Windows 11 is one of the most popular operating systems in the world, used by millions of people. This means that some of the programs and settings enabled by default in Windows 11 may not be useful to everyone. Luckily, with just a few trips to the Settings menu, you can modify and customize Windows 11 to reduce desktop clutter and bloated wear, and get more useful features.
Quality of Life Settings: Dark Mode, Taskbar, and Hidden Files
To get the bonus settings out of the way, let’s start with the combination. If you want a quick quality of life upgrade to the standard Windows 11 experience, consider changing these three settings.
Windows 11 has Light Mode enabled by default, but you probably don’t want to stare at the sun every time you open a program on your PC. So the first thing you need to change is the default theme from Light mode to Dark mode, which is the best looking Windows 11 theme.
The next thing you’ll be staring at a lot is the taskbar. If you don’t like it floating in the middle of the screen, you can move the icons to the left side of the taskbar just like you do in Windows 10. While you’re at it, you can also change the taskbar’s position to the left, right, or even the top of the screen.
The last setting here isn’t in the Settings menu, but in File Explorer. Once you have opened File Explorer, click View and check the Show Hidden Files option. You can now see files that are normally hidden, helping you get the most out of your PC and remove unnecessary files. This also means you can create hidden folders and disable their settings to prevent anyone using your laptop from seeing or opening your personal files.
Widget Panel Settings: No News and Weather
While some people use the News and Weather panel on their PC, most people don’t want it to be more cluttered on their taskbar and would rather remove it completely. Luckily, you can do so with a simple settings change. To do this, you need to go back to the Personalization tab and click on Taskbar. From here, you just need to disable widgets.
This has the negative effect of making widgets less easily accessible. However, you can search for your favorite widget shortcuts and pin them to the desktop, taskbar, or Start menu. If you’re not an AI fan, you can also disable Copilot from the system tray area. While you’re there, you can also customize which programs appear on the taskbar if you want to add the programs you use most often.
Power Plan Settings: Depends on the type of PC you have
To change the power plan in Windows 11, simply search for “power plan” in the search bar and select the “Choose a power plan” option. When you open the Power Plan window, the default power plan mode should be set. The power plan you choose depends on the type of PC you have and what you use it for.
If you are using a laptop, you should set the power plan to Energy Saving to ensure that your battery lasts as long as possible without recharging. If your laptop is always plugged in, you can always change this power plan to a higher performance mode, which is very useful when using resource-intensive programs on your laptop.
If you are using a desktop PC, especially a high-end one, you should change the power plan option from Standard to High Performance to ensure that as much power as possible is given to your components. However, if you are only using your desktop for general work programs, it is recommended that you leave it in Standard mode.
Notifications and Ad Settings: No More Annoying Notifications and Ad Suggestions
There’s nothing worse than starting up your PC and being bombarded with notifications and ad suggestions for the operating system you just bought. Whether it’s Microsoft Store app promotions, suggested content, or related web searches, Microsoft seems to value your ad data over your peace of mind.
However, many of these annoying pop-ups and ads are much easier to remove than you might think. In the Settings menu, go to the Privacy and Security tab and open the General section. From here, you’ll need to turn off four settings:
- Allow apps to use my advertising ID to show personalized ads.
- Websites are allowed to show regionally relevant content by accessing my language list.
- Help Windows improve startup and search results by tracking app launches.
- I want suggested content to appear in the Settings app.
You’ll need to disable one more setting before you’re done. Open the Settings menu again, click on the Notifications tab, scroll down and uncheck the box “Get tips and suggestions as you use Windows”.
Start Menu Settings: It’s Time to Clear All the Clutter
If you’re tired of the clutter that Microsoft puts in your Start menu, you’ll be glad to hear that they’re removing a lot of the recommended apps. Instead, they’ll fill the space with programs that are really useful to you. To do this, just go to the Personalization menu and click Start.
In this window you’ll have to choose a layout and there are a few settings that you should disable. You can leave the layout as default unless you need to add more pins to your Start menu. If you want to get rid of all the clutter in your Start menu, you’ll need to turn off these five settings:
- Show recently added apps
- Show most frequently used apps (optional)
- Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer
- Show tips, shortcuts, recommendations for new apps, etc.
- Show occasional account-related notifications in Start
To make the Start menu useful again, open the Folders section and add the folders you want to add to your Start menu. You can also add specific programs that you use frequently to make everything easily accessible. This makes your Start menu much cleaner and reduces the resources that need to load in the background.