[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:

1. Install Claude Desktop
2. In Claude Desktop settings, enable the autostart option
3. Open Windows Settings > Apps > Startup
4. 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

1. Install Claude Desktop
2. In Claude Desktop settings, enable the autostart option
3. Open Windows Settings > Apps > Startup
4. 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_