Startup apps artificially delayed on Windows 11?

Question

I'm running Windows 11 23H2 with all the updates installed. I have several (5) programs added to shell:startup so they can launch automatically at boot.

I'd expect these apps to start launching maybe up to 5 seconds after seeing the desktop, but for some reason, most of the time the startup of these programs is delayed by up to 1-3 minutes. Looking at Task Manager indicates very little resource usage, so insufficient processing power is not the cause (this desktop computer is running on latest Core i7 and a very fast NVMe drive). Additionally, the same apps I have added in shell:startup I can also launch manually the very second my desktop is visible and they'll launch immediately.

This installation of Windows 11 should still be good as new. It's barely 3 months old, no strange tweaks done to it, just basic programs installed. sfc and dism checks return no problems. There are also no other issues with this computer besides that one.

Is there something that could be done to make these applications run immediately after logon with no delay?

Answer 1

And here we are again. MS guys don't know anything about their product)

I found a solution:
Changing registry is dangerous, make backup and blablabla
open regedit Win+R -> regedit

goto "Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer"

Create key with name "Serialize"
Create REG_DWORD value in it with name "WaitForIdleState" (case-sensitive!) with value 0.
Optionally create REG_DWORD value in it with name "StartupDelayInMSec" (case-sensitive!), and specify value to lower startup delay. I am good with 0, but YMMV.

Hope, that helps. Cheers!

p.s.: the answer is found on another forum, not sure if i can post links to other resources here.
This situation is somehow connected with a new way of calculating startup delay. It used to be a static value in milliseconds, which worked fine. But they made it even better by making it dynamic, so windows will wait for cpu idle state and only then it will launch startup apps. i guess, this is made because modern cpus are much weaker than old ones and putting a little bit of load on them is excessive *sarcasm*

Answer 2

Hello ,

Good to see you in Microsoft Community.

It seems like you've thoroughly checked for common causes of delayed startup for your applications on Windows 11. Since you've confirmed that there are no resource constraints and that the apps launch immediately when initiated manually, the delay might be due to a system configuration or a specific behavior of Windows 11.

It should be noted that the Windows system currently does not support customizing the priority of Startup apps, and because many system processes start automatically at boot (not displayed in the shell:startup folder), user-defined startup items may experience some delay relative to system processes.

Here are a few additional steps you could try:

1. Check for background processes: Even if Task Manager shows low resource usage, there might be other background processes affecting the startup time. You can use tools like Sysinternals' Autoruns (Autoruns for Windows - Sysinternals | Microsoft Learn) to inspect and manage startup items more comprehensively than what the shell:startup folder offers.
2. Review event logs: Windows logs might provide more details about what's happening during startup. Look for any warnings or errors around the time you log in to see if there are any clues as to what might be causing the delay.
3. Experiment with startup timing: You could try experimenting with different startup timing options. For example, instead of relying solely on the shell:startup folder, you could try creating scheduled tasks with delayed startup times or using third-party startup management tools to see if that improves the situation.
4. You may Perform a clean boot (microsoft.com) to see if it is normal, this is a troubleshooting step. In this mode, we can further confirm whether it is caused by system problem or third-party software or personalized settings. So, please be patient. Disclaimer*: A “clean boot” starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. It helps to determine whether a background program is interfering with your game or program and to isolate the cause of a problem.* These steps of "clean boot" might look complicated at first glance. However, to avoid any trouble for you, please follow them in order and step-by-step so that it will help you get you back on track.

If anything is unclear, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Best Regards,

Mosken_L - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 3

I'm having the same problem, after updating to 23H2 the applications take 1 to 3 minutes to initialize...

Very noticeable because of Steam and Wallpaper Engine, before it started instantly...

After the update takes a long time...

Answer 4

Thank you for your response. I've had a look at my event log, but failed to find anything that could be the reason for startup delays.

I've attempted option 3, since I have some familiarity with Task Scheduler. It's admittedly a bit "hacky", but it works. I:

1. Placed all my shortcuts in a different folder. I picked "C:\Startup".
2. Created a task with a trigger set to "user logon" and action set to:
   Program: cmd.exe
   Parameters: /C for %f in (*.lnk) do call start "" "%f"
   Start in: C:\Startup

And done. This task runs all the shortcuts at once in this folder, and compared to shell:startup it runs within less than a second after seeing the desktop. That's what I wanted to see :)

Having apps that need to run with elevated privileges might cause a complication, but for my use case it's fortunately not a problem.

Answer 5

Glad to be able to help you. If you have any other questions related to Microsoft products, you can post your question in the corresponding section of this forum, and we will try our best to help you.

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Have a good day!

Best Regards,

Mosken_L - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist