Where is the startup (autostart) folder in Windows 8?

Question

Well, Windows 8 has no Start Menu any more and the startup folder has disappeared also.

Where can I find that folder? Or is there a new way with Metro?

Its still there, just not readily available...http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/where-is-startup-folder-how-to-edit-startup-items-in-windows-8/ — Moab, Oct 19 '12 at 19:01
Oh there it is - quite complicated though. But I'm not able to add new startup applications from the "Task Manager". Just view/deactivate. — FiveO, Oct 22 '12 at 08:03
Just drag your program shortcut to that folder, then it will start with windows. — Moab, Oct 22 '12 at 16:16
yes it is. In Win 7 and before I always opened the startup folder from the start menu. This is not possible anymore, therefore a good question. — FiveO, Oct 30 '12 at 19:32
Related: *[Run a script on start up on Windows 10](https://superuser.com/questions/954950/run-a-script-on-start-up-windows-10)* — Peter Mortensen, Mar 30 '18 at 21:39

score 56 · Accepted Answer · edited Dec 24 '15 at 17:08

56

It can be found here:

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

or easier to access with this command in the Run Win+R prompt:

shell:startup

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edited Dec 24 '15 at 17:08

masterxilo

answered Oct 19 '12 at 07:18

FiveO

1

`shell:startup` works in Win7, as well! – Leftium Oct 21 '12 at 18:08
1

Wouldn’t it be better to use environment variables instead of a hard-coded path? – Synetech Oct 30 '12 at 16:05
Don't understand what you mean. This has nothing to do with environment variables, this shows just the path to the startup folder. – FiveO Oct 30 '12 at 17:26
You would actually use `%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup`. – c00000fd Feb 11 '21 at 00:37

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 17 '18 at 07:53

0

The user specific startup folder can be access with shell:startup

The all users version can be accessed with shell:common startup

This can be entered in an Explorer address bar or the Run box.

answered Aug 17 '18 at 07:53

Gert van den Berg

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited Nov 12 '15 at 10:13

Try the below steps to add startup programs in Windows 8:

Open the Run command by typing Win+R
Type in the command as %APPDATA% then press Enter. This should take you to C:\Users\[you]\AppData\Roaming.
Go to \Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup. The full path should look like: C:\Users\[you]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.

Note: You can easily skip steps 2 and 3 by simply typing the command shell:Startup at the Run command instead of %APPDATA%

Now add any shortcut which you wanted to add in for the startup applications. You can do it by simply copying the existing shortcut and placing it here. Or Right-click | New | Create Shortcut and you can browse to the wanted program to add a shortcut to it here

score 0 · Answer 4 · edited Mar 30 '18 at 21:42

After forgetting the shell:startup command a few times (and doing a cleanup which wiped the history from the run prompt)...

Then it's just Win+'Startup' and the search should find it for you next time you forget.

Ta-da - 10 seconds saved off your life.

4 Answers4