The Steam client is automatically configured to open by default at PC startup after installation. When games update automatically or appear online when you don’t intend to, this might cause bandwidth to get congested. It might also get annoying sometimes. That is why many users want to get rid of it. In this write-up, we will discuss how to stop steam from opening on startup with 4 methods
how to stop steam from opening on startup?
Method 1: Using Steam Application (Client)
By default, Steam is configured to automatically launch when your computer boots up. If you are wondering how to stop steam from opening on startup, you can do it from the application itself. Steps include:
- First you need to launch the Steam application on your PC.
- Select ‘Settings’ from the dropdown menu after clicking on ‘Steam’ in the upper left corner of the application window.
- Then click the ‘Interface’ tab in the Settings window.
- Uncheck the box next to “Run Steam when my computer starts” under “Startup.” By doing this, you will be able to stop Steam from starting up automatically.
- Click the ‘OK’ button at the bottom right to save the changes. Steam will no longer launch at startup unless you manually open the application.
- You can still launch Steam normally by double clicking the desktop shortcut or searching for it in the Start menu. The startup launch is now disabled so it will only open when explicitly started by the user.
- To re-enable startup launch in the future, simply repeat the steps and check the ‘Run Steam when my computer starts’ box.
Method 2: Using Task Manager
If you want to know how to stop steam from opening on startup in a simple and easy way, using task manager is the best option for you. Steps include:
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. This will show all currently running applications.
- Click on the ‘Startup’ tab at the top of the Task Manager window. This will display all apps configured to launch at startup.
- Navigate to the ‘Steam Client Bootstrapper’ entry within the startup applications list. To disable this entry, right-click on it and choose ‘Disable’ from the start menu. For the modification to fully take effect, you need to restart your computer.
- That’s it! The steam application will no longer start up by itself when your machine boots up after restarting everytime. By double-clicking the Steam desktop shortcut or looking for it in the Start menu, you can still open it manually.
Method 3: Using Command Prompt
You can disable this behaviour using Command Prompt with just a few quick steps:
- First you need to go to the Start menu and click on ‘Command Prompt’ and select ‘Run as administrator’.
- After that you need to type a command in the Command Prompt window:
REG ADD “HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run” /V “Steam” /F /D “C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\Steam.exe”
- Now press enter and this will add a registry entry that effectively disables Steam from launching at startup. No need to restart your computer afterwards.
- You can confirm the change was made by opening the Run dialog (Windows + R) and entering ‘shell:startup’. The Steam shortcut will no longer be present in the Startup folder.
- Steam will now only launch when explicitly opened. To start it, search for Steam in the Start menu or double click the desktop shortcut icon.
- To re-enable auto launch, run this command in an admin Command Prompt:
“reg delete “HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run” /v “Steam” /f”
- Then restart your PC. Steam will once again launch at startup.
Method 4: Using Group Policy
If the above mentioned methods didn’t work for you and you are still wondering how to stop steam from opening on startup, you can use group policy to do it.
- Press Windows+R to open the Run dialog and type “gpedit.msc” to open the Local Group Policy Editor.
- In the right pane, double click on the Startup item.
- In the Startup Properties window, click Add to create a new startup script entry.
- Give the new entry a name like “Disable Steam Launch”. For the Script Path, navigate to Computer configuration, then go to Administrative Templates and search for Windows Components. There you need to go to File Explorer.
- Then disable the uploading files option to the user profile’s root directory. Click OK to apply the change. This will disable Steam from launching at startup.
- You may need to restart the computer for the change to take full effect. Steam will no longer launch at startup.
Conclusion
Knowing how to stop steam from opening on startup gives you more control over your system resources. It can also marginally improve computer performance by freeing up RAM, CPU cycles, and disk usage. It also means one less process running in the background if you only play games occasionally. The ability to toggle Steam’s auto-launch on or off allows you to customise your PC’s behaviour for how you specifically use Steam.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Why does Steam launch automatically when I start my computer?
A: Steam is configured to launch at startup by default so it’s ready when you want to game. This can be changed in the settings.
Q: Does disabling startup launch uninstall or delete Steam?
A: No, it just prevents automatic launch. You can still open Steam manually.
Q: Will disabling startup launch speed up my PC’s boot time?
A: Marginally, but the effect is usually small since background processes like Steam don’t take up much resources.
Q: What happens if I uninstall Steam—will it still try to launch at startup?
A: Uninstalling Steam will remove all traces of it from your system including startup launch.
Q: Can I stop other programs from launching at startup too?
A: Yes, the same methods used for Steam can disable startup programs you don’t want running automatically.
Q: If I reinstall Steam, will startup launch be enabled or disabled?
A: A fresh Steam install will have startup launch enabled by default, so you’ll need to disable it again manually.