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I have a certain application that runs by creating a window on startup, and when you try to minimize the application it just closes the main frame and runs in the background. I was wondering how you can make it run in the background on startup instead of popping up. I have Windows 10 Home, if that information is needed.

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  • Did you add the program to startup or it was added by the program itself? If the 1st one, did you add it to startup by adding the shortcut to the progam in the Startup folder? Jan 18, 2017 at 1:38

4 Answers 4

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Shortcut files allow you to specify how you want the program to launch. Here's one way to do what you're asking, assuming the program is in your Start menu Startup directory:

  1. Open Windows Explorer (you can use Win+E for this).
  2. Paste this path into the location bar: %appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup. If you don't see your program there, try this location instead: %programdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
  3. Right-click the program (it'll actually be a link file, with a little arrow in the corner of the icon) and select Properties.
  4. Go to the Shortcut tab of the window that opens (if you didn't start there).
  5. One of the options will be Run: with a drop-down next to it (probably saying Normal window). Change the drop-down to Minimized.
  6. Hit OK (if you get a UAC prompt, allow the action).

The next time you log in, the program will still run... but it will be minimized from the start, which probably means it won't even appear. You can try launching it directly from Windows Explorer to see what this will look like.

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  • 5
    You misunderstood what background means, running in background (like a service) ≠ minimizing the window to taskbar.
    – Meow
    Oct 24, 2017 at 15:15
  • @Meow I was using the term "background" (which can mean either "headless service / daemon process" or simply "not in the foreground") the same way as the OP used it in the question. The app was stated to run "in the background" if minimized, with a request that it "run in the background" from launch.
    – CBHacking
    Oct 24, 2017 at 23:28
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Try setting the application to start with the Task Scheduler. If you configure it to run with the System account, it should remain hidden:

Task Scheduler

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    Running programs as SYSTEM is both a potential security risk (a program running as SYSTEM has full privileges and can take over your machine easily) and also may not work correctly if it needs to access your data and does it using a path relative to the current user profile (such as %appdata%\progname\filename.ext) or via the current user registry hive (HKCU), as these locations are different for the SYSTEM account than they are for your account. The program might not work at all, or might do the wrong thing.
    – CBHacking
    Jan 18, 2017 at 1:56
  • Why not to create dedicated a standard account that will run such programs that even can not by design add themself correctly to the scheduler, especially running hidden... and with highest privileges... If application throwing some pop up then there should be a reason why it doesn't start in background
    – Alex
    Jan 18, 2017 at 2:07
  • @CBHacking , all good points and I am aware of the potential drawbacks. However, the OP worded his question rather carefully to avoid revealing any details regarding exactly what they were trying to run, so I made this suggestion and awaited their feedback to see if any adjustments were necessary. For the example that I posted, the SYSTEM account works rather nicely, but in a different scenario your mileage may vary.
    – Run5k
    Jan 18, 2017 at 5:11
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    Agreed with Run5k on this one. A program with special purpose should be able to run under system just fine.
    – Overmind
    Jan 18, 2017 at 9:10
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What I do is start the application with a VBS script. When doing this no (console) window is visible, and in task manager you see the process running under 'Background Processes'

Dim WShell
Set WShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WShell.Run "c:\x\myapp.exe", 0
Set WShell = Nothing

safe this snippet, for example in 'run.vbs'

now run from command line (or task schedular)

> wscript run.vbs

Open the Task Manager, and you'll see the application is running as background process.

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Just go to Actions and Edit it with adding "/noshow" to arguments text box. I'm sure this is what you're looking for.

photo

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  • in general tab?
    – DolDurma
    Apr 27, 2018 at 6:21
  • Didn't work for me. Dec 15, 2018 at 15:16

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