Device Manager opens after logging in - ANNOYING

[Howie Mendoza]

Device Manager opens after logging in - ANNOYING.....

I could live with it if it was my computer but it actually occurs on 2 of my users.

I have 2 logins on the PC (administrator, portal user) and administrator account / and standard account

I can't figure out why device manager auto-opens after login.

Checked shell:startup - I have on program there but it isn't the Device Manager and its certainly not he MMC (Microsoft Management Console) - which is really the Device Manager Window.

Any help appreciated.....

 

[Trouble]

Open taskmanager and check the startup tab, see if it is listed there.

Check C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp
And
C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

and failing either or both of those look to these registry locations but of course back it up, create a restore point manually, and export the key prior to editing for safe keeping.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

You can also use AutoRuns from SysInternals, which may also help locate the problem. https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

 

[Regedit32]

I've tried to intentionally create this scenario you inquired about by:

• Adding a shortcut of devmgmt.msc to the shell:Startup folder, and
• Modifying the registry keys Trouble referred to in his post to you to force Device Manager to start on login

In both cases Device Manager refused to start.

Given that, then the only things I can think you might check are:

1. Task Scheduler to see whether there is a schedule listed there which is causing this scenario.
2. Checking whether your System is in some kind of weird automatic driver update loop; i.e. some hardware in your device manager is at fault and being constantly updated by Windows. This can be disabled by the way, so if that is the case let us know and we'll post a solution.
3. Someone else, remotely is causing this action - i.e. you're on a Server
4. What you say is Device Manager opening is not the Windows Device Manager, but a third party one such as Hewlett Packard's built in Dev Manager tool; in which case you may need to uninstall that.

Other than the above, nothing else comes to mind at this moment in time.

If you do manage to resolve this, be sure to post what in the end was the cause of the problem and what you did to fix it.

Regards,

Regedit32