How Do I Prevent Microsoft Reader From Loading at Startup?

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My laptop has Windows 8.1 Pro. When checking Task Manager I noticed that “Reader” appears in the processes list. It’s the default app for reading a .pdf. I only open a .pdf file on rare occasions, and would prefer not to have the app running in the background all the time.

Here’s the catch. The Reader app does not appear in the Startup tab of Task Manager so I can’t disable it in the usual way.

Reader app details:

Description: Microsoft Reader

Location of the shortcut:  C:UsersAnyoneAppDataLocalMicrosoftWindowsApplication ShortcutsMicrosoft.Reader_8wekyb3d8bbwe

How do i disable this Reader app from Startup?

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Try TechNet/Sysinternals‘ free, portable Autoruns.

1. Download/unzip and run. (Choose the appropriate ‘bitness’, i.e. Autoruns64.exe for the 64-bit version of Windows, *right-click* on the executable then choose Run as administrator*.)
2. Accept the EULA for first time use.
3. Wait for the list dialog to populate then look for a startup entry for Microsoft Reader.
4. Whilst it’s easy to just delete the entry, I would suggest just removing the tick from the checkbox… just in case you ever want to revert your change.

*You need to run Autoruns as administrator in order to get the elevated rights to adjust or delete startup entries. Autoruns will tell you if you haven’t run it as ‘administrator’ and offer to elevate itself. You can also choose Run as administrator from Autoruns’ File menu.

Hope this helps…

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Type: msconfig in the search and double click it to open, therein there is a list of startup items on one of the tabs, untick the appreader.

Windows - commercial by definition and now function...

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@Rick-Corbett and @Microfix,

Thank you for your replies.

I opened msconfig and clicked on the Startup tab. No apps/programs are listed there. There is simply a link saying Open Task Manager. That, of course, takes me back to where I started which is that neither Reader nor Microsoft Reader are listed in Task Manager’s Startup list.

As a result, I’m slightly reluctant to install a new program (Autoruns) just to get rid of another program (Reader). Maybe I’m being too picky. Or, maybe Autoruns won’t list Reader among the Startup apps, either.

Is there a Registry key I can change that will stop Reader from loading at Startup? Usually, we change a key value from from 1 to 0 to turn something off in the Registry, as I recall.

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@wsstarvinmarvin If you aren’t needing the Reader app to access .pdfs (i.e. you have a browser like Chrome/Opera, that is set as your default program), perhaps you might pay to uninstall the app?

The Microsoft Reader is a Store App, these apps do not appear in Programs and Features.

To uninstall a store app, on the Start Screen, right click the Reader App and select the Uninstall Icon on the bottom Toolbar.

From answers.microsoft.com

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@WSstarvinmarvin – As I mentioned in my earlier post, Autoruns (written by one of Microsoft’s top gurus) is portable… so you don’t install it at all… just download (it’s tiny), unzip and run (as administrator).

anonymous wrote:

Or, maybe Autoruns won’t list Reader among the Startup apps, either.

There’s only one way to find out.

(I tried to install Reader from the store to test but it requires an MS account login so I didn’t bother.)

Hope this helps…

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Rick Corbett and Kirsty ,

Thank you both for replying.

Kirsty, you jogged my memory, so I right-clicked on the Reader icon in the Start menu list of recently used apps and there’s the option – Uninstall !! How could I have forgotten that obvious possibility?

Rick Corbett, you jogged my memory about Autoruns being a straightforward executable not requiring installation. I went ahead and downloaded Autoruns for present and future use. After doing the Uninstall of Reader I opened Autoruns and checked for Reader. There are no traces of it that I can see. Thanks again.

Autoruns does show a zillion entries in various categories for Dropbox. My GF has a user account on this laptop and Dropbox is one of her installed apps. Don’t understand the necessity of all this Dropbox stuff loading when it’s only me who is logged in. But, if she wants to use it even just once in a blue moon then I’d better leave it alone, I suppose (sigh).

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