Windows 10: Here is how you disable Cortana from autostarting with Windows 10 version 2004

Microsoft released Windows 10 version 2004, a new feature update for the operating system recently. One of the changes of the release was that the company switched from integrating Cortana natively in the operating system to offering it as an application that is provided via the Microsoft Store.

The move did not just cut the tie between Windows 10 and Cortana as Microsoft rebuild the new Cortana application from scratch; some functionality, most consumer features such as controlling music playback, are no longer available in the Cortana application and Microsoft stated already that these features would not be reintroduced at a later point in time. The new focus is business and work according to Microsoft, and using Cortana requires that users sign-in to the application with a Microsoft Account, or a school / work account.

While Cortana has changed significantly, it still appears that the application is started with Windows. Our colleagues over at Deskmodder noticed this. We tried to replicate this on a system that we upgraded to Windows 10 version 2004 but saw no sign of Cortana starting with Windows directly after the upgrade to Windows 10 version 2004.

The first Microsoft Store update on the other hand brought a Cortana update along with it, and this update seems to have added Cortana to the system autostart.

Tip: you may also disable Microsoft Store updates as outlined in this guide to prevent Cortana from updating automatically.

Be it as it may, you may want to check if Cortana is autostarting on your devices if you have upgraded to Windows 10 version 2004. If you have no plans on using Cortana, you may as well disable its autostart.

Disable Cortana in the Task Manager




One of the easier options to do that is to open the Task Manager on the system using Ctrl-Shift-Esc, switch to the Startup tab, and see if Cortana is listed there. A right-click and the selection of "disable" blocks the new Cortana from autostarting with Windows.

Cortana application options




Another option that you have is to open the Cortana options as you find an autostart toggle there as well. Here is how that is done:

1. Use Windows-I to open the Settings application, or select Start > Settings.
2. Open Apps in the Settings window.
3. Search for Cortana and click on the result to display its options.
4. Select Advanced Options.
5. Toggle the "runs at log-in" option on the page that opens.

Disable Cortana autostart via the Registry




You have to dig deep to find the autostart of the Cortana application as it is not listed in the usual places. To disable Cortana autostarting with Windows, do the following:

1. Open Start, type regedit.exe and hit the Enter-key on the keyboard.
2. Confirm the UAC prompt that is displayed.
3. Go to the key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModel\SystemAppData\Microsoft.549981C3F5F10_8wekyb3d8bbwe\CortanaStartupId
4. You should see a State value on the right. Double-click it and set it..
   1. to 1 to disable the autostart of Cortana.
   2. to 2 to enable the autostart of the Cortana application.
5. Restart Windows to complete the change.

Now You: do you plan to use the new Cortana application?

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Cortana

Hi,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Community.

Appreciate your efforts to work on this issue.

This issue can occur if some of the system files are not working as expected.

Suggest you to follow the steps from this article to
troubleshoot Cortana on the PC.

Note: Do not go with the ‘Reset PC’ option for now.

Method 1: Follow these steps to disable Cortana:

1. Sign-in to the PC with your Microsoft account.
   
2. In the search box at the bottom, type Disable Cortana.
   
3. Once the suggestions appear in the list, click Cortana & Search settings.
   
4. From the right section of the Settings pane, move the top button to ‘Off’ to disable Cortana from Windows 10.
   

Method 2: Follow these steps to check if that helps.

1. Launch Cortana from the search bar on the taskbar.
   
2. Then, from the left pane click the settings button.
   
3. Under "Cortana" (the first option) and slide the pill switch to the ‘Off’ position.
   

Method 3: Launch the Settings app and click on Privacy. Navigate to Speech, inking, & typing, and click Stop getting to know me. These steps will disable Cortana.

Hope this helps.

Let us know if you got the help you needed.

Regards,

Srimadhwa B

Microsoft Community-Moderator

 

Windows 10 Tweaks

Pressing “Windows+Pause Break” (it’s up there next to scroll lock) opens the “System” Window.

Windows 10: In the new version of Windows, Explorer has a section called Quick Access. This includes your frequent folders and recent files. Explorer defaults to opening this page when you open a new window. If you’d rather open the usual This PC, with links to your drives and library folders, follow these steps:

• Open a new Explorer window.
• Click View in the ribbon.
• Click Options.
• Under General, next to “Open File Explorer to:” choose “This PC.”
• Click OK

credit to Lifehacker.

 

Windows 10 Tweaks

Privacy tweaks...

• Turn Cortana Off. Bring up the Start menu and start typing. Click on the notebook icon in the left sidebar and choose Settings. From there, you can turn off Cortana.
• Search online and include web results. When you turn off Cortana, you’ll see this option appear. You can turn it off if you’d rather not get web search suggestions from the Start menu, which log your typing and send it back to Microsoft so you can get live-updating predictions, just like you do on Google.com or in Chrome and Firefox.
• Getting to Know You. In Settings > Privacy > Speech, Inking, & Typing, you’ll find a feature called “Getting to Know You”. This is probably the most sweeping privacy setting on the system, and even after turning off Cortana, you’ll have to disable this setting. Just click the “Stop Getting to Know Me” button to turn it off.
• Cloud Info. Turning off Getting to Know You removes info from your device, but you’ll have to remove it from the cloud separately. In that same window, click “Go to Bing and manage personal info for all your devices” to clear the Getting to Know You Data from your Microsoft account.

• If you head to Settings > Privacy > Feedback & Diagnostics, you’ll see two settings:

• Feedback frequency: Windows will occasionally ask you for feedback so you can send Microsoft your thoughts on Windows 10. If you’d rather it not bug you with such things, you can change it to Never.
• Diagnostic and usage data: This feature can send a lot of data back to Microsoft, including how often you use certain apps, which apps you use most often, and memory snapshots (which can inadvertently include parts of a document you’re working on if something crashes). You can change this to Full, Enhanced, or Basic. You can read more about what each of these to here.

Microsoft doesn’t let you turn off diagnostics completely, except on Enterprise versions of Windows. The Basic setting, they say, is data that is “vital to the operation of Windows”, including Windows Update and malicious software protection.


some may be duplicated. I found this info on Lifehacker, if anyone wants the full article.