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c#.netregistrystartup

How to run a C# application at Windows startup (update)?

I want to run a C# application at startup. I used this code, which I found here:

private void SetStartup(bool enable)
    {
        string runKey = "SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Run";

        RegistryKey startupKey = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey(runKey);

        if (enable)
        {
            if (startupKey.GetValue("ZanNews") == null)
            {
                startupKey.Close();
                startupKey = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey(runKey, true);
                startupKey.SetValue("ZanNews", "\"" + Application.ExecutablePath + "\"");
                startupKey.Close();
            }
        }
        else
        {
            startupKey = Registry.CurrentUser.OpenSubKey(runKey, true);
            startupKey.DeleteValue("ZanNews", false);
            startupKey.Close();
        }
    }

Although the entry appears in the registry and the Task Manager, the program doesn't start with Windows.

Before asking this question, I did prior research on StackOverflow and none of the solutions and code snippets proposed here and here worked. Either I got security and access error messages or the registry was written, but the program refused to start with the operating system. I see, however, that the questions above were asked in 2010 and 2011 and I am thinking that things changed since then.

Is there a way to make a program run at startup? I have Windows 10, Home Edition, version 1803 and .NET Framework 4.7.2 installed on Windows 10 April 2018 Update.

Later edit: other information:

  1. The value of Application.ExecutablePath is C:\\Users\\alexz\\OneDrive\\Programe\\C#/ZanScore/ZanScore/bin/Debug/ZanNews.exe";
  2. I tried removing the "#" character, with no luck;
  3. Screenshot of Registry Editor: Screenshot
  4. Screenshot of Task Manager (in Romanian): Screenshot
Solution

  • Doing some research, I found that it's a much better way to create a shortcut and place it in the Startup folder. More details are presented here and the code (which works and solves the problem) is:

            WshShell wshShell = new WshShell();
        IWshRuntimeLibrary.IWshShortcut shortcut;
        string startUpFolderPath =
          Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Startup);

        // Create the shortcut
        shortcut =
          (IWshRuntimeLibrary.IWshShortcut)wshShell.CreateShortcut(
            startUpFolderPath + "\\" +
            Application.ProductName + ".lnk");

        shortcut.TargetPath = Application.ExecutablePath;
        shortcut.WorkingDirectory = Application.StartupPath;
        shortcut.Description = "Launch My Application";
        // shortcut.IconLocation = Application.StartupPath + @"\App.ico";
        shortcut.Save();

    To be able to use the above code, you need to include the IWshRuntimeLibrary namespace and add the Windows Script Host Object Model reference to the project.

    Other reference is here