Why Does Windows 11 Keep Reopening Closed Apps After a Reboot

Disable Sign-in Info to Stop Restarting Apps

Turning off the restartable-apps option stops Windows 11 from reopening your closed apps after a reboot. Windows normally uses your saved account details to finish setting up your PC after a restart, and that relaunches the programs that were running before. This setting is per user, so it only affects the account you are signed in to. You do not need administrator rights to change it.

1. Press the Windows key and select the gear icon to open Settings. The Settings⚙️ window opens.

   

2. Click Accounts in the left sidebar. The account pages appear on the right.

   

3. Select Sign-in options from the list of account settings.

   

4. Scroll down to the Additional settings section.
5. Turn off the toggle switch next to Automatically save my restartable apps and restart them when I sign back in. The switch should now read Off.
6. In the same section, turn off the toggle for Use my sign-in info to automatically finish setting up my device after an update or restart. This is the setting Windows uses to sign you in and bring your apps back after an update restart. The switch should now read Off.

If you do not see these toggles, check that you are on Windows 11 22H2 or later under Settings › System › About. On a work or school PC, the options may be hidden or locked by your organization’s policy.

To undo the changes, return to Settings › Accounts › Sign-in options and switch the toggles back on. No restart is needed to save them, but you will only see the effect on your next reboot. Turning off the sign-in info toggle means that after an update restart, you may have to sign in yourself before the setup finishes.

Use Shut Down Commands Instead of Restart

A full shutdown command performs a complete shutdown from a prompt, and it is a way to get a clean desktop for one boot. In the command below, /s shuts the PC down, /f force-closes any running apps, and /t 0 removes the waiting time. A restart from the Start menu saves your open apps by design, so they come back when the PC starts again. Running the command skips that behavior. This works on both Home and Pro.

1. Press Windows plus X to open the quick link menu, then select Terminal or PowerShell. A prompt window opens.

2. Type the command shutdown /s /f /t 0 into the prompt window. Check it carefully before you continue.
3. Press Enter to run the full shutdown sequence immediately. The screen goes dark and the PC powers off.

When you turn the PC back on and sign in, you should see an empty desktop. There is nothing to undo here, because the command only changes how this one shutdown behaves.

There is a gentler option if you do not want to force-close anything. Open Start › Power, hold Shift and click Shut down. Holding Shift bypasses Fast Startup, a feature that saves part of the system state to speed up the next boot. Avoid Shift with Restart for this purpose, because it opens the recovery options screen instead of a normal restart.

Neither method is permanent. If you often forget them, the Automatically save my restartable apps and restart them when I sign back in toggle from the previous section controls which apps Windows restarts, and it is the lasting fix.

Adjust Sign-in Options in Settings

Adjusting your Windows Update restart preferences keeps background updates from taking over your reboot and restoring your previous session. Windows often uses your sign-in details to finish installing updates automatically, and that brings back your closed apps. Changing these preferences stops your PC from restarting on its own and relaunching old programs.

Open Settings and go to your update preferences to control how restarts occur.

1. Open Settings and click Windows Update🔃 in the left sidebar. The update status page opens.
2. Select Advanced options. A list of update settings appears.

   

3. Turn off the toggle for Automatically restart my device as soon as possible when it’s required to install an update. The switch should now read Off.

The wording of this option differs between builds. On some current Windows 11 builds it appears as Get me up to date, and the toggle does the same job. If you cannot find either name, your PC may be managed by an organization, or the option may not be offered on your build.

With this off, Windows asks you to schedule restarts instead of doing them for you. To undo it, switch the toggle back on. For apps that return after an update restart, also check the sign-in info toggle in Settings › Accounts › Sign-in options, covered in the first section.

Clear Background Apps via Task Manager

Ending stubborn background apps in Task Manager (a tool for monitoring running apps and system performance) stops them from forcing themselves back into your session. Some apps ignore standard shutdown signals and run hidden processes that trigger a relaunch after a reboot. Ending these tasks by hand stops them from loading again in the current session.

1. Open Task Manager📊 by pressing Ctrl plus Shift plus Esc. The Task Manager📊 window opens.

   

2. Click the Processes tab in the left menu if it is not already selected. A list of running items appears.

   

3. Review the list of running applications and background processes. Look under Apps and Background processes for anything you closed before the last reboot.
4. Right-click any persistent app you want to close and select End task. The app disappears from the list.

Be careful with items you do not recognize, especially under Windows processes. Ending the wrong one can close your session or cause unsaved data loss. Save your work before you end any task.

Ending a task only lasts until the next boot, so use the next section to stop the app from starting at all.

Check Startup Tab for Persistent Software

Checking the startup list in Task Manager helps you find software that overrides Windows behavior and launches on boot. Many modern apps have their own session-restore or “run at login” options that ignore your power settings and appear every time you turn on the PC. Disabling these items stops them from starting with your computer.

1. Open Task Manager📊 using Ctrl plus Shift plus Esc.
2. Click the Startup apps icon (depicted as a gauge) in the left sidebar. A list of startup items appears with a Status column.
3. Locate the application that keeps reopening after every reboot.
4. Right-click the application name and select Disable. Its status changes to Disabled.

Disabling an item does not uninstall it. You can start it by hand whenever you like. To reverse the change, right-click the same entry and select Enable.

If an app still opens after you disable it, check its own settings for an option such as “launch at startup” or “reopen last session.” Some apps keep their own copy of that option, and it overrides the Windows list.

What to do next

Once you apply these changes, restart your computer normally. Your desktop should load with only the default system processes running. If an app still returns, go back through the sections above, starting with the sign-in toggles and then the startup list. You can then move on to managing your startup apps further or configuring your taskbar layout.