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  1. C:
  2. ProgramData
  3. Microsoft
  4. Windows
  5. Start Menu
FolderRisk: Caution
  • Localized name

Start Menu C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu

Shared Start menu for all users: shortcuts for programs installed for everyone and the common automatic startup folder.

Updated on By AltF4 Formation

What it’s for

Shortcuts of applications installed “for all users” land here. This is the shared Start menu folder (FOLDERID_CommonStartMenu, CSIDL_COMMON_STARTMENU in the older naming): everything in it shows up in the Start menu of every account.

What it contains

  • Programs: the application .lnk shortcuts, organized in folders.
  • Programs\StartUp: the common Startup folder, whose items run when any user signs in (shell:common startup).
  • Its content is merged into the Start menu with the equivalent folder of the user’s profile.
  • On Windows 10 and 11, tile and pin layout is not stored here, only the shortcuts.

Risks and best practices

  • Deleting a shortcut removes the app from the “All apps” list for all users without uninstalling it. An app update or repair may recreate it.
  • Watch StartUp: it is a classic persistence point for malware, since it applies to every account.
  • To add a shortcut for everyone, drop it here as administrator; for a single user, use that profile’s folder.
  • In managed deployments, prefer Start layout policies over manual files.

Useful commands

Fenêtre de terminal
# Shortcuts common to all users (read-only)
Get-ChildItem "$env:ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs" -Recurse -Filter *.lnk -Force |
  Select-Object FullName


# Common Startup folder (programs launched at sign-in for every user)
Get-ChildItem "$env:ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp" -Force


# Open the common folder in File Explorer
explorer.exe "shell:Common Start Menu"

Folder contents

Folders 1

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