What starts at boot — switch it off, don't delete it

Just run StartCleaner. Startup items from all four places appear in one list, and the Source column tells you where each one is registered. If you have just installed a program, press F5 to reload the list.

Click that program in the list and press Disable. The program is not removed — it simply no longer starts by itself with Windows. Run it yourself when you need it.

Tick All Programs and items you switched off earlier appear as dimmed rows. Click the row and press Enable; it starts again from the next boot.

Rows whose Source is Task are tasks registered in Task Scheduler. Many programs put their update checks here. Pick one and press Disable, and it won't run even when its time comes.

Press Disable on a Service row and that service won't start with Windows, nor when another program asks for it. It's best to check which program uses a service before switching it off.

Double-click the row and your browser opens an information page about that item. Use it to find out what a program does before switching it off.

First set the row to Disable, then right-click → Delete and press Yes in the confirmation. Deleted items can't be restored, so only delete what you're sure you don't need. Delete doesn't appear on rows that are on — switching it off and using the PC for a few days before deleting is the safe way.

Services, too, can only be Deleted after being set to Disable. A running service is stopped before it is removed, and a single restart cleans it up completely.

Right-click the list → Save List and choose where to save. Everything, including Windows items that aren't shown in the list, is saved as a text file (source | name | target). Handy for comparing before and after.

For Startup and Registry items, yes. Switch one off in StartCleaner and Task Manager's startup apps list shows it as "Disabled" too, and the other way round. Tasks and services are things Task Manager's startup apps list doesn't show.

Drag the edge of the window to make it wider and the Program column widens with it. You can also drag the border between column headings to set the width yourself.

Only one StartCleaner runs at a time. Starting it again doesn't open a new one; the window that's already open comes to the front (and is restored if it was minimised).

Yes. It's freeware, so you can use it free of charge anywhere — at work, at home, in public offices or at school — and share it freely.

Changing startup items that apply to all users, as well as services and scheduled tasks, needs administrator rights. Just press Yes in the Windows prompt when it starts.

For Startup folder and registry items it only adds the same "Disabled" mark Task Manager uses; the shortcut and the registry value stay as they are. Scheduled tasks are disabled, and services have their startup type set to Disabled. All of it can be undone with Enable.

A service you Enable gets the startup type "Automatic". Services that were Manual or Delayed start before become Automatic too, so leave the dimmed Manual services in All Programs alone unless you switched them off yourself.

Services and tasks Windows needs to work — audio, network, security and so on — are hidden from the list from the start. They don't appear even when All Programs is ticked.

Only for new-version notices and for fetching the list of Windows items to hide. Without a connection it works as usual with its built-in list.

There's nothing to set. The text follows the Windows display language and the colours follow the Windows app mode (light · dark). Change the app mode while it's open and it follows straight away.

Yes. Unzip the portable version (ZIP) and run StartCleaner.exe. It has the same features as the installer.