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You might need to change Windows startup settings to troubleshoot issues, optimize startup processes, or alter the system’s boot behavior for specific tasks.
For example, a common troubleshooting option is to enable Safe Mode, which starts Windows in a limited state, where only the bare essentials services and drivers are started. If a problem doesn’t reappear when you start in safe mode, you can eliminate the default settings, basic device drivers, and services as possible causes.
Other startup settings include advanced features intended for use by system administrators and IT professionals.
This article describes how to modify the Windows startup behavior, and the available options.
Change startup settings
Note: If you’ve encrypted your device, you’ll need your BitLocker key to complete this task. If you don’t know your BitLocker key, see Find your BitLocker recovery key.
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Access the Windows Recovery Environment
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Once in Windows RE, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart
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Select Restart
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Once the device reboots, in the Startup Settings screen pick one of the available options, or press Enter to boot Windows normally
Startup settings list
Here’s a list of startup settings that you can choose from. To select one, use the number keys or function keys F1-F9:
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Enable debugging. Starts Windows in an advanced troubleshooting mode intended for IT professionals and system administrators
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Enable boot logging. Creates a file, ntbtlog.txt, that lists all the drivers that are installed during startup and that might be useful for advanced troubleshooting
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Enable low-resolution video. Starts Windows using your current video driver and using low resolution and refresh rate settings. You can use this mode to reset your display settings
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Enable Safe Mode. Safe mode starts Windows in a basic state, using a limited set of files and drivers. If a problem doesn’t happen in safe mode, this means that default settings and basic device drivers aren’t causing the issue. Observing Windows in safe mode enables you to narrow down the source of a problem and can help you troubleshoot problems on your device
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Safe Mode with Networking. Safe Mode with Networking adds the network drivers and services you’ll need to access the internet and other computers on your network
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Safe Mode with Command Prompt. Starts Windows in safe mode with a command prompt window instead of the usual Windows interface
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Disable Driver Signature Enforcement. Allows drivers containing improper signatures to be installed
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Disable early launch anti-malware protection
. Early launch anti-malware protection (ELAM) is a security feature in Windows that allows anti-malware software to start before all other third-party components during the boot process. ELAM ensures that the system does not initialize unknown boot drivers that could be malicious. Select this option to temporarily disable ELAM -
Disable automatic restart on system failure. Prevents Windows from automatically restarting if an error causes Windows to fail. Choose this option only if Windows is stuck in a loop where Windows fails, attempts to restart, and fails again repeatedly
You can press Enter to start Windows normally.
What if Windows keeps booting in Safe Mode?
Restarting your device should be sufficient to exit from Safe Mode back into normal mode. However, if for some reason your device is still booting into Safe Mode, try this:
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Press the Windows key + R
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In the Open box, type msconfig and then select OK
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Select the Boot tab
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Under Boot options, clear the Safe boot checkbox
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Set your home page in almost any browser
What to Know
- Chrome: In the three-dot menu, select Settings. Enable Show home button. Choose Enter custom web address and enter a URL.
- IE 11: Select the Settings gear and choose Internet options. Enter a URL in the Home page section. Select Start with home page.
- Edge: Go to three-dot menu > Settings > On startup > Open a Specific page or pages > Add a new page. Enter URL and select Add.
This article explains how to change the home page and startup behavior in Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7 using Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Microsoft Edge.
How to Change the Google Chrome Home Page
Most web browsers for Windows provide the option to designate any website as your home page. In Google Chrome, you can choose one or multiple pages to launch at startup:
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Select the three dots in the upper-right corner of Chrome and choose Settings from the drop-down menu.
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Scroll down to the Appearance section and select the Show home button toggle to enable it (if it’s not already enabled).
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Select Enter custom web address and enter the URL for your desired home page.
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Alternatively, scroll down to the On startup section and select Open a specific page or set of pages to designate which pages you want to open when you open Chrome.
Select Continue where you left off to restore the previous browsing session, loading all tabs and windows that were open the last time you used Chrome.
How to Change the Home Page for Microsoft Edge
The default browser for Windows 10, Microsoft Edge, makes it easy to control what page or pages load at startup.
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Select the three dots in the upper-right corner of Edge.
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Choose Settings from the drop-down menu.
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In the Settings pane, select On startup.
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Select Open a specific page or pages, then select Add a new page.
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Enter the URL for your desired home page, then select Add.
Select New tab page under Settings to control what page Edge displays when a new tab is opened.
How to Change the Firefox Startup Page
Mozilla Firefox’s startup behavior is controlled through the browser preferences.
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Select the hamburger menu in the upper-right corner of Firefox and choose Options from the drop-down menu.
You can also enter about:preferences in the address bar to access the Firefox settings.
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Go to the left pane and select Home.
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Select the Homepage and new windows drop-down menu and choose Custom URLs.
Scroll down to the Firefox Home Content section to customize the default Firefox home page.
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Type the URL for your desired home page. Changes are saved automatically, so you can close the Firefox settings.
How to Set the Home Page for the Opera Browser
Opera offers you the choice to display its Speed Dial interface or a page of your choosing each time the application starts up.
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Select the O in the upper-left corner of the browser and then choose Settings from the drop-down menu.
You can also get to the Opera settings by using the keyboard shortcut Alt+P.
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Go to the left pane and select Basic.
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Scroll down to the On startup section and select Open a specific page or set of pages.
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Select Add a new page.
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Enter the desired URL, then select Add.
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Download Windows Speedup Tool to fix errors and make PC run faster
When a business or education wants to offer people to work from anywhere, but at the same time also want to make sure that the data is not compromised, they can use Windows to Go workspace feature. In simple words, this feature allows the OS to be copied to a USB device, such as a flash drive or a portable hard drive. In this post, we will share how you can change Windows To Go Startup Options.
Windows To Go is like carrying Windows 10 on the USB stick. You can connect to any computer, and boot from the device. Windows will automatically make sure that all resource is available to its disposal.
- Windows Control Panel
- Turn Windows To Go on or off from Command Prompt
- Configure Windows To Go via Registry
- Use Group Policy Editor to enable or disable Windows To Go settings
If you ever wonder – Can I run Windows 10 from a USB Drive – then this is your answer.
1] Windows Control Panel
Follow these steps to change the startup options
- Open the classic Control Panel
- Go to Hardware and Sound > Device and Printers
- Click on Change Windows To Go startup options
- It will open a pop-up window where you have two options. These options are to enable and disable i.e., If you want to boot your PC from a Windows to Go workspace automatically
- Yes—When you choose this, make sure insert only the USB device that contains your workspace before you boot your PC
- No—If you are disabling, then make sure to change the boot sequence in PCs’ firmware, i.e., BIOS or UEFI.
You can also invoke this pop-up by typing the following command in the Run prompt
rundll32.exe pwlauncher.dll,ShowPortableWorkspaceLauncherConfigurationUX?
If you prompted by a UAC, then click on Yes.
2] Turn Windows To Go on or off from PowerShell
You can run pwlauncher command with these options to turn on or off. It’s is a command-line tool to configure the computer to boot into a Windows To Go workspace automatically. If you use this tool, you do not need to enter your firmware or change your startup options
pwlauncher /disable or pwlauncher /enable
If you simply run pwlauncher, then it will disable the status.
3] Configure Windows To Go via Registry
If you want to change this on multiple computers, use this method. Once done on one computer, you can export the registry changes, and import them to other computers.
Open Registry Editor
Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\PortableOperatingSystem
Change keyword for DWORD with name Launcher to 1 (Disable) or 0 (Enable).
4] Use Group Policy Editor to enable or disable Windows To Go settings
- Open Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc in the Run Prompt)
- Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Portable Operating System.
- Change to disabled or enabled
Windows to Go FAQ
What is the difference between standard Windows installation and Windows To Go?
- All internal disks of the computer are offline
- Trusted Platform Module is not used
- Hibernate is disabled by default
- Windows Recovery Environment is not available as it is not required
- Similarly, there is no option to Refresh or Reset Windows To Go
- You cannot Upgrade Windows To Go installation
How do I stop Windows from going to Windows To Go
You can follow any of the above methods, Control Panel, Registry, Group Policy, and PowerShell to Windows does not boot into Windows To Go.
Which editions can use Windows To Go?
- Windows Enterprise
- Windows Education
Is Windows To GO to is still being developed by Microsoft?
According to the official page in Microsoft Docs, which was updated this year on 31st Jan 2020, Windows To Go is no longer being developed. The primary reason is that there is no way to update Windows and hence causes a problem in the long run. Also, it requires a specific type of USB that is no longer supported by many OEMs.
Ashish holds a Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering and is a veteran Windows. He has been a Microsoft MVP (2008-2010) and excels in writing tutorials to improve the day-to-day experience with your devices.
Change the startup entries on your computer.
Programs can make changes to Windows’ startup routine by adding themselves to the list of programs that start automatically when the operating system is booted. If you want to change these startup settings, you can do so by altering the settings in the Configuration utility.
Step 1
Click «Start» on your Windows taskbar, click «Run,» type «msconfig» (without the quotes) into the dialog box and hit «Enter.»
Step 2
Click on the «Startup» tab to reveal the programs in the Startup list.
Step 3
Check the box next to each program that you wish to start with the operating system. Uncheck the box next to each program that you wish to prevent from starting with the operating system.
Step 4
Click the «OK» button and reboot your computer to apply the settings changes.
Hello! You have probably heard of programs that start automatically with Windows. Indeed, it is a feature that can be very useful. It allows you to access programs without having to launch them. They start automatically at system startup. However, they can also be responsible for slowing down computer startups. So today we will learn how to change the Windows 10 startup programs.
Modifying Windows startup behavior.
Let’s see how to add and remove startup programs in Windows 10. Some programs adopt this behavior when they are installed. However, we can change this situation. To do this, it is necessary to go to the Windows task manager. With this in mind, press the combination Control+Shift+Esc. Once there, click on the Startup tab. Once there, we will see a list of the programs that start with Windows. Additionally, in the Status column you can verify if it is enabled or not to start. Finally, in the Startup Impact column, you can verify the level of impact on the system startup.
From here you can change the behavior of Windows startup programs. In fact, just right-click on the program. Then, you only have to enable or disable it according to your taste.
Adding or removing Windows startup programs from the system folder.
Windows dedicates a folder for programs that are loaded at startup. So we can edit the contents of such a folder. However, its location is not well known to users. In fact, there are two folders in total. One for the startup programs associated with the particular user. And another one for the programs that start for all users. These folders are:
C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp
Alternatively, you can access these directories by executing these commands:
shell:startup
shell:common startup
Remember to press the Win+R combination to run either command:
Then, just create a desktop shortcut to the program executable. Then copy that shortcut to the folder above.
Changing startup programs from Windows Settings
We can also change the Windows startup programs from the system settings. With this in mind, press the Win+I combination. Once there, click on Apps.
Next, in the left column, please click on Startup.As a result, the list of programs that start at system startup will be displayed. Finally, just disable or enable the switch depending on whether you want them to start or not.
Ultimately we have seen how to change the Windows 10 startup programs, so you can include the one you want. Or simply increase the speed of system startup. Bye!
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