Windows won’t let you fix these 3 annoyances without PowerShell

Home windows 11 continues to be my go-to working system, however utilizing it typically appears like a continuing tug of conflict between how I need to work and the way Microsoft thinks I ought to work. I like Home windows, I do know my manner round it, and it suits my workflow higher than the options. What frustrates me is how typically Microsoft provides me loads of methods to customise the little issues whereas making a few of the larger annoyances a lot more durable to alter.

That is particularly unusual when you think about how huge the Home windows 11 Settings app has grow to be. Many of the working system might be adjusted from one place, but there are nonetheless a couple of irritating defaults that Microsoft would not offer you a simple change for. For these three, I needed to skip Settings totally and switch to PowerShell. Fortuitously, none of that is particularly sophisticated. In every case, it is principally a matter of fastidiously copying and pasting a command, urgent Enter, and letting Home windows do the remainder.

I do not need to click on twice for choices Home windows used to indicate me

The shortened right-click menu in Home windows 11 is a kind of adjustments I’ve by no means actually warmed as much as. Microsoft did not truly do away with the previous context menu, however it added one other layer between me and a few of the choices I often use. You possibly can nonetheless convey up the total menu by holding Shift whilst you right-click, which is helpful in a pinch. The issue is that including an additional keystroke each time I right-click would not really feel like an enchancment. I may additionally set up third-party software program to alter the menu, however that appears pointless when Home windows can already do what I need.

The best answer I’ve discovered is to use PowerShell to restore the classic context menu. The command adjustments a Registry setting that tells Home windows to make use of the previous menu by default, so after making the change, a traditional right-click brings up the total menu instantly. Threads on Microsoft’s community forums nonetheless often share this Registry change as a dependable solution to restore the traditional menu in Home windows 11.

To revive the traditional menu, open the Begin menu, sort PowerShell, right-click PowerShell within the search outcomes, and choose Run as administrator. Approve the Person Account Management immediate, then paste the next command into PowerShell and press Enter:

reg add "HKCUSoftwareClassesCLSID{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}InprocServer32" /f /ve

Home windows Explorer must restart earlier than you may see the change. You possibly can restart the PC, however it’s faster to restart Explorer immediately from PowerShell:

Cease-Course of -Identify explorer -Drive

Explorer ought to restart mechanically. As soon as it does, right-click a file or the desktop once more and the total traditional context menu ought to seem with out having to pick Present extra choices or maintain Shift.

The change is not everlasting in case you determine you favor Home windows 11’s newer menu. Open PowerShell as an administrator once more and run:

reg delete "HKCUSoftwareClassesCLSID{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}" /f

Restart Explorer as soon as extra, and Home windows 11’s condensed context menu will return.

If the traditional menu would not seem after restarting Explorer, restart your PC as an alternative.

This variation solely applies to your consumer account, and since Microsoft may modify how context menus load in future updates, a significant Home windows replace would possibly finally reset this setting.

Cease Home windows Search from displaying Bing outcomes

I do not desire a internet search after I’m searching for one thing on my PC

Considered one of my greatest Windows Search annoyances is that Bing outcomes can present up after I’m simply looking for an app, file, or setting. If I am looking out from the Begin menu, I am normally searching for one thing on my PC, not the net.

The repair is straightforward. Open PowerShell as an administrator, paste this command, and press Enter:

reg add "HKCUSoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftWindowsExplorer" /v DisableSearchBoxSuggestions /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Restart your PC or signal out and again in, and Bing outcomes ought to disappear from Home windows Search.

On the PC I take advantage of most, I went a step additional and put in MSEdgeRedirect to take care of a few of Microsoft’s different Edge and Bing redirects. On my different Home windows PCs, although, this PowerShell command is normally sufficient.

To undo the change, run:

reg delete "HKCUSoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftWindowsExplorer" /v DisableSearchBoxSuggestions /f

Restart or signal out once more, and Home windows Search will return to its default conduct.

If I do not use it, I do not want it sitting there

Home windows 11 allows you to cover the Widgets button from the taskbar, however that does not truly take away Widgets. I’ve by no means used the Widgets board or Microsoft’s Uncover information feed inside it, so hiding the button all the time felt like a half-measure. I do not want climate, shares, information, or different internet content material constructed into the nook of my desktop. I choose to only take away the entire expertise.

Open PowerShell as an administrator, paste the next command, and press Enter:

winget uninstall "Home windows Internet Expertise Pack"

Restart Home windows when it is completed. The Home windows Internet Expertise Pack powers Widgets and different web-based Home windows experiences, so eradicating it eliminates the Widgets panel as an alternative of merely hiding its taskbar button.

To convey it again later, open PowerShell as an administrator and run:

winget set up 9MSSGKG348SP

Restart once more, and Widgets ought to return.

Somewhat PowerShell goes a good distance

None of those adjustments are sophisticated, and that is actually the purpose. A couple of fastidiously copied instructions can repair Home windows annoyances that Microsoft makes surprisingly tough to alter every other manner. PowerShell can look intimidating in case you’ve by no means used it, however for easy tweaks like these, there’s actually not far more to it than copying the appropriate command, pasting it in, and urgent Enter.