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On Android Titanium Backup can 'Freeze' an app. Is there something similar for Windows?

Let me clarify: I would like a registry hack that would disable the application from starting up automatically along with any other services it might start. Hopefully, it will then be as simple as running disableAppName.reg and enableAppName.reg; I know, I can do it by disabling the services from Services.msc and also disable the startup using Autoruns.

Is there a place in the registry where all the information on the application is saved? Can this information be used to create this hack?

"TuneUp Utilities" seems to do this, but it is a commercial utility. <--------->

I was looking to disable Bluestacks without uninstalling it. Merely removing it from the startup list will not stop the related services from starting up. I would like to keep the program, but stop it from using any resources (other than disk space). Is there an easy way to do this?

Also, I would like to enable/unfreeze the program and start it up when I need to use it, (easily, of course).

Can this be done via the registry?

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  • Seems like dupe of superuser.com/questions/215363/… – Sathyajith Bhat♦ Aug 11 '14 at 6:46
  • Not familiar with the program but, in general, if you go to the service(s) (task manager->services tab->services button) and set it to manual then the service(s) should not start again until you tell it to (or set it back to auto mode). Some apps will restart the service like this when you don't want them to. In this case set it to disabled instead. This is generally obeyed. If you'd like information on creating a shortcut to do this easily anytime for these services in a single click then let me know and I'll get that for you to. – krowe Aug 11 '14 at 7:12
  • @Sathya Thanks, that link is very interesting and I would like to do that too, but my requirement is much simpler. – xs400 Aug 12 '14 at 8:48
  • @Krowe Thanks. That helped. I chose Bluestacks because it consumes a lot of resources (memory, cpu) even when I'm not using it. It starts up a bunch of services. – xs400 Aug 12 '14 at 8:51
  • Hi @xs400 -- Do you mind, please, selecting an answer, for the benefit of those of us who worked to provide for you a suitable solution? Thanks! – David Michael Gregg Sep 22 '14 at 2:43
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Generally speaking:

I recommend looking into services.msc (as rakslice said) to disable the service and use CCleaner to disable any autoruns, go to Taskschd.msc to disable any corresponding scheduled tasks.

(Out of personal preference i only use Microsoft Sysinternals Autoruns for disabling drivers)

Also, look for update-programs of the corresponding vendor, as they might interfere and probably could reactivate some stuff.

Using msconfig proved to be somewhat annoying, as it sometimes starts/started along with Windows if any programs are unchecked in there, so i can't recommend that (probably on older Windows versions, dunno).

If any drivers are associated, you can use Autoruns or the Devicemanager (devmgmt.msc).

In the device manager:

  • press view, show hidden devices
  • deactivate corresponding stuff

Last but not least, if you want to be really certain, rename all corresponding directories to "_directory" or something, but you have to manually kill all processes accessing that folder, i.e. with Process Explorer, `Task Manager' or by cmd taskkill -IM program.exe. and already disabled and stopped all linked services.

In your case:

Automating everything via batch file might work (if you leave drivers alone and intact). Something like:

disable_script.bat:

taskkill -IM processname.exe net stop "Servicename" ren C:\path\folder _folder

enable_script.bat:

ren C:\path\_folder folder net start "Servicename" processname.exe

(having cleared any autoruns and/or scheduled tasks, before)

Bonus: If you want to be certain to not miss anything, you could try to uninstall the Application and all corresponding services, install i.e. Total Uninstaller (which will log every file being created or linked) and reinstall your Application and Services. This way you get to know all hidden chunks of this App on your system ;)

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So you've taken the shortcut out of the Startup group? You can set Bluestacks' services to not start automatically (Win+R, services.msc, double click on the service, set Startup type: to Manual); that should make the services not start up automatically at boot. If they don't still start automatically when you use the Bluestacks shortcut, you can create a batch file that launches them first (e.g. net start "Bluestacks Android Service", etc.)

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There are a few ways to perform a similar task. One which requires no additional software would be...

  1. Open Start.
  2. Type "msconfig" and hit Enter.
  3. Go to the Services tab and uncheck any Bluestacks-related services. Sort by Manufacturer to make finding these services easier.
  4. Go to the Startup tab to disable any Bluestacks-related startup applications.

Another (more thorough but slightly more complex) way to do this would be to get the little Microsoft app Autoruns:

  1. Run Autoruns as an administrator. Autoruns will run a quick search of all processes which are set to run automatically.
  2. Hit Ctrl-F to open the Find dialog and type "Bluestacks" or any other word or series of characters which will identify the programs you wish to disable.
  3. Find will find the first match, and then simply hit F3 to move on to each subsequent match. Uncheck each item as desired.
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