If Cursor keeps hanging on startup with the “Taking longer than expected…” message and you’re on Windows 10, the culprit might be Windows Defender — even if you’ve already added folder exclusions.
What worked for me:
Adding Cursor.exe as a process exclusion in Windows Defender, not just a folder exclusion.
Steps:
- Open Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Manage settings.
- Scroll down to Exclusions and click Add or remove exclusions.
- Click Add an exclusion > Process.
- Type Cursor.exe and confirm.
- Restart Cursor.
Why folder exclusions alone are not enough:
Folder exclusions prevent Defender from scanning files on disk, but they don’t stop Defender from inspecting the process’s network activity in real time. Adding the process exclusion is what actually prevents the hang on startup.
Optional but recommended — also add these folder exclusions for better performance:
C:\Users\<your_username>\AppData\Local\Programs\Cursor\C:\Users\<your_username>\AppData\Roaming\Cursor\
Hope this helps someone!