What is the best way to remove startup programs on Windows 8?

There are a number of ways you can remove startup programs on your Windows 8 computer as listed below. The best ways are listed first.

1. Uninstalling the owner application - If a startup program was added by an application, and you are not planning to use that application any more, you should follow the uninstall process of that application to remove the startup program.

2. Using the owner application configuration option - If a startup program was added by an application, it is very likely that the owner application will provide you a way to remove that startup program. For example, WZQKPICK.exe (WinZip Quick Pick) can be removed from the startup application list by using WinZip application's configuration option.

3. Removing items from the common "Startup" folder - If a startup program was added as an item in the common "Startup" folder, you can use Windows Explore to delete that item in the folder: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.

4. Removing items from user personal "Startup" folders - If a startup program was added as an item in a single user "Startup" folder, you can user Windows Explore to delete that item in the folder C:\Users\...\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.

5. Using startup programs management tools - There are third party tools that designed to help you managing startup programs. For example, HijackThis, Absolute Startup, etc.

6. Disabling startup entries with Task Manager - You can preventing a startup program from running at system startup time by disabling with the Task Manager (taskmgr.exe).

7. Deleting command registry keys - If a startup program was added as a common registry key, you can use the "regedit" command to delete that entry under the path: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.

8. Deleting personal registry keys - If a startup program was added as a personal registry key, you can use the "regedit" command to delete that entry under the path: HKU\S-1-5-...\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.

⇒ Registry Keys for Startup Programs on Windows 8

⇐ Disable or Remove Startup Programs on Windows 8

⇑ Disable or Remove Startup Programs on Windows 8

⇑⇑ Windows 8 Startup Programs