Make Windows Less Annoying
Let's face it, Windows can be noisy. By default, it shows news, weather, ads, and lots and lots of popups. We limit some of these things for ITS TeamCare clients, but many are under your control, or can be managed at the network level.
Apps Running at Startup
Recent versions of Windows have an easy way to review programs that automatically start when you log in. Open Task Manager by right clicking on a blank area of your Taskbar, or pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ESC. In Windows 11, click Startup Apps on the left; in Windows 10 click More Details (if showing) and the Startup tab on the top. Here you can right click and Disable apps to prevent them from running at login. If you're not sure what a program is, you may need to do a bit of research, or it's likely safest to just leave it. Of course, if you do not use an app at all you can just uninstall it.
Popup Notifications
Popups for various apps can be limited or customized. In Windows 11, it's under Settings, then System, then Notifications. Windows 10 is similar, Settings, System, then Notifications & Actions. At the bottom of the list are things like Suggested items (ads), and under Additional Settings one can disable recurring tips about using Windows.
Widgets
Distracted by news headlines? In Windows 11 right click on a blank spot of your Taskbar, choose Taskbar Settings (or, open Settings, Personalization, Taskbar), and disable Widgets. While you're in there, Other System Tray Icons controls which icons show all the time.
In Windows 10, right click on your Taskbar, select News and Interests, and Turn Off.
You can also control what is displayed to some extent...in the Widgets app click the far top right icon to open Settings. Click the tiny Manage Interests link in the lower left of that window, and you can add or remove categories or disable notifications.
Start Menu
Windows shows a lot of icons on its menu, what used to be called the Start menu. You can right click on pinned icons/tiles and unpin them if desired. Similarly, if you search for a program you can pin it to show on that menu.
Recent Windows 11 versions allow for moving the bottom row of icons to the left...open Taskbar Settings, then expand Taskbar Behaviors to find the Taskbar Alignment setting.
It is possible to disable Bing search results in the Start menu, but they require editing the system registry so not suggested for casual computer users.
Edge Startup/Home and New Tab Pages
This author is partial to Firefox, for many reasons, but if you use the default Edge browser it can be...busy. In the "three dots" menu on the upper right click Settings, then click Start, Home, and New Tabs on the left. Edge has separate settings for the startup page and a new tab page. While it doesn't have an option for "empty" you can set it to open "about:blank" which is a blank page. The New Tab page is not quite as easy...you need to click Customize then go through and turn off features such as Background, Content, and Quick Links one by one.
Taskbar
If you often open a program you can pin to the taskbar by opening it, then right clicking its icon. Similarly, you can unpin programs you don't use. Windows 11 has options to disable things like Chat and the search field under Taskbar Settings.
February 2024
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