Steam is a widely-used gaming service, which also has its own application available for download. When you download the Steam app, the client will automatically launch when your device starts up.
This is because in both your device settings and Steam’s settings, the Steam app has been told to open on Startup.
How to stop Steam from opening on Startup
Steam opening on Startup can be quite annoying as the app often updates on launch too, which can take a while. This is fine if you play games regularly, but it can get frustrating if you only want to open Steam on occasion.
Fortunately, there are ways to prevent Steam from opening on Startup. There are two ways to solve this matter, both of which we’ll go through in this article.
Method 1: Via Windows Settings
The first method for preventing Steam from launching on Startup, is by altering your Window settings.
First, open up Windows Task Manager. You can do so by pressing Windows-Key + ‘x’ and selecting ‘task manager’.
Alternatively, you can search ‘task manager’ in the Start Menu. Windows Task Manager should show up as the ‘best match’ result.
Once you’ve opening the Task Manager, click the ‘more details’ option in the bottom left. This should cause more options to show up.
Click the ‘startup’ tab. This should show you a list of different programs. Next to each program, there is a status. If the program launches on Startup, the status should say ‘enabled’.
See also: Steam Pending Transactions
If the program doesn’t open on Startup, the status should say ‘disabled’.
Scroll through the list of programs until you find Steam. Check the status next to Steam. If it says ‘disabled’, then your Steam client should not be opening on Startup as it’s been disabled.
If it says ‘enabled’, Steam has been told to launch on Startup. Click on Steam and click the ‘disable’ option in the lower right. Once you’re finished, close the Task Manager.
Afterwards, restart your device to confirm the changes. Steam client should no longer open on Startup.
Alternatively, you can search ‘startup’ in the Start Menu to access the Startup settings.
There should be a list of apps listed in the settings. Each app has a switch next to it. If the switch is blue, launching on Startup has been enabled.
If the switch is grey, launching on Startup has been disabled. Scroll until you find Steam, and click the switch next to it to disable launching on Startup. The switch should now be grey.
Finally, restart your device to confirm the alterations. Steam should no longer launch on Startup.
Method 2: Via the Steam App
The second method for preventing Steam from opening on Startup, is by changing the Steam app settings.
Open the Steam app and go to Steam > Settings > Interface. Your settings are where you can make adjustments to your gameplay and account (but you still can’t change your Steam username).
Uncheck the box for ‘run steam when my computer starts’. You can do so by clicking the box. When you’re done, click the ‘ok’ option in the lower right to confirm the changes.
What happens when you stop Steam from opening on Startup?
When you prevent Steam from opening on Startup, Steam will stop automatically updating without prompt. Now, Steam will only update when you manually start the app.
This will make starting up your device a quicker and smoother process. Steam updating on Startup can interfere with other programs booting up. It also stops you from having to manually close the app every time you boot up your device.
However, it does mean that you should remember to regularly launch Steam in order to ensure it remains updated. This prevents Steam from having to undergo several updates at once.
It also prevents Steam from updating every time you launch it, which can happen if you rarely launch the app.
Making sure Steam is updated regularly also prevents Steam from having to update whenever you try to launch one of its games.
Related: Migrating Steam Games to Another Hard Drive
Steam games update automatically most of the time, which is actually a good idea if you want to ensure you’re playing the latest, bug-free version of your favourite games.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Steam app will open on Startup by default. You can prevent this from happening by either altering your device settings, or by changing the Steam app settings.
Doing so comes with some benefits as well as some drawbacks. You can disable Steam from opening on startup if you’re finding that your computer boots slowly,
