Windows 10 & 11 Start Minimized to Taskbar

[BassArpeggio]

I have an issue when my laptop starts up, Steam launches (as I want it to) in a full window (as I don't want it to) instead of launching minimized to taskbar. I am currently using Windows 11, but the issue existed even before upgrading from Windows 10.

I have looked at the solutions posted in the past and tried them including, turning off "startup with windows" option in settings, then creating a shortcut in Windows startup menu with the -silent flag (it launches into full window mode). I have even edited the registry to always launch Steam with the -silent flag. (it ignores this).

Does anyone have any ideas to fix this issue with the Steam software?

[metamec]

If by 'full window mode' you mean 'Big Picture Mode' then open Powershell (Windows key + R > type powershell > click OK) and copy/paste the following command into it:

Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Valve\Steam" -Name "StartupMode" -Value 0

[BassArpeggio]

Originally posted by metamec:

If by 'full window mode' you mean 'Big Picture Mode' then open Powershell (Windows key + R > type powershell > click OK) and copy/paste the following command into it:

Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Valve\Steam" -Name "StartupMode" -Value 0

Thank you for the reply! I don't mean 'Big Picture Mode', I just mean the normal Steam startup window that I currently have set to open the store page.

[metamec]

Originally posted by BassArpeggio:

Thank you for the reply! I don't mean 'Big Picture Mode', I just mean the normal Steam startup window that I currently have set to open the store page.

Ah, OK. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Someone actually posted here before about Steam launching 'maximised' with Windows but in their case it really was BPM. I figured it was worth posting that advice just in case.

Are you sure you don't have multiple 'autorun' entries (programs which start with Windows) conflicting with each other?

For example, I presume you added

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steam.exe" -silent

to the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

But if it also exists (without the -silent argument) at the same location beneath HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then that will take priority. As only one Steam instance can be launched at a time, the HKEY_CURRENT_USER startup entry (with the -silent argument) will fail.

Problem is there are even more locations where a duplicate startup entry might be hiding.

Like here:

%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp

Or here:

%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp

I'm not too confident that this is your problem but it's a plausible reason why your -silent startup tweak isn't working so I figured I'd mention it in case you want to look into it.

By the way , you can use a program called Autoruns[docs.microsoft.com] to find and delete all duplicate 'autorun' entries, but if you do that, you must not delete 'Steam Client Service' beneath the Services category. That's required by Steam to run properly.

I wish you luck because I just can't think what else might be the cause of this problem.

[BassArpeggio]

That did the trick! I had my registry entry in the wrong key. Thanks a million!

[metamec]

Originally posted by BassArpeggio:

That did the trick! I had my registry entry in the wrong key. Thanks a million!

Oh hey, I only just logged in again and saw your message. I'm really glad my wall of text 😄 turned out to be useful and thanks for the award! That was really kind of you.

[easyKey]

UNCHECK "Run Steam when my computer starts" in the settings and put a shortcut of steam with -nochatui -nofriendsui -silent in run => shell:startup

[martinr36]

So I guess there is no easy way to sort this, prior to this latest update, it used to start minimised nicely

[Lavie]

I had this issue after the new UI (for 4-5 days), but now it's OK... I assumed one Steam update resolved this. That will probably not help you, but can be a possible clue. Be sure Windows is up to date, and, try a proper restart of your computer...
https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-reboot-a-computer-2624568

[guacaprole]

Originally posted by Lavie:

I had this issue after the new UI (for 4-5 days), but now it's OK... I assumed one Steam update resolved this. That will probably not help you, but can be a possible clue. Be sure Windows is up to date, and, try a proper restart of your computer...
https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-reboot-a-computer-2624568

Why do people even post crap like this? "Update your computer and here's a link to how to reboot it" just so useless I can't even believe you typed this out