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Unable to disable startup programs from Task Manager

Anonymous
2012-11-04T20:25:50+00:00

Hi there,

I want to disable the un-needed programs that start-up in Windows 8.  I've been redirected to the Task Manager from msconfig, but when I try to disable a program the Disable option is greyed out.  How do I enable it please?

Kind regards,

Matthew

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Performance and system failures

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-11-13T15:41:15+00:00

    Hi MatthewRiley,

     

    Thank you for the post. I am sorry to hear that you are unable to disable start-up items in Windows 8.

     

    I can imagine the inconvenience you have experienced. I will definitely help you with this.

     

    I would suggest you to refer the following links and check if it helps.

     

     

    Manage apps and services with Task Manager

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/manage-apps-services-task-manager

     

    Beyond the basics

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/task-manager#1TC=t1

     

     

    If the issue persists, please do not hesitate to let us know. It is our pleasure to be of assistance.

    I am having this same issue, I looked at your links but they didn't help. The first just tells you how to open Task Manager in windows 8 and the second is what you can do in Task Manager ....... when it works as expected.

    I cannot see any trouble-shooting on there with regard to this issue at all so I am confused as to why you would link them as a reply??

    Is there a reason this would be happening? Is it a policy thing that has been set somewhere? I'm not sure about MatthewRiley but we are in a domain and I can't even see a setting to remove this functionality in Group Policy and therefore can't see how I would re-enable it there.

    Also, the machine I am having this issue on has been updated to 8.1

    I look forward to any kind of reply hopefully with some useful info

    Darren

    50+ people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2013-11-27T03:45:05+00:00

    Hi Darren,

    Have you logged in as an Administrator?

    The Disable option might be grade out if you have not logged in as an Administrator. If you are using an Administrator account and still facing the issue, I would suggest you to enable Built-in Administrator account.

    a.     Go to Start screen.

    b.    Type “command” without quotes.

    c.     Right click on Command Prompt and click on Run as administrator.

    d.    Type: net user administrator /active: yes


    Note: Please follow the same steps and type net user administrator /active: no to disable admin account after the troubleshooting is done.

    Test if you are able to disable the startup programs. If you need further assistance, we’re here to help.

    20+ people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2013-12-03T12:20:59+00:00

    Hi Darren,

     

    Have you logged in as an Administrator?

     

    The Disable option might be grade out if you have not logged in as an Administrator. If you are using an Administrator account and still facing the issue, I would suggest you to enable Built-in Administrator account.

    a.     Go to Start screen.

    b.    Type “command” without quotes.

    c.     Right click on Command Prompt and click on Run as administrator.

    d.    Type: net user administrator /active: yes


    Note: Please follow the same steps and type net user administrator /active: no to disable admin account after the troubleshooting is done.

     

    Test if you are able to disable the startup programs. If you need further assistance, we’re here to help.

    We had logged in as an admin account, or so the user told me, this wasn't a machine that I had set up and it turns out that the user hadn't been added to the local admin group on the machine ...... got to hate when that happens

    Thanks for your help,

    6 people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2012-11-05T19:23:20+00:00

    Hi MatthewRiley,

    Thank you for the post. I am sorry to hear that you are unable to disable start-up items in Windows 8.

    I can imagine the inconvenience you have experienced. I will definitely help you with this.

    I would suggest you to refer the following links and check if it helps.

    Manage apps and services with Task Manager

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/manage-apps-services-task-manager

    Beyond the basics

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/task-manager#1TC=t1

    If the issue persists, please do not hesitate to let us know. It is our pleasure to be of assistance.

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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