Windows 11 is a complete operating system in many ways, but that doesn’t mean we can’t improve it further by using a few simple tricks that can be applied directly to the registry. The registry is a special Windows application where all the settings and configurations for the system, apps and essential processes are kept: acting on the registry keys we can upgrade Windows and make it truly complete, adapting it to every usage scenario.
In the guide that follows we will show you the best tricks to apply to the Windows 11 registry; the tricks that we recommend are all safe and tested but for safety it is always advisable to perform a registry backup (as indicated below in the “read also”), so as to be able to restore it in case of errors or malfunctions.
READ ALSO -> Registry backup and key recovery in Windows
How to open registry
The registry is accessible to the user through his editor, called precisely Registry Editor (o regedit). To launch the registry editor the fastest procedure is to press the keys WIN+R on the keyboard and type regedit within the execution window.
Another effective way to start the editor is to open the Start menu and use the command regedit inside: we can’t go wrong, since the editor is unique and there are no programs with similar names.
Windows 11 registry tricks
Once inside the editor we can apply the tricks present below, taking care to take us to the indicated path and to carefully follow the instructions provided, since from time to time we will also have to create new items and commands. At the end of each trick, let’s remember restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
Restore old right click menu
Windows 11 introduced the new context menu when we use the right mouse button on a file, program or folder: this change is not liked by many, but we can quickly restore the old context menu by reading the procedure described in the guide on how return with the classic right-click menu in Windows 11.
Add programs to the right click menu
If we want to quickly open programs from the right-click context menu, let’s take the path
Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell
we press with the right button on the folder shellwe press on New -> Key and insert the name of the program we want to add.
After creating the key, press on it with the right mouse button, click again on New -> Keyand this time we create the key command.
Within this key we will have to enter the path of the executable that we want to add to the context menu: to proceed correctly without errors we open File Explorerlet’s go to the program path (or look for it at the top right), press the right button on the executable, use Copy as path and put it in the command command seen above, taking care to use quotation marks.
Customize the taskbar
If the Windows 11 taskbar seems too small or we want to move it up we can change its size directly from the registry, applying the tricks and tips seen in our guide on how modify the Windows 11 taskbar with programs and tricks.
Disable the lock screen
If we can’t stand the lock screen (which can be activated even if we have a local account without a password) we can deactivate it completely by taking us to the path
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization
by right-clicking in the right part of the window, pressing on New -> DWORD Value (32 bit)choosing as a name NoLockScreen.
After creating the item, press on it with a double click and set it as a value 1.
Remove web searches from Start
The Windows 11 Start menu also shows many links and many web pages during searches: often these searches are not related to the application or file we are looking for, generating a lot of confusion. To disable web searches, let’s take the path
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer
by right-clicking in the right part of the window, pressing on New -> DWORD Value (32 bit)choosing as a name DisableSearchBoxSuggestions.
After adding this precious item, press on it with a double click and set it as a value 1. Alternatively we can follow the suggestions seen in the guide on Windows 11 settings to change immediately.
Disable the notification center
The notification center shows system and application notifications, but it can cause a lot of disturbance if we use the PC for work. To deactivate it, let’s take the path
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer
create a new item on the right side by pressing the right mouse button and choosing New -> DWORD Value (32 bit) and we use as a name DisableNotificationCenter. Also in this case we will have to double-click on the new item and set ad 1 for the changes to take effect.
Deactivating the notification center will also deactivate the hotkeys, useful for deactivating Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or to access other shortcuts: we can always recall them from the Settings app or looking for the related functions from the Start menu.
Disable incompatibility warnings
If we have installed Windows 11 with some tricks the warning may appear System requirements not metwhich warns that the PC is not fully compatible with Windows 11. To cancel this nasty warning, let’s take the path
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\UnsupportedHardwareNotificationCache
we identify the key SV2right-click on it and press on Edit; alternatively we double click on the item.
In the window that opens, we change the value from 1 a 0so as to hide any hardware incompatibility warnings.
Conclusions
These are the best registry tricks that we advise you to apply on any PC running Windows 11: we will surely get a more comfortable, faster and much more practical system than the initial settings decided by Microsoft (with some definitely questionable choices).
To learn more we can read our guides to 10 advanced changes to Windows 10 from registry keys (also valid for Windows 11) and on registry keys (regedit), fix errors and improve performance on Windows.
