[BUG] Claude Desktop autostart entry crashes Windows 11 Settings > Apps > Startup (SettingsHandlers_Startup.dll 0xc0000005)
Preflight Checklist
- [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
- [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
- [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code
What's Wrong?
Bug Report: Enabling Claude Desktop autostart crashes Windows 11 Settings > Apps > Startup
Claude Desktop Version: 1.7196.1 (abcd65) 2026-05-16T00:57:20.000Z
Windows Version: Windows 11 Build 26200.8457
Description:
When the autostart option is enabled in Claude Desktop settings, the Windows 11 Settings app crashes every time Apps > Startup is opened. Disabling autostart in Claude Desktop immediately resolves the issue.
Steps to reproduce:
- Install Claude Desktop
- In Claude Desktop settings, enable the autostart option
- Open Windows Settings > Apps > Startup
- Settings app crashes immediately
Expected behavior:
Windows Settings > Apps > Startup opens normally and displays all autostart entries.
Actual behavior:
Settings app crashes. Windows Event Log shows:
- Faulting application:
SystemSettings.exe - Faulting module:
SettingsHandlers_Startup.dll - Exception code:
0xc0000005(memory access violation) - Fault offset:
0x0000000000027a63
Workaround:
Disable autostart in Claude Desktop settings. To still launch Claude Desktop on login, manually place a shortcut in the Windows Startup folder (shell:startup).
Reproducibility:
Confirmed reproducible across multiple clean Windows installations. Tested by restoring system backups and re-enabling/disabling the Claude Desktop autostart toggle — the crash appears and disappears consistently with the toggle state.
Additional notes:
The issue appears to be caused by how Claude Desktop writes its autostart registry entry, in a format that causes SettingsHandlers_Startup.dll to crash when enumerating startup entries.
What Should Happen?
Enabling autostart should autostart Claude Desktop as expected, but without causing Windows startup options to crash.
Error Messages/Logs
Steps to Reproduce
- Install Claude Desktop
- In Claude Desktop settings, enable the autostart option
- Open Windows Settings > Apps > Startup
- Settings app crashes immediately
Claude Model
Sonnet (default)
Is this a regression?
I don't know
Last Working Version
_No response_
Claude Code Version
Claude 1.7196.1 (abcd65) 2026-05-16T00:57:20.000Z
Platform
Other
Operating System
Windows
Terminal/Shell
Other
Additional Information
_No response_
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4 Comments
Found 3 possible duplicate issues:
This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
The suggested duplicates (#56369, #48055, #44356) describe the same root cause (malformed registry entry with incorrectly escaped quotes), but affect Windows 10 and crash Task Manager.
This report is specific to Windows 11 (Build 26200.8457), where the same malformed entry causes
SettingsHandlers_Startup.dllto crash with0xc0000005when opening Settings > Apps > Startup — not Task Manager. The Task Manager on Windows 11 is unaffected.The workaround from #56369 (
Set-ItemPropertyto fix the registry value) resolves this issue as well, confirming the shared root cause. However, since the symptom and affected component differ, this may be worth tracking separately to ensure the fix is validated on Windows 11.I just experienced identical bug behavior with similar steps and observed the faulty registry entry.
Claude Desktop Version: 1.3883.0 (93ff6c) 2026-04-21T17:24:01.000Z
Windows Version: Windows 11 Pro, version 25H2, build 26200.8457
After updating to Claude 1.11847.5 (9692f0) 2026-06-09T17:34:27.000Z the bug appears resolved and the app performs as expected. I no longer observe any registry entries made in the previous locations when toggling "run on startup".
bug =resolved.
Additional Information for posterity
From Claude Desktop Version: 1.3883.0 (93ff6c) 2026-04-21T17:24:01.000Z.
Alternate steps to reproduce :
didn't require opening claude desktop initially.
Actual behaviour:
same outcome as OP, settings app crashes.
accessing startup ups via task manager functions as expected and the claude process name is just "\" with empty publisher field
root cause:
An incorrect startup registry entry being created at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. ( Name : claude, type : REG_SZ, data : "\"C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\AnthropicClaude\claude.exe\" --startup").
Additional Impacts:
This bug also affected login.
Actual Behaviour:
Workaround:
modifying the entry to (Name : claude, type : REG_SZ, data : ("C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\AnthropicClaude\claude.exe\" --startup)
This fixed the settings->startup apps crash, the login process then completes successfully and the task manager startup apps entry reads "claude.exe" but still with empty publisher field.
If the "run on startup" toggle is toggled on again, the same broken registry entry overwrites the edited version.
I just encountered the same malformed registry entry. I was using Claude Desktop to diagnose, and Claude itself found this GitHub issue but dismissed it as a suspicious exact match to my Event Viewer error about the crash. Then Claude argued with me about the registry entry being "okay" or the cause of the crash. Finally, I convinced it that it's not normal. Deleting the entry fixed the crashing issue with Windows Settings. Note, with the malformed registry entry, my Claude Desktop settings still showed the toggle for automatic Startup turned off, so turning it off was not an option to fix the issue, since it was already off. The Task manager showed the slash as a Startup entry by itself, with no publisher, and right-click -> Properties just opens the Properties dialog for the C: drive. The slash entry disappeared when I disappeared the Claude entry from the registry.