In this blog post, I’ll show you how to create an Intune policy to enable/disable Startup Boost in Edge using Intune. By default, this feature is enabled, allowing Edge to launch faster by keeping minimal core processes running in the background—even after you close all browser windows. As a result, when you reopen Edge, webpages load more quickly, without any delay.
You might be concerned that keeping Edge running in the background could consume a lot of CPU and memory, potentially slowing down your system. However, according to Microsoft, the Startup Boost feature is designed to use minimal resources, ensuring it doesn’t impact other system functions or services.
Contents
Enable/Disable Startup Boost Edge Intune Policy
You can enable or disable Starup boost in Microsoft edge browser using a Settings catalog Intune policy Enable Startup Boost. Let’s check the steps:
- Sign in to Intune admin center > Devices > Windows > Configuration > Create > New Policy.
- Platform: Windows 10 and later
- Profile type: Settings catalog
- Click Create.
- On the Basics tab, provide a Name and Description of the policy and click Next.
- On Configuration settings tab, click on + Add settings and use the Settings picker to search using Startup boost keyword and select Microsoft Edge\Performance category. Check the policy, Enable Startup boost.
You can also select Enable startup boost (User) policy instead of Enable Startup boost. Enable startup boost (User) setting applies in the user context and therefore should be targetted to Users and Enable Startup boost applies in the device context and applicable to any user who will use the device.
Allows Microsoft Edge processes to start at OS sign-in and restart in background after the last browser window is closed. If Microsoft Edge is running in background mode, the browser might not close when the last window is closed and the browser won’t be restarted in background when the window closes. See the ‘BackgroundModeEnabled’ (Continue running background apps after Microsoft Edge closes) policy for information about what happens after configuring Microsoft Edge background mode behavior. If you enable this policy, startup boost is turned on. If you disable this policy, startup boost is turned off. If you don’t configure this policy, startup boost may initially be off or on. The user can configure its behavior in edge://settings/system. Learn more about startup boost: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2147018
Official definition of the Enable startup boost Policy
- As Startup boost is enabled in edge by default, Let’s disable it and check the end user experience. As shown in below screenshot, I have not Enabled Startup boost and left it at disabled state.
- Scope tags: Click Next
- Assignments: Assign this policy to an entra security group containing users or devices. It’s a best practice to test the policy on a few devices first. If it’s working fine, then extend it to other devices.
- Review + create: Review the policy settings and click on Create.
Monitoring Startup Boost Edge Policy
- Sign in to the Intune admin center > Devices > Configuration.
- Select the Device Configuration profile you want to work with, and at the top of the page, you’ll see a quick view of the Success, Failure, Conflict, Not Applicable, and In Progress status.
- Click on View report to access more detailed information.
Sync Intune Policies
The device check-in process might not begin immediately. If you’re testing this policy on a test device, you can manually kickstart Intune sync from the device itself or remotely through the Intune admin center.
Alternatively, you can use PowerShell to force the Intune sync on Windows devices. Restarting the device is another way to trigger the Intune device check-in process.
End User Experience
After the deployment is completed successfully, you can open the Edge browser and check the Startup boost setting by following below steps:
- Open Microsoft Edge browser > In the address bar type: edge://settings/system and press Enter.
- Under System, you will find Startup boost setting is configured as per the Intune policy. We have disabled Startup boost therefore, it has been disabled and greyed out. Users will not be able to enable it.
Enable/Disable Startup Boost in Edge using Registry
You can also enable or disable the Startup boost in Edge using Windows registry. Let’s check the steps:
- Open the Registry Editor (regedit).
- Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge and create a DWORD registry entry called StartupBoostEnabled and set its value to 0 to disable Startup boost and set it to 1 to enable it.
- Restart your computer after making the registry changes.
