How to Disable Steam from Opening on Startup

How to Stop Steam from Opening on Startup

Does Steam start automatically when you sign in to your PC? Here’s how to stop Steam from opening on startup…

Most gaming platforms, Steam included, are set to update and launch automatically whenever you start up your computer. This can be very annoying sometimes, especially when you have other important things to attend to rather than gameplay.

In addition, when you’re on a metered bandwidth, application software that auto-updates is the last thing you want on your PC.

With that being said, below, we’ve outlined how to stop Steam from opening on startup in Windows and Mac operating systems.


1. Disabling Auto-Startup from the Steam Interface

 Step 1: On the open Steam interface, head over to the menu bar and then click on Steam.

click on Steam

Step 2: In the pop-up window, click on settings to access the settings window.

setam settings

Step 3: In the settings window, click on the Interface tab on the left-hand side of the screen.

steam Interface

Step 4: Among the options in the midsection of the screen, look for and uncheck the “Run Steam when my computer starts” checkbox then click OK to save the changes.

Run Steam when my computer starts

save the changes on steam


2. Disabling Steam Auto-Startup in Windows

Besides using the Steam interface, you can also stop Steam from automatically launching at startup in Windows. There are two ways to go about it. You can either choose to disable Steam auto-start up via Windows startup apps or via the Task Manager utility.

Using Windows Startup Apps Utility

To stop Steam from automatically launching at startup using this method, proceed as follows:

Step 1: In the search box, on the bottom left side of your screen, type Startup Apps and then press Enter.

Startup Apps Utility

Step 2: On the left-hand side of the search results window, click Open to access all the installed startup apps under settings on your PC.

Step 3: Search for Steam in the list of apps and then on the right-hand side of the apps, click to turn off the button to stop the app from automatically launching at startup.

Disable Steam Auto Startup

Using Task Manager Utility

Step 1: In the search bar, type “Task Manager” then press Enter. Alternatively, you can access the Task Manager by simply pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys.

Task Manager

Step 2: Once the Task Manager utility window opens, click on the More Details down arrow to access more features of the utility.

Step 3: Click on the Startup tab then scroll till you locate Steam in the list of apps that are installed on your PC.

Startup option

Step 4: Right-click on the app then on the popup window, select “Disable”. Alternatively, you can simply select the app, Steam, and then scroll to the bottom of the Task Manager window and choose the Disable button.

Disable steam

Congratulations! You have successfully stopped Steam from automatically opening at startup.


3. Disabling Steam Auto-Startup in Mac

How to keep Steam from opening on startup mac is very simple and straightforward. Here are the steps for how to stop Steam from auto-updating and launching at startup on Mac.

Step 1: Click on the Apple icon to access System Preferences.

Mac System Preferences

Step 2: Next, click on the Users & Groups icon.

Users & Groups icon mac

Step 3: Once the Users & Groups section opens, head over to the left-hand side of the section and then click on Login Items.

Step 4: A list of all the apps that are set to open automatically when you log in will appear.

Step 5: Search for Steam from the list and then select the checkbox under the Hide column to the right of the application. That’s it. You’ve successfully stopped Steam from automatically opening on Startup of your Mac computer.

Steam Login Items

Conclusion

While startup apps can save you a lot of time otherwise spent in launching and running software applications, they can also be annoying, not to mention slowing down the PC’s boot time. By disabling auto-startup applications such as Steam, you’re not just improving the PC’s boot time but also limiting the number of system resources allocated to such application programs.

3 thoughts on “How to Disable Steam from Opening on Startup”

  1. These steps do not work for Windows 10. Steam has been disabled in Task Manager and has start up has been disabled within Steam Interface menu. Yet, when I boot my laptop, there is Steam in my Taskbar.

    1. Will, I recommend the second option. It’s easier. Click Winkey and enter Start Apps. The start Apps screen will pop up. You just need to find Steam and turn off the switch behind it.If that doesn’t work, you can try using CClear, which manages the startup app. If there is still not work, please contact me in time.

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