Windows – How to set startup programs per user on Windows 8

windows 8

I know how to open Windows Task Manager and access the new Startup tab, but changes made there seem to apply to ALL users. How do I make changes that apply to just some users?

A non-administrator can't change those settings, so having a program start up that's only useful to admins is not very useful, especially when the program just shows an error and even more especially when that error window cannot be dismissed until an administrator's information is entered. It would be better to simply not have that unnecessary program run at startup for that non-admin's user account. (Admin access is available to make whatever changes are needed to answer this question).

I am trying to disable a particular program from starting up JUST for particular accounts – or alternatively, enable it for only particular users.

I used to be able to do this by putting different shortcuts in each user's Startup folder in the Start Menu. I am looking for a way to do this WITHOUT installing external/third-party software. I would prefer not to have to edit the registry directly, but it's not out of the question.

This is not about controlling the sequence of startup programs, it's about controlling which user(s) see which startup programs.

Best Answer

As mentioned, there is one folder, C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup for each user, in addition to the System Startup folder at C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp.

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