What’s the difference between… Start and Startup?
QI’m a total computer beginner, so forgive me if my question seems naive — but could you explain the difference between Start and Startup? I understand that clicking the Start button at the bottom left opens a menu. However, I’ve seen advice (including in Computeractive) to put things in the Startup folder. When you say that do you mean the icons that appear in the menu after I’ve clicked Start? I’m confused, so I hope you can explain! I use Windows 10. Fran Fowler
ALet’s start with the basics: clicking the Start button opens the Start menu. This Start menu has existed since Windows 95, although Microsoft famously removed it from Windows 8/8.1 — replacing it with a much-maligned full-screen version, sometimes called the Start screen. The Start menu returned in Windows 10, which is what you’re using.
The Startup folder is not directly related to the Start menu. Programs or program shortcuts that live in the Startup folder will launch with Windows when your computer starts up. So, for example, if you put a shortcut to Microsoft Edge in the Startup folder, then that web browser would launch as soon as Windows itself has started up (hence the folder’s name).
Up to Windows 7, the Startup folder appeared in and was accessible from the Start menu. Windows 8/8.1 obviously has no Start menu, so the Startup folder wasn’t accessible that way. For reasons unknown, this remains true with Windows 10, where there’s no entry for the Startup folder in the Start menu.
The Startup folder still exists in both Windows 8/8.1 and 10, but access is more convoluted. One option is to press Windows key+e to launch File Explorer and then navigate to C:\users\ [Yourusername]\appdata\roaming\ Microsoft\windows\start Menu\ Programs\startup. Alternatively, press Windows key+r, type shell:common startup and press Enter.
You’ll probably find shortcuts in the Startup folder. Deleting existing ones will stop the related tools launching with Windows; dragging shortcuts into this folder does the opposite.