How to View the Impact of Startup Apps in Windows 11

This article describes steps one can take to see or view the impact of Startup apps in Windows 11.

Windows allows some apps to start up automatically when users sign in. Startup apps are those that get started when a user logs in to Windows. Windows users can also create shortcuts, scripts, folders, and other items to run automatically at startup.

Windows has added new functionality to ensure that end users are always in control of the apps that run on their systems. Using this feature, users can see the impact of each startup application based on an app’s CPU and disk usage at startup.

This is a useful feature to help users determine what to disable, especially apps that are having a high-performance impact on the system, and take steps to reduce their startup impact and improve the user experience.

Below is how one can view the impact of apps in Windows 11.

How to see the impact of startup apps in Windows 11

As described above, Windows has added new functionality to ensure that end users are always in control of the apps that run on their systems. Using this feature, users can see the impact of each startup application based on an app’s CPU and disk usage at startup.

Here’s how to view startup apps’ impact on a Windows computer.

View startup app impact on Windows via Task Manager

Windows Task Manager is one way to view startup apps’ impact on your computer. To view startup apps’ impact via the Task Manager app, continue below.

First, open Task Manager. You can also use the keyboard shortcut ( CTRL + SHIFT +Esc ) keys.

When the Task Manager app opens, click on the Startup apps tab. On the tab, you should see the impact of startup apps listed.

windows 11 see startup apps impact in task manager
Windows 11 see startup apps’ impact on task manager

 Impact values are determined by applying these criteria:

  • High impact – Apps that use more than 1 second of CPU time or more than 3 MB of disk I/O at startup
  • Medium impact – Apps that use 300 ms – 1000 ms of CPU time or 300 KB – 3 MB of disk I/O
  • Low impact – Apps that use less than 300 ms of CPU time and less than 300 KB of disk I/O

View startup apps’ impact using Windows Settings app

Another way to view the impact of startup on a Windows computer is to use the Settings app.

Open the Settings app by clicking on the Start menu button and selecting Settings. One can also use the keyboard shortcut ( Windows key + I )

windows 11 new settings button
windows 11 new settings button

In the Settings app, click on the Apps button on the left.

windows 11 settings apps on menu
Windows 11 settings apps on the menu

On the right, click the Startup tile to expand.

windows 11 startup apps tile in settings app
windows 11 startup apps tile in the settings app

On the Apps -> Startup settings pane, you will see the app and its startup impact on the system.

windows 11 impact of startup apps
Windows 11 impact of startup apps

Based on the information gathered you can determine what to disable or enable at startup in Windows.

Reference:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compatibility/startup-apps

Conclusion:

This post showed you how to view the startup app’s impact on Windows 11. If you find any error above or have something to add, please use the comment form below.