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Why don't I see the startup folder in my Windows 10 start menu?

I am scrolling down by the alphabetical sorting - R, S and there isn't any Startup there. If I go to %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup I can see the folder is there and I have two items in it. How do I fix the start menu so it is also there as it should?

Going to some deep folder structure under %appdata% looking for this folder is not really a user-friendly way...

Peter Mortensen
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Vitas
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  • This is the intended behaviour. You can always leave some feedback in the Window Feedback app. – Dog Lover Jul 23 '17 at 23:18
  • Related: Run a script on start up on Windows 10 – Peter Mortensen Mar 30 '18 at 21:49
  • Generally speaking, the Startup folder is usually hidden, whereas it's contents are not (if the contents are also hidden, they will not start at login). If you want the folder shown, ensure both startup folders are not hidden: %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup (user-specific Startup folder) & %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup (system-wide Startup folder) – JW0914 Jan 08 '20 at 13:04

4 Answers4

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  1. Open Explorer to the two Startup folders:

    • C:\Users\ user \AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
    • C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

    Right-click on the folders, drag to the Desktop and create shortcuts, then add the shortcuts to the Start menu "All Apps".

  2. It may be more convenient to use a third-party replacement for the new, less-than-useful, Start menu, such as Classic Shell Start Menu, or the new fork of that app, Open Shell (Classic Shell development has ceased, though it is working well on WinVer 1809, Build 17763.504; but future use may require Open Shell). Proceed as above, and place the shortcuts where convenient. This has the advantage of providing a GUI customized to your specifications that does not change on each MS Windows update. An example set up as I like it is below. Classic Start Menu

DrMoishe Pippik
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Microsoft has made more ridiculous changes to make Windows more "user friendly". It is their opinion that users have more trouble seeing the startup folder in their start menu, than that there is gain.

Yes, I know. It's bullocks. It's not true, but that apparently is their vision.

To my knowledge there is no way to get this folder back in the start menu. You can always create a shortcut or pin the folder to your start menu (to pin, first go up one folder, then right click it and select pin to start menu).

Do note, the easiest way to head to that folder, is by typing shell:startup in any File Explorer window.

Peter Mortensen
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LPChip
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The user specific startup folder can be access with shell:startup

The all users version can be accessed with shell:common startup

This can be entered in an Explorer address bar or the Run box.

(These should work on all version of Windows since at least XP)

Gert van den Berg
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You can get the startup folder back on the start menu easily. 1. Make a shortcut on your desktop for this: %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup 2. Right click on that shortcut and choose "pin to start"

rex
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