Microsoft explains how to fix "We couldn't find this app" Windows Startup Registry bug

Microsoft has published a new support article on its official website that guides users on how to boost system performance with the proper management of Startup apps. Alongside that, it has also explained how to fix an annoying issue wherein certain apps in the Startup Settings section can not be opted for as they display a "We couldn’t find this app" error message.

There are multiple such complaints from users on Microsoft forums as they have been unable to fix the issue. It was first brought to attention by a user named sKyros . on the forum back in October 2023. The post has been upvoted by 78 others at the time of writing. There are more threads like this one too.

Microsoft has explained why such an issue can occur and how users can fix the issue with the help of the Windows Registry editing (Regedit) alongside a caution about tinkering around in the Registry:

If you see the massage We couldn’t find this app as an app title in Settings, the app could be on a removable drive, a network drive, or the path to the app might not exist. This could also happen if an app was uninstalled, therefore you can try to reinstall the app to try to fix it.

To find more information about the missing app, select the icon next to the On / Off toggle of the app.

When there isn’t a valid path, a window lists the registry location or the file path that contains the broken path. If the path points to a registry location, you can use the Registry Editor and find the broken path.

Startup apps in the registry

The startup applications in Windows can be stored in specific registry locations.

For applications that run at startup for all users, the registry paths are:

HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

For applications that run at startup for the current user, the registry path is:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

Caution: modifying the registry can have unintended consequences. It’s important to be careful and back up the registry before making changes.