Windows startup bloat is real, and it’s one of those problems you don’t notice until your PC starts feeling slower than it should. Every other app seems to sneak its way into your startup list, quietly running in the background and chewing up resources for no good reason. Over the years, I’ve gotten into the habit of shutting almost all of them off. It keeps my system feeling snappy, and honestly, most apps just don’t need to be running the second Windows loads up.
But there are a couple of rare exceptions that actually earn their spot at startup. I’m not talking about antivirus or the obvious system tools that clearly belong there. I mean apps that immediately add something useful the moment the desktop appears. After a lot of trial and error across my setups, these two have proven themselves worth keeping. They make Windows easier to use, cut down on friction, and genuinely improve my workflow.
Why DisplayFusion earns its place at startup
I’ve written about DisplayFusion before. It’s been a part of my setup for a while now because Windows still doesn’t quite know what to do with a three-monitor workspace. Even with Windows 11 improvements and PowerToys installed, things can get messy fast. Windows sometimes forgets where windows should land or taskbars don’t behave consistently. On a single monitor, it might not be something that you notice, but once you’re juggling three displays for work, those little quirks add up.
That’s where DisplayFusion makes a real difference. It loads my monitor profiles exactly the way I want them, keeps my layouts consistent, and gives me window-snapping and positioning rules that go way beyond what PowerToys and Windows 11’s built-in tools have to offer. When I switch resolutions, rotate a screen, or reconnect a monitor, DisplayFusion handles it smartly instead of letting Windows improvise. It brings a level of control that feels essential when your workflow depends on multiple displays behaving reliably.
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Starting it with Windows makes sense in this situation. The second my desktop appears, my monitors settle into place, my taskbars show up exactly where they should, and all my window tweaks are already active. Without it, every reboot turns into a small but annoying cleanup routine, consisting of dragging things back where they belong, resizing windows, and fixing whatever layout Windows decided to shuffle around. DisplayFusion saves me from all that friction and makes my monitor setup feel more stable.
The Windows tweaks that make PowerToys a smart startup pick
PowerToys has become one of those Windows add-ons that improves everything you do on your PC. Microsoft originally built it for power users, and it shows. It’s a collection of small but very useful tools that fill in many of the gaps that Windows 11 still hasn’t ironed out. Things like better window management, faster renaming, easier text extraction, or even simple quality-of-life features like highlighting your mouse cursor when you lose track of it. It’s the kind of toolkit you don’t fully appreciate until you start relying on it.
What makes PowerToys compelling is how it appeals to almost any Windows user, which is probably why we keep writing about it. FancyZones alone has a large following thanks to how it fixes Windows’ clunky window snapping. Add in tools like Paste history, PowerRename, Color Picker, and Mouse Utilities, and you’ve got a suite of tools that feel like they should have been baked into Windows from the start.
That’s also why PowerToys makes sense as a startup app. A lot of its best features only work if it’s running quietly in the background the moment Windows loads. FancyZones needs to be ready before you start dragging windows around. PowerRename and the clipboard tools work best when they’re already active. And Mouse Utilities, especially Find My Mouse, is one of those things you want instantly, not after you go hunting for it. Having PowerToys start with Windows means all those small but meaningful improvements are just there without any extra thought or setup.
These startup apps don’t bog down my system
DisplayFusion and PowerToys both launch at startup, but they’re surprisingly light on the resources. Neither app slows down my boot time in any noticeable way, and once they’re running, they barely touch my system resources. They just sit quietly in the background and make Windows feel more organized and usable.
When it comes down to it, most apps just don’t earn the right to fire up the moment Windows loads. But DisplayFusion and PowerToys make my PC experience better the second the desktop appears. They keep things organized, cut down on little annoyances, and stay light enough that I never notice them running. If you trim the rest of the junk and keep only the tools that genuinely improve your workflow, Windows will feel a whole lot smoother.