Windows 11, like its earlier incarnations such as 3.1, 95, 95a, 98, 98SE, Me, XP, Vista, 8, 8.1 and 10, could be an absolute pain when first introduced. Why do I say this? Because it is fact. Some newcomers to Windows will not even know or heard of some of these earlier efforts from Microsoft and may be solely used to the newer OS versions. There are always teething issues with every release but these are ironed out over time, usually.
I have already dealt with Privacy settings on this OS within this site and now it is the turn of applications (or, more commonly these days... "apps") to receive some treatment. Whilst on their own they will not actually harm the computer or the OS itself they can be a royal pain simply because they auto run when Windows boots up and take up resources and transmit data back to their authors about the program’s usage as well as other details certain users find obtrusive.
What can you do about it then? Well, I list the programs preinstalled to Windows 11 in its current state, which is version 22H2. Earlier versions have very similar programs installed so this guide can still be used, even for Windows 10.
Taskbar > OneDrive and other apps shown in the taskbar as currently running: On the taskbar and near your clock you will find the icon for OneDrive, possibly hidden in the little notification area, and all you do is right click the icon and open OneDrive’s settings from the popup menu. In the Settings tab simply remove the check or tick from the box/s but especially the one which says "Start OneDrive automatically when I sign in to Windows". Then click OK to close that process and set the option. To kill OneDrive for your current session in Windows and immediately AFTER the operation above simply right click the OneDrive icon again and then click Exit. Similar processes for stopping other programs you may have after your own installations follow a similar procedure for stopping it auto running.
Click the Start button and then Settings if it is listed in the "Pinned" area. If not, click All Apps and scroll down to the section headed by "S". Click Settings. You are presented with a new "Home" Screen introduced to replace the former startup screen labelled "System". Everything on the Home screen is linked to elsewhere in the Settings menu and is convenient if these settings are regularly.
I will only concentrate on the headings where changes can be made to help with Applications and nothing else. Any changes made to these settings should only be actioned if they are no longer required to run or be installed.
Apps > Installed Apps: you can uninstall apps from here. These will be apps you will never, or have not ever, opened and have no need for. Any apps you have installed yourself you would leave well alone of course. If you aren’t sure about some of those listed then leave them. Some Microsoft ones cannot be uninstalled at any point. To uninstall an app from here you simply click the name of the app and then click uninstall unless it is greyed out, which means you cannot remove that app. A lot of these run when Windows boots up so you will be saving resources by removing them.
Apps > Advanced App Settings: Choose where to get apps. If you want to download other 3rd party apps that are not from the Microsoft Store then you should alter this option to highlight "Anywhere". Generally , most leave it as default with MS Store only.
Apps > Default apps: This is where apps can open files with different file extentions to them. For example a .doc or .docx file is defaulted to open in Word but you can default it to open in any similar app if Word is not installed and a different app is already on the system or could be downloaded.
Apps > Offline Maps > Metered Connection: This should be turned off if you could be charged for your Internet connection where monthly metering charges apply. Best just turn it off anyway.
Apps > Optional Features: You will find different resources not normally listed in previous Windows carnations and this is where you can install different system fonts and RSAT services if you are technically minded and know what these are for. Otherwise leave until required.
Apps > Startup: This could be a long list and shows programs or apps that are going to run as soon as Windows starts up and will continue to run in the background whether or not you need them. If apps are not required then simply use the slider alongside the app name to turn it off. That program will not run when Windows next starts. Some Windows updates can change these settings so be aware of that and reverse them at your own will. Also be aware that some AntiVirus products may require to run at startup.
Task Manager > Processes: This is usually the first tab on the left handed menu that TM opens to and from here you will see all current running Windows 11 processes. There are normally three headers with several rows of processes listed under each. The first is Apps with a number of running apps in brackets. If any of these are running you can stop them by highlighting the unrequired app and clicking End Task at the upper right of the Window. This will only show apps you have opened yourself though but at least it can help if one of them has frozen or crashed... this the easiest way to End its Task, sometimes without a system restart, which can be of benefit if diagnosing faults. The second header is Background Processes. These are processes that are currently running and some of these you can stop. Be careful here though as you may just stop a system process which means a reboot. Again these will restart upon Windows booting so no permanent removal achievable here. As above this is a way to stop processes if your system is unstable. The third header is Windows Processes. Leave well alone unless you are very experienced and know what you are doing.
Task Manager > Performance: This tells you how your processor, hard drives, memory and Ethernet etc. are working and can give clues to errors elsewhere if the system is slowed down for any reason.
Task Manager > App History: Informs you of the performance and resource usage of installed apps. Useful for diagnostics.
Task Manager > Start-up Apps: Here it is... this is where you get to know a lot of what programs or apps are running in the background. If you see a program or app is enabled at Windows startup and you think it should not be running then simply highlight it and select Disable at the upper right of the window. This effectively stops these running on Windows boot. There is a guide here also to inform you of the impact each program has on the system at boot but do not overly rely on this as false readings are more often given. Everyone’s system is different per installed programs so little specific knowledge can ultimately be offered here about individual programs. They will still run when you start them normally but will not start at Windows boot... which is what is required anyway.
Task Manager > Users: This tells you who is logged on to the system and what resources are being used by that person in terms of CPU (processor), memory, disk resource and network resource.
Task Manager > Details: Lists all running or suspended processes and those you just stopped in Startup, which are still running of course until a reboot is done. You need to reboot your system and come back here to see what else you can kill the process for. However, you would not do that process here normally. After stopping some processes from starting on boot you can see that previous running processes are now stopped.
Task Manager > Services: Leave well alone unless you know what you are doing here as system critical processes are listed and should not be interfered with unless you are very experienced with these areas of the system.
And there you have it for the Application auto run options.