Windows 7 Startup folder: where it is and how to open it

01Where is the Startup folder in Windows 7?

Windows 7 has two Startup folders, and the difference between them is scope. The per-user folder sits inside the profile at C:\Users\name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup; a shortcut placed there runs when that one account signs in. The common folder sits at C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup and applies to every account that signs in to the computer. Microsoft's Known Folders reference names them FOLDERID_Startup, with the default path %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp, and FOLDERID_CommonStartup, with %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp. On a standard Windows 7 installation, %APPDATA% expands to the Roaming folder inside the profile's AppData, and %ALLUSERSPROFILE% expands to C:\ProgramData, so the two notations describe the same places. The reference spells the last folder StartUp; Windows file names are not case sensitive, so both spellings open the same folder. If Windows was installed on another drive, replace the letter C accordingly.

02How do you open the Startup folder from the Start menu?

Windows 7 still lists the Startup folder in its Start menu, under All Programs. Click Start, then All Programs, and scroll to the folder named Startup. A left click expands it and shows the shortcuts it holds, which is a quick way to see what starts from this location. A right click on the same entry offers Open, which shows the per-user folder in Windows Explorer, and Open all users, which shows the common folder. The list in the Start menu merges both folders, so an entry visible under Startup can come from either one; opening each folder tells you where a shortcut really lives. The common folder is protected: copying a shortcut into it triggers a User Account Control prompt for administrator approval, while the per-user folder accepts changes from the account that owns it.

03Which commands open it directly?

Typed routes skip the Start menu entirely. Press the Windows key and R to open the Run box, then type shell:startup for the per-user folder or shell:common startup for the all-users folder; the same text also works in the address bar of Windows Explorer. A second route uses the environment variable: typing %appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup in Run or in the address bar reaches the per-user folder even though AppData is hidden. The third is the full path, which belongs in scripts, deployment notes and support tickets, where a written location is easier to check than a description of menu clicks. The shell commands have one practical advantage over a typed path: they ask Windows for the folder it has registered for that account, which matters when a profile is stored somewhere other than the default location.

04Why can't you see AppData or ProgramData?

Clicking down from C:\Users often stops short, because Windows 7 hides the AppData folder inside each profile and the ProgramData folder at the root of the system drive. Both are hidden so that ordinary browsing does not disturb application settings. A hidden folder still opens when its path is typed, which is why the commands above are the dependable route. To see the folders while browsing, open Windows Explorer, choose Organize, then Folder and search options, and on the View tab select Show hidden files, folders, and drives; on a shared computer, set the option back afterwards. You may also come across a Start Menu folder directly inside the profile, or C:\Documents and Settings at the root of the drive. These are compatibility junctions that redirect older programs written for Windows XP paths to the new locations. Opening one usually returns Access is denied, which is expected and not a sign of damage.

05How did the path change from Windows XP to Windows 11?

The Windows 7 layout arrived with Windows Vista, when user profiles moved from C:\Documents and Settings to C:\Users and the Start menu moved under the Roaming part of AppData. Microsoft's reference keeps the older locations as legacy default paths, and later versions have reused the Vista and Windows 7 layout. The table compares the default locations on a system installed on drive C.

Because the location stayed put after Windows 7, a script or a deployment note written for Windows 7 usually still finds the folder on Windows 10 or 11. What changed over the years is the way people reach it, not where it is.

06What changed in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012?

Windows 8 replaced the Start menu with the Start screen, and Windows Server 2012 uses the same interface, so there is no All Programs list with a Startup entry to click. The folders themselves did not move: shell:startup and shell:common startup open the same two locations described above. Windows 8 also moved the startup list out of the System Configuration tool. On Windows 7, msconfig has a Startup tab where items can be reviewed and unchecked; from Windows 8 onward that tab points to Task Manager, which gained its own Startup tab.

On a server, the common folder needs particular care. On a Remote Desktop Session Host each user who signs in gets a session, so a shortcut in the all-users folder starts once per session, not once per machine. A program that must run a single time for the whole computer is usually better served by a service or by a scheduled task with a boot trigger. Microsoft ended extended support for Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 on October 10, 2023, which is worth keeping in mind before any new configuration work on such a server.

07Is the Startup folder the only place programs start from in Windows 7?

No, and an empty folder proves very little. Windows 7 can also start programs at sign-in from the Run and RunOnce keys of the registry, from scheduled tasks with a logon or boot trigger, and from services that start before anyone signs in. The Startup tab of msconfig on Windows 7 shows several of these sources side by side, and its Location column says whether an item comes from a registry key or from a Startup folder, which makes it a useful first inventory. When an item points to the registry, the explanation of Run and RunOnce registry keys covers how those values behave for one user or for the whole machine. When it appears in neither place, the map of Windows startup locations lists the remaining families, from scheduled tasks and services to event-based triggers, with the inspection tool suited to each.

08How do you add or remove a program without losing the way back?

To start a program for your own account, open shell:startup and place a shortcut to it there. Dragging the program file into the folder with the right mouse button and choosing Create shortcuts here avoids moving the program itself. To stop an entry, move its shortcut to a dated folder on the desktop instead of deleting it, sign out, sign back in, and check whether the behavior you were investigating has changed. The original state then stays one drag away. Use the all-users folder only when every account genuinely needs the program, since a change there affects people who are not at the keyboard. The same habits hold on Windows 10 and 11, and the version-neutral guide to the Windows Startup folder covers the scope decision and shortcut review in more detail.

09Frequently asked questions

Is the Windows 7 Startup folder in the same place on Windows 10 and 11? Yes. The per-user folder is still under AppData in the Roaming folder and the common folder is still under ProgramData, and shell:startup opens the first one on all three versions. Windows 10 and 11 also list startup apps in Settings and Task Manager, which cover more than the folder alone.

Do programs in the Startup folder run at boot or at sign-in? At sign-in. The folder is processed when an account signs in to the desktop, so nothing in it runs while the computer waits at the sign-in screen. A job that must run before anyone signs in needs a service or a scheduled task with a boot trigger.

Does Windows 7 still receive security updates? No. Microsoft ended extended support for Windows 7 on January 14, 2020, and the paid Extended Security Updates program ended in January 2023. The Startup folder still works as described here, but a Windows 7 computer that remains in use no longer receives fixes for newly found vulnerabilities.