Tweaking Windows 11. Setting up a new WIN11 for comfortable and safe work

[root]

WARNING !!!

Before getting into the Windows settings, we strongly recommend creating a restore point, or even better, completely backing up the system partition. All actions described in this article, you perform at your own peril and risk. Neither the author nor the editors bear any responsibility for possible consequences.

CREATING A BACKUP COPY​

Before poking around in the giblets of the operating system, it makes sense at least to create a backup copy of the system registry and a restore point. Let's start with the last one.

restore point​

In the new Windows, the method of creating a restore point is not as trivial as in previous versions of the OS: you will never find it if you do not know where to look. Press Win + R and in the Run window that opens, type sysdm.cpl. The "System Properties" window will open: go to the "System Protection" tab, select the system drive and click on the "Create" button. Enter a name for the new restore point and click OK.

Create a restore point in Windows 11

Subsequently, it will be possible to automate the creation of restore points using the WMIC.EXE utility with the following command:

 Wmic.exe /Namespace:\\root\default Path SystemRestore Call CreateRestorePoint "%DATE%", 100, 1

You can put this command in a batch file and run it manually as an administrator if necessary, or register it in the Windows Task Scheduler and run it according to a schedule.

System registry​

With the registry, everything is a little simpler: to work with it, there is a REG EXPORT console utility that can be used to export entire branches of the registry, like this:

 reg export HKLM C:\hklm.reg

Here hklm.reg is the file where the contents of the HKLM branch will be saved. Similarly, you can back up the rest of the registry branches, and then, if problems arise, roll back the changes by running the .reg file.

Creating a backup of the system registry

A user with administrator rights in Windows 11 has almost complete access to all branches of the registry, so if you have an administrator account in the system, you can safely perform all the required operations using regedit. If you do not have admin privileges, you should run regedit and reg files as an administrator.

RETURNING THE FAMILIAR TASK PANEL AND MAIN MENU​

The new macOS-style taskbar has appealed to many Windows users, but not all. You can move the application icons and the "Start" button to the left side of the taskbar, as was implemented in the "top ten". To do this, right-click on any point on the panel that is free of icons and select the "Taskbar Settings" item in the context menu that opens. In the window that opens, expand the "Taskbar Behavior" list and select "Left" from the menu on the right.

Returning the taskbar icons to their usual place

But this may not be enough for some: both the arrangement of icons and the grouping of tasks in Windows 11 are implemented a little differently. The easiest way to return to the classic taskbar view without having to install additional memory-consuming programs is to use the following .reg file:

 Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell\Update\Packages]
 "UndockingDisabled"=dword:00000001

After applying this tweak, you need to restart Windows Explorer or end your current Windows session and log in again. The taskbar will take on a more familiar look, but at the same time, some features will “break” in it, such as grouping applications, in addition, the Start menu and the search bar will fall off. The main menu can be returned using one of the free utilities, which will be discussed later, and the search will still work in the explorer.

Windows 11 taskbar after tweak

To enable and disable system icons in the taskbar, open a command prompt (cmd.exe) and run the following command in it:

 Explorer shell:::{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9}\SystemIcons

The System Icons window opens, allowing you to customize how icons appear on the taskbar.

System Icons window

To “make everything as it was” and at the same time not break the functionality of Windows 11, you can use the free utility Explorer Patcher , which brings the taskbar back to the classic Windows 10 look without disabling other system features. Just download from the developer's site and install the application - voila, everything works!

Tools have traditionally been used to return to the place of the classic Start menu in new versions of Windows. Classic Shell , but in the 11th version a similar utility works much better and more stable openshell . The installation of the tool is completely identical to Classic Shell, it is configured and works in exactly the same way.

Windows 11 with ExplorerPatcher and OpenShell

If you like the updated Windows 11 taskbar and decide to leave it, but want to replace the main menu with a more familiar one, you can use the utility Start 11 by Stardock - However, this program is paid.

ADDITIONAL TASKBAR CUSTOMIZATION​

If you want to dig deeper into the taskbar settings, there is a tool called 7+ Taskbar Tweaker , which has proven itself in Windows since version 7 and also works in Windows 11 if the classic panel is activated in it.

The utility has a Russian-language interface and is therefore extremely easy to use. With this tool, you can customize the Windows 11 taskbar exactly the way you need it.

DISABLE CORTANA​

Cortana is not just a built-in Windows voice assistant, it is deeply integrated into the search function, security system, and other architectural elements of the system. Disabling the voice assistant in the system settings is not enough, but you can run the following commands:

 reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search" /v "AllowCortana" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

 reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PolicyManager\default\Experience\AllowCortana" /v "value" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

 reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search" /v "CortanaEnabled" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

 reg add "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search" /v "CortanaEnabled" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

 reg add "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search" /v "CanCortanaBeEnabled" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Don't forget to restart your system after making changes to the registry. To not disable, but completely remove Cortana for the current user, run PowerShell as an administrator and run the following command:

 Get-AppxPackage -allusers Microsoft.549981C3F5F10 | Remove-AppxPackage

The same, but for all Windows users:

 Get-AppxPackage -allusers *Microsoft.549981C3F5F10* | Remove-AppxPackage

DISABLE "EXTRA" SERVICES​

By default, Windows 11 runs several services that someone may simply not need. For example, if you're not an Xbox user, you can disable the XboxGipSvc, XblAuthManager, XblGameSave, and XboxNetApiSvc services. If you don't use mobile devices and Windows 11 is installed on a desktop computer, you can disable SensorService, SensorDataService, and SensrSvc. You can also disable the following services without much harm to the health of the system:

• DPS - Diagnostic Policy Service;
• RemoteRegistry - remote registry management service;
• TermService - terminal service;
• TrkWks is a client for tracking changed links.

To disable unnecessary services, use the "Services" tab of the Windows Task Manager.

Disabling "extra" services

ENABLE AUTOMATIC CLEANING OF THE PAGE FILE​

To have Windows automatically clear the paging file when you log out, use the following command:

 reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management" /v " ClearPageFileAtShutdown " /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

This will avoid potential data leakage: after all, various important information, including logins and passwords, can be stored in the swap file.

REMOVING PRE-INSTALLED APPS​

Some pre-installed programs in Windows 11 can be uninstalled in the Control Panel, but some gadgets and built-in utilities do not appear in this list. To uninstall all unnecessary applications, you can use the following method.

1. Right-click on the Windows 11 Start button and select Windows Terminal (Admin) from the context menu.
2. In the PowerShell window that opens, type the command

3.  Get-AppxPackage|Select Name, PackageFullName.

   The console will display a list of all installed applications and their full names.

List of all installed Windows 11 apps

1. Now you can remove any application with the command

    Remove-AppxPackage "fullname"

   , where "fullname" is the full name of the application obtained in the previous step. This command removes the application for the current user. To remove it for all users, use the command

    Get-AppxPackage -allusers *app* | Remove-AppxPackage

   , where *app* is the name of the application to be removed.

DELETE TELEMETRY TASKS​

Everyone knows that Windows has a task scheduler, but not everyone knows that it is also used to perform telemetry tasks. If you open a terminal and type shtasks /query, you will get a list of all tasks scheduled in the system.

List of all scheduled tasks

Telemetry tasks are presented in the following list:

[LIST]
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\FileHistory\File History (maintenance mode)
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\AppID\SmartScreenSpecific
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience\AitAgent
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience\Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience\ProgramDataUpdater
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience\StartupAppTask
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\Autochk\Proxy
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\CloudExperienceHost\CreateObjectTask
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\Customer Experience Improvement Program\Consolidator
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\Customer Experience Improvement Program\BthSQM
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\Customer Experience Improvement Program\KernelCeipTask
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\Customer Experience Improvement Program\UsbCeip
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\Customer Experience Improvement Program\Uploader
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\DiskDiagnostic\Microsoft-Windows-DiskDiagnosticDataCollector
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\DiskDiagnostic\Microsoft-Windows-DiskDiagnosticResolver
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\DiskFootprint\Diagnostics
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\FileHistory\File History (maintenance mode)
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\Maintenance\WinSAT
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\NetTrace\GatherNetworkInfo
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\PI\Sqm-Tasks
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\Power Efficiency Diagnostics\AnalyzeSystem
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\Shell\FamilySafetyMonitor
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\Shell\FamilySafetyRefresh
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\Shell\FamilySafetyUpload
[*] \Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting\QueueReporting
[/LIST]

Disable an unnecessary task with the command

 schtasks /end /tn "task"

, where task is the corresponding task from the list above.

GET ACCESS TO ALL SYSTEM SETTINGS​

To get quick and easy access to all Windows 11 settings, create a new folder on your desktop with the following name:

System Settings.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Having opened the folder, you will see a window where all the main Windows settings are collected, even those that are not so easy to access under normal conditions.

We get access to all system settings

CONCLUSION​

Microsoft Windows 11 is still a very young operating system, the full range of its capabilities has not yet been fully explored. Nevertheless, it is gaining more and more popularity among users, and over time, when the period of support for competing versions of Windows comes to an end, it will surely supplant them. We figured out how to customize the Windows 11 interface so that it looks more like Windows 10 we are used to. Next time we will talk about settings that will increase the performance of the new Windows on older machines with a weak hardware configuration.

A source

 

[НСК-СБ]

Microsoft Windows 11 is still a very young operating system, the full range of its capabilities has not yet been fully explored.

Interesting, but difficult for ordinary users. It is better to trust professionals in this matter!

 

[Alexander Konovalenko.]

Interesting, but difficult for ordinary users. It is better to trust professionals in this matter!

I completely agree!

 

[root]

Interesting, but difficult for ordinary users. It is better to trust professionals in this matter!

Here the problem is different, it’s not always “at hand” that there is a professional who you can trust, in this case you can try to use the step-by-step instructions, which is why I published it. Too much telemetry is collected and sent by Windows. What exactly she sends and to whom is not fully understood. For this, the resources of our computer are used, and as Ilyich said, the paramount task is the maximum possible shutdown of Windows telemetry.