Annoying self-reactivating autostarts


r3tr0S1c

Member
Local time
2:49 AM
Posts
17
OS
Windows 11
Hello there,
I have a few programs that I don't want to be automatically start with Windows. So I do what most people do - deactivate their Autostart. But as soon as I need the program, starting it and reboot later, some of them re-activate their Autostart sequence (e.g. the citrix workspace). Is there something I can do to avoid this?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    me
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Strix X470-F Gaming
    Memory
    32GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 3200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI 1080 Ti Gaming X
    Sound Card
    onboard 😬
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP LP 2065 - iiyama ProLite E2783QSU-B1 - LG W2442PE
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1200 - 2560x1440 - 1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung M.2 500GB/1TB
    PSU
    Corsair RM650x
    Case
    Fractal Design Meshify C
    Cooling
    2x Noctua 140mm, 1x Noctua 120mm, 1x Noctua NH-U12A
    Keyboard
    Xtrfy Retro
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Mouse
    Internet Speed
    400Mbit
It would be helpful if you indicated with which programs this was happening. Do the programs show as Enabled in Task Manager > Startup apps, or are they loading but don't appear there?
You built your own PC, so you probably know much more than I, and I know little of Citrix Workspace, but in general there are a couple of things you may want to consider:
  • Are there any settings which control whether the app is loaded at startup?
  • Were the apps in question updated? Sometime the developers are lazy (or heavy-handed) and prior settings are not respected. This seems to be especially prevalent with hardware drivers which the developer deems critical to the app running well.
  • Do the apps have associated Services which are loaded with Windows? Sometimes they can initiate programs.
  • Is there anything running in Task Scheduler which might be loading the program?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 22H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS8950
    CPU
    i7-12700K
    Motherboard
    Z690 : 9D2HH Foxconn, R6PCT Foxconn 2nd
    Memory
    16GB (2 x 8)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) UHD Graphics 770 with shared graphics memory
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer CBL282K Smiiprx
    Screen Resolution
    4K UHD (3840 x 2160) @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital PC SN810 512 GB M.2 NVMe SSD, PCIe
    PSU
    750W
    Cooling
    2G44F Asetek 125W CPU liquid cooler
    Keyboard
    Arteck Wireless
    Mouse
    Victsing-mm057 wireless
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 6
    Browser
    Vivaldi
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender (native)
  • Operating System
    Win 22H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5620
    CPU
    12th Gen Intel Core i7-1260P
    Memory
    2 x 8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    NVMe 512 GB
    Case
    Aluminum
    Mouse
    Touchpad
    Browser
    Vivaldi
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender (native)
There are some handy utilities that are more thorough and detailed than Task Manager at showing what is run at startup. Try autoruns from Sysinternals, or the Startup Manager function in BCUninstaller. You may find that the programs in question have other tasks or services running that you weren't aware of, that are reactivating the startup item that you see in the Task Manager.

Another scenario I've seen is that some software (looking at you, OneDrive and Edge) will reactivate its startup items when they are updated. I think I saw a page recently about disabling this through the registry, but I don't recall details.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad L15 G2
    CPU
    Core i7-1165G7
    Memory
    32 GB
    Hard Drives
    Samsung MZVLB1T0HBLR-000L7 (1T SSD)

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