Windows 10

Question

On previous versions of Windows I have used the below technique to run a batch file on Windows startup.

1. Create a shortcut to the batch file.
2. Once the shortcut is created, right-click the shortcut file and select Cut.
3. Click Start, then Programs or All Programs. Find the Startup folder and right-click that folder, then select Open.
4. Once the Startup folder is opened, click Edit in the menu bar, then Paste to paste the shortcut file into the Startup folder. If you do not see the menu bar, press the Alt key to make the menu bar visible. Any shortcuts in the Startup folder will automatically run each time the user logs in to Windows.

I have been unsuccessful in finding how to do something similar on Windows 10.

Any ideas?

Answer 1

The startup folder is still there and functions as normal.

To access it, press Windows+R, then type shell:startup.

You should be able to do what you were previously doing in Windows 7 from there.

Answer 2

You can use scheduled tasks and set it to run at startup.

Go to Manage → Scheduled Tasks → Create a Basic Task.

Once at the dialog box, set a name, click Next and select at startup, Next again and select the program you want to run and next to finish. Done!

Answer 3

I have an MSI motherboard that is not playing nice with my beloved Gateway Anykey keyboard. Num Lock won't turn off at boot.

I added a "NumLock Off" utility to the shell:startup folder. No help. I added it to Scheduled Tasks and that worked. BTW, I couldn't schedule a shortcut to the utility. I could only schedule a batch file with the numlock.exe file and the "off" parameter on the command line.

Answer 4

If you don't have access to Windows+X functionality, you can navigate manually to the two startup folders:

• User: C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
• All users: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp

Here's a useful batch file to open either or both of these folders:

rem Load the current user Start folder
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe "%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup"

rem Load the "All Users" Start folder
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp"

Note: Above applies to Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 (and maybe earlier versions).