Run a program hidden in Windows 10

Do you know that you can start an application hidden in Windows? Sometimes you need to because some apps can run in the background doing their task without interrupting your workflow. You might want to run an app hidden from a batch script, let it do its work and not show any window. In this article, we will see all ways to run a program hidden in Windows 10.

In the article, we will hide Notepad as an example. You can use the same method to hide any other app you want.

Method 1. Using VBScript

This is the old and «traditional» way to start apps hidden. It works in every Windows version where VBScript is available. All modern Windows versions have VBScript support.

Open your favorite text editor and paste the following text.

Save it to a file with the .VBS extension. When you double click it, it will start Notepad hidden.

To call it from a batch file, execute it as follows:

Here, the Run method of the Wscript.Shell object runs a program in a new process. The second parameter is 0, which tells it to run the application hidden.
If you need to run an application with some command line arguments, the syntax is as follows:

If the application path contains spaces, add quotes to the beginning and to the end of the path. For example:

You can verify that the app is running by opening Task Manager. You will see Notepad.exe running but no window will be shown for it.

Method 2. Using PowerShell

PowerShell in Windows 10 and earlier versions comes with a built-in cmdlet Start-Process which can be used to start programs hidden too.
The syntax is as follows:

If you save this text in a file with a .PS1 extension, then you can call it from a batch file as follows:

Method 3. Using a third party tool

There are a number of third party tools which can use to manipulate window states. The only problem with such third party tools is that they often trigger false positives in antivirus software. If you need to use a third party tool, I suggest you to play with these:
Quiet

The syntax is as follows:

NirCmd by NirSoft
NirCmd is a powerful console tool which can do a lot of useful tricks. One of its options is the ability to start a process hidden.
The syntax is as follows:

That’s it. If you use some alternative way to start an app hidden in Windows 10, feel free to share it in the comments.

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About Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer from Russia who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.

15 thoughts on “ Run a program hidden in Windows 10 ”

Really great for fork bombing a friend.

hahaha. very nice idea.

This works with Notepad, but it can’t find any files elsewhere. I put in proper path with quotations. Nothing doing. Have you tried running it with other installed applications?

Sure I tried.
Can you post your script here?

Just replace notepad with any other program that has an actual path. Like “C:\Program Files (x86)\VSO\ConvertX\6\ConvertXtoDvd.exe”. I run the script and it says it can’t find it. I run VBS every day. I even put it on root drive. Not that I want to run above invisibly, but I was just trying it out.

I figured out what is the problem.
If path contains spaces, like in your case in “Program Files”, you need to use extra quotes in the Run method arguments. See this image:

Added this to the article.

Who fixed a lots of bugs on win10 anniversary update?
Bill Gates?

They have a huge number of developers.
But not Bill Gates 🙂

thanks for the reply

🙁 doesn`t work on wind 10 🙁 need for one game to hide HxD.exe
app start after using cmd, PowerShell but I can see it in in task manager
fu.. why hidetoolz doesn`t work on new windows? 🙁

this is because your app is relaunches itself with a new instance quickly, so it appears visible.
#notabug

15 Best Hidden System Tools in Windows.

Windows has some great inbuilt tools that are either little known or not known at all. The most important thing here is having the knowledge that such tools exist in your Windows. You can access all of these by typing their name in Windows Start Menu Search or you can open them through Run dialog box.

1. System Configuration (msconfig)
2. Registry Editor (regedit
3. Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit)
4. System Restore
5. Recovery Drive
6. User Accounts
7. Services
8. Resource Monitor
9. Disk Cleanup
10. Defragment and Optimize Drives
11. Disk Management
12. Computer Management
13. Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool
14. System Information
15. GodMode

1. System Configuration

The Windows System Configuration tool opens the gates to the most number of windows tools to its users. System Configuration has five tabs for its options – General, Boot, Services, Startup, and Tools. The General tab lets you select the Windows Startup mode, which can be Normal, Diagnostic or Selective. The Boot tab provides you tools that can be used to tweak the Windows Boot process. The Services and Startup tabs display the Services and Programs respectively that start with Windows. The Tools tab has the shortcuts to various Windows utilities.

How to access: Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R. Type msconfig in the text area, and press OK.

2. Registry Editor

The Windows Registry or Registry is a hierarchical database that contains information, settings, and options about all of the software and hardware installed on the Windows Operating System. It contains information about various users that are created for the system, and the programs and Windows preferences of those users. It also keeps the settings about how Windows behaves. The Registry Editor lets you create new keys, delete old keys, rename and modify the values of existing keys to tweak Windows.

How to access: Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R. Type regedit in the text area, and press OK.

3. Local Group Policy Editor

Mainly the system administrators use the Local Group Policy Editor. Therefore, it available only in the Pro (or Ultimate) editions of Windows, and not in the Home (Basic or Single Language) editions. All of its options can be used in home computers as well but they are not that relevant there. It is used by the System Administers to block employee or student access to Windows USB ports, Windows tweaking tools, User Accounts, System Configuration files, Windows System files, Windows Administrative Rights, and other high priority options. It is also used by Malware and Malware creators to block user access to emergency tools such as Shutdown, Power Options, Task Manager, Keyboard, Mouse, Touchpad, etc. But, this same tool can be used to recover from such malware attacks by reversing these settings. The Local Group Policy Editor gives the user access to many advanced options available in Windows.

How to access: Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R. Type gpedit.msc in the text area, and press OK.

4. System Restore

System Restore was first introduced in Windows ME. It allows the Operating System to revert to the point of Restore Point creation. A Restore Point is created automatically or manually. It is the first tool that users should try in recovering from Windows errors. It is recommended to create Restore Points before playing with Windows Registry, or Windows and Programs settings.

How to access: Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R. Type rstrui.exe in the text area, and press OK.

5. Recovery Drive

The creation of a Recovery Drive is the most important thing that you should do after installing Windows or performing major Windows Updates. A Recovery Drive is helpful in recovering from errors that make Windows unbootable. All of the Windows Recovery options can be accessed by booting the computer with the Recovery Drive.

How to access: Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R. Type RecoveryDrive.exe in the text area, and press OK.

6. User Accounts

The User Accounts tool has some nifty settings about users and user profiles. The most important setting in this tool is the option to enable or disable the requirement to enter user names and passwords to log into the computer.

How to access: Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R. Type Netplwiz.exe in the text area, and press OK.

7. Services

The Services tool lets you view and edit all of the services that Windows runs in the background. Make sure you create a Restore Point before playing with program services.

How to access: Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R. Type services.msc in the text area, and press OK.

8. Resource Monitor

It presents data and details about Hardware, Network, running Processes, and their Resource usage. The Overview tab gives you the system overview in four sections – CPU, Disk, Network, and Memory. All four of these options have their dedicated tabs to display detailed information.

How to access: Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R. Type resmon.exe in the text area, and press OK.

9. Disk Cleanup

It is Windows’ inbuilt Disk Cleaner tool. If you are worried about the security risks, disk impact, incompatibility and other issues regarding the use of third party disk cleaners then you are better off using the default Windows disk cleaner tool. It finds all kinds of junk files. You also get the option to remove Clean up System Files, which scans and removes Windows update and upgrade files as well.

How to access: Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R. Type cleanmgr.exe in the text area, and press OK.

10. Defragment and Optimize Drives

It is Windows’ inbuilt Disk Defragmentation and Optimization tool. It displays all of the partitions in its main window. You get two options – Analyze, and Optimize. The Analyze option scans and analyses the partitions for fragmentation, and then displays it in percentage. The Optimize option defragments and optimises the partitions. By Default, it set to perform its operations Weekly, but you can choose from two other options as well, which are Daily and Monthly.

How to access: Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R. Type dfrgui.exe in the text area, and press OK.

11. Disk Management

It is Windows’ inbuilt partition manager. Disk Management lets the user Create, Format, Extend, Shrink, and Delete partitions. Other than these, two additional operations that can be performed with this tool are Mark Partition as Active, and Change Drive Letter and Paths.

How to access: Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R. Type diskmgmt.msc in the text area, and press OK.

12. Computer Management

The Computer Management contains various system tools under one window.

Task Scheduler: The Task Scheduler allows users to create and manage custom scheduled tasks i.e., the tasks that you want performed automatically on specified times; you can also view currently running scheduled tasks.

Event Viewer: The Event Viewer displays all of the system events that have occurred on your computer, you can see detailed information about these events.

Shared Folders: If you share some folders over the network then they will be visible here in this place.

Performance: Performance or Performance Monitor collects the data about system performance, and keeps reports and logs of it.

Device Manager: The Device Manager is a major system tool that displays all of the hardware components installed and connected to your system. It allows you to Update, Disable, Enable, and Uninstall hardware components. It also displays warning messages for erroneous system components.

How to access: Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R. Type CompMgmtLauncher.exe in the text area, and press OK.

13. Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool

If you’ve ever looked into the Windows Update process, and the things that it downloads in its updates then you’d have noticed a small tool of about 10MB called the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool in the list of the files being installed in the update. Because it has the word Microsoft written in beginning of its name, Windows users don’t spend too much time thinking about its purpose considering it to be mediocre like other Microsoft application and utility software on Windows. But, it is actually a very useful tool like other great tools listed here. This tool scans Windows for malicious software or the Malware.

How to access: Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R. Type mrt.exe in the text area, and press OK.

14. System Information

The System Information tool displays Windows System Summary in three categories – Hardware Resources, Components, and Software Environment. Clicking on each plus button expands it, and displays more links and detailed information about them.

How to access: Open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R. Type msinfo32 in the text area, and press OK.

15. GodMode

How could I not mention this one! Technically, the GodMode is not a tool but a folder that has shortcuts to various Windows tools, options, and features.

How to access: You have to create it. Create a new folder by right-clicking on the Desktop. Rename the new folder with the this text: GodMode.