This Powershell script closes a series of application windows that are opened on Windows 10 startup. This script was tested and working on Windows 10 Version 22H2. This script is intended to be run from a .cmd (see close_application_window.cmd) file when run as a scheduled task (see Close Applications Opened on Startup.xml) of a Windows user log…

Close Applications Opened on Startup.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?>
<Task version="1.4" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/windows/2004/02/mit/task">
  <RegistrationInfo>
    <Date>2026-01-08T12:04:32.2243302</Date>
    <Author>YOUR-MACHINE-NAME\YOUR-USERNAME</Author>
    <Description>Close Applications Opened on Startup</Description>
    <URI>\Microsoft\Windows\Close Applications Opened on Startup</URI>
  </RegistrationInfo>
  <Triggers>
    <LogonTrigger>
      <Enabled>true</Enabled>
      <Delay>PT10S</Delay>
    </LogonTrigger>
  </Triggers>
  <Principals>
    <Principal id="Author">
      <UserId>YOUR-USER-ID</UserId>
      <LogonType>InteractiveToken</LogonType>
      <RunLevel>LeastPrivilege</RunLevel>
    </Principal>
  </Principals>
  <Settings>
    <MultipleInstancesPolicy>IgnoreNew</MultipleInstancesPolicy>
    <DisallowStartIfOnBatteries>true</DisallowStartIfOnBatteries>
    <StopIfGoingOnBatteries>true</StopIfGoingOnBatteries>
    <AllowHardTerminate>true</AllowHardTerminate>
    <StartWhenAvailable>false</StartWhenAvailable>
    <RunOnlyIfNetworkAvailable>false</RunOnlyIfNetworkAvailable>
    <IdleSettings>
      <StopOnIdleEnd>true</StopOnIdleEnd>
      <RestartOnIdle>false</RestartOnIdle>
    </IdleSettings>
    <AllowStartOnDemand>true</AllowStartOnDemand>
    <Enabled>true</Enabled>
    <Hidden>false</Hidden>
    <RunOnlyIfIdle>false</RunOnlyIfIdle>
    <DisallowStartOnRemoteAppSession>false</DisallowStartOnRemoteAppSession>
    <UseUnifiedSchedulingEngine>true</UseUnifiedSchedulingEngine>
    <WakeToRun>false</WakeToRun>
    <ExecutionTimeLimit>PT1H</ExecutionTimeLimit>
    <Priority>7</Priority>
  </Settings>
  <Actions Context="Author">
    <Exec>
      <Command>C:\Users\%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\close_application_window.cmd</Command>
    </Exec>
  </Actions>
</Task>

close_application_window.cmd

:: Please note this expects your Powershell script to be located on your Desktop. Feel free to change it.
powershell.exe -WindowStyle Hidden -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\close_application_windows.ps1"

close_application_windows.ps1

Add-Type @"
    using System;
    using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
    
    public class WindowHelper {
        [DllImport("user32.dll")]
        public static extern IntPtr PostMessage(IntPtr hWnd, uint Msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
        
        [DllImport("user32.dll")]
        public static extern bool ShowWindow(IntPtr hWnd, int nCmdShow);
    }
"@

$scriptBlock = {
    param($TitleContains, $TimeoutSeconds, $UseHide)
    
    try {
        Add-Type @"
            using System;
            using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
            
            public class WindowHelper {
                [DllImport("user32.dll")]
                public static extern IntPtr PostMessage(IntPtr hWnd, uint Msg, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
                
                [DllImport("user32.dll")]
                public static extern bool ShowWindow(IntPtr hWnd, int nCmdShow);
            }
"@
    } catch {
        # Type already added
    }
    
    $WM_CLOSE = 0x0010
    $SW_HIDE = 0
    $stopwatch = [System.Diagnostics.Stopwatch]::StartNew()
    
    Write-Output "[$TitleContains] Waiting for window..."
    
    # Wait for window to appear
    while ($stopwatch.Elapsed.TotalSeconds -lt $TimeoutSeconds) {
        $process = Get-Process | Where-Object { 
            $_.MainWindowTitle -and $_.MainWindowTitle -like "*$TitleContains*" 
        } | Select-Object -First 1
        
        if ($process) {
            Write-Output "[$TitleContains] Found: '$($process.MainWindowTitle)' (PID: $($process.Id), Handle: $($process.MainWindowHandle))"
            Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 500
            
            # Close/Hide the window
            $processes = Get-Process | Where-Object { 
                $_.MainWindowTitle -and $_.MainWindowTitle -like "*$TitleContains*" 
            }
            
            foreach ($proc in $processes) {
                $handle = $proc.MainWindowHandle
                if ($handle -ne 0) {
                    if ($UseHide) {
                        Write-Output "[$TitleContains] Hiding window (Handle: $handle)"
                        $result = [WindowHelper]::ShowWindow($handle, $SW_HIDE)
                        Write-Output "[$TitleContains] Hide result: $result"
                    } else {
                        Write-Output "[$TitleContains] Closing window (Handle: $handle)"
                        $result = [WindowHelper]::PostMessage($handle, $WM_CLOSE, [IntPtr]::Zero, [IntPtr]::Zero)
                        Write-Output "[$TitleContains] Close result: $result"
                    }
                }
            }
            
            $stopwatch.Stop()
            Write-Output "[$TitleContains] Completed in $([int]$stopwatch.Elapsed.TotalSeconds) seconds"
            return
        }
        
        Start-Sleep -Seconds 2
    }
    
    $stopwatch.Stop()
    Write-Output "[$TitleContains] Timeout after $([int]$stopwatch.Elapsed.TotalSeconds) seconds - window not found"
}

# Main script
Write-Host "=== Starting Window Closer (Async Mode) ===" -ForegroundColor Cyan
Write-Host ""

# Start all jobs simultaneously
$jobs = @()
$jobs += Start-Job -ScriptBlock $scriptBlock -ArgumentList "Logitech Gaming Software", 120, $false
$jobs += Start-Job -ScriptBlock $scriptBlock -ArgumentList "Intel", 120, $false
$jobs += Start-Job -ScriptBlock $scriptBlock -ArgumentList "Razer Synapse", 120, $false

Write-Host "Started $($jobs.Count) parallel jobs" -ForegroundColor Cyan
Write-Host "Monitoring progress..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
Write-Host ""

# Monitor jobs in real-time
$completed = @()
while ($completed.Count -lt $jobs.Count) {
    foreach ($job in $jobs) {
        if ($job.State -eq 'Completed' -and $completed -notcontains $job.Id) {
            # Get and display output
            $output = Receive-Job -Job $job
            $output | ForEach-Object { Write-Host $_ }
            $completed += $job.Id
            Remove-Job -Job $job
        }
        elseif ($job.State -eq 'Failed') {
            Write-Host "Job failed: $($job.Name)" -ForegroundColor Red
            $completed += $job.Id
            Remove-Job -Job $job
        }
    }
    
    if ($completed.Count -lt $jobs.Count) {
        Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 500
    }
}

Write-Host ""
Write-Host "Script completed." -ForegroundColor Green

get_open_windows.ps1

# List all windows with titles. Useful for finding the real name of application windows which may differ from the process name or window title.
Write-Host "=== All Open Windows ===" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host ""

Get-Process | 
    Where-Object {$_.MainWindowTitle} | 
    Select-Object Id, ProcessName, MainWindowTitle | 
    Format-Table -AutoSize |
    Out-String |
    Tee-Object -FilePath "$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\window_titles.txt"

Write-Host ""
Write-Host "Output also saved to Desktop\window_titles.txt" -ForegroundColor Yellow
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "Press any key to exit..."
$null = $Host.UI.RawUI.ReadKey("NoEcho,IncludeKeyDown")