The New Start Menu Is a Perfect Example of Microsoft Forcing Unwanted “Features” on Users
I’m posting this because I’m beyond fed up with the direction Microsoft is taking with Windows, and the latest Start Menu redesign is really unwelcomed. Whoever decided to implement the new “All” section with forced Categories, Grid/List views, and a permanently attached app list seems to have completely forgotten something fundamental: this is my Start Menu, not theirs. I’ve already turned off every bit of clutter I can — Recommended, recent files, “suggestions,” all of it. Yet Windows still insists on injecting an enormous block of UI I never asked for and will never use. I don’t care whether it’s Categories, List, or Grid. I don’t want any of it. I want the Start menu to show ONLY the pinned items I chose, nothing else, the same way it worked for years. But now? Microsoft has deliberately removed the ability to collapse, hide, disable, or eliminate this lower “All” section entirely. It wastes space, disrupts workflow muscle memory, and provides zero value for users who already know exactly what they need. It’s an unwanted visual and functional takeover of the one UI element that should be the most personal and customizable. This is exactly the type of “change for the sake of change” that pushes long‑time Windows users away. It feels like decisions are being made by people who never actually use Windows for real work, and who believe their design experiments matter more than respecting users’ preferences. I’m tired of being forced into UI experiments I never opted into. I’m tired of updates that remove more choice than they add. And I’m tired of Microsoft ignoring the most universal feedback users keep giving: Stop shoving new UI elements in our faces and give us back full control over our own operating system. If Microsoft wants people to stay enthusiastic about Windows instead of increasingly frustrated with every forced redesign, then we need true user‑controlled customization — not “pick between three unwanted layouts,” not “view modes,” not scripts, not policies, not third‑party hacks. Just a simple, basic ability to hide what we don’t want. Give us the Start Menu we choose, not the Start Menu you decide we should have.Windows 11 Initiated a Restore after WinPE / dism partition capture
I recently needed to create backups of a Windows 11 machine. I created a WinPE USB as per Microsoft instructions and booted the laptop into using WinPE (I had already turned off BitLocker on the laptop and waited for it to decrypt the laptop). After I captured the partitions (system, recovery, primary, oem) as separate wim files, I rebooted the machine an it started a System restore, which I was not anticipating and honestly have never had happen before. My experience though is primarily with Windows 10. Is this expected behaviour?
Windows 11 24H2 Pro frequently displays the “This PC” window automatically.
When using Windows 11 Pro 24H2, File Explorer randomly pops up and displays the “This PC” window, especially when gaming in full-screen mode, forcing a switch to the desktop and severely disrupting operations. Standard troubleshooting failed to identify the trigger source. Seeking a permanent solution.
Windows 25H2 update – S3 sleep mode compatibility issue
Windows 25H2 update – S3 sleep mode compatibility issue Dear Microsoft Engineering Team, hello! I recently discovered a long-standing bug in Windows 11: the computer sleep configuration is the system default, and when it goes to sleep or the second time or after restarting, it will be woken up for no reason during sleep. Personally, I think the compatibility of Windows 11 operating system with S3 sleep is not good, especially for desktops and laptops with 2.5G unlimited brand network cards and onboard 2.5G network cards, there are bugs such as misjudgment of network card signals. In addition, after sleep is awakened, the sound card still has a long silence problem, which can only be restored after a period of time. The program itself does not support the wake-up function after investigation, and the commonly used programs will not disturb sleep, and can eliminate program and hardware problems. I tried the following troubleshooting method 1. Try to reinstall the system and install it cleanly (it cannot be solved) 2: Try to install the latest version of the driver, or even update the BIOS to the latest version (no solution) 3: Replace hardware such as motherboard, memory, power supply, etc., including replacing other brands (unsolvable) 4: Contact Microsoft support and take measures to turn off the wake-on-NIC (temporarily solved, but it affects the wake-on-NIC function, which is inconvenient to use) At present, I don't think this measure is a good stopgap measure, and the measure has seriously affected my normal use of the network card wake-up function, and at the same time is highly dependent on the sleep function. In addition, when asking for help on social media, I saw that ASUS computer staff found sleep compatibility issues between Windows 11 and 2.5G network cards as early as 2024, and the ASUS onboard Intel i226-v network card motherboard could not enter sleep mode normally (model number ROG STRIX B760-G Gaming D4). At the same time, in order to confirm my judgment, I used the tenth generation desktop of my work unit to install the same system to make a comparison, this host is a 1G network card, after testing, the 1G network card in the default power setting (network card wake-up is turned on by default in the device manager power option), there is no above problem, and combined with the two motherboards I replaced before, both have a 2.5G network card on board, one model is (ASUS PRIME B760M-A), the other is (GIGABYTE). GAMING X DDR4 GEN5), and replace a new motherboard again, the problem is still the same, as long as any 2.5G network card on board of any brand of motherboard, including but not limited to self-installed 2.5G network card (network card wake-up is turned on by default in the device manager power options), there is a sudden misjudgment of Windows 11's network card wake-up signal during sleep and is woken up for no reason. At the same time, others have also reported that the motherboard of the 15th generation platform also has the problem of sleep suddenly being woken up by this system bug, so I would like to share my new discovery with you, looking forward to the letter from your behind-the-scenes engineering team, and at the same time, I would like to ask when this problem can be solved (that is, the problem of wake-up suddenly being woken up by a misjudgment signal when the 2.5G network card is turned on by default to wake up and enter sleep)? Thank you very much and look forward to your reply from your engineering team.
Windows 11 - Windows Update - Automatic restart after update
Hello We migrated our systems to Windows 11 24H2 from Windows 10. We encountered a problem with Windows 11 24H2 automatically restarting after installing an update. A message appears that the system will restart in 15 minutes. The user can click a different time. After a few minutes, the message that the system will restart appears again. How do I disable automatic restarting after installing the update? We have set the active hours for the system and the "No auto-restart with logged on users for scheduled automatic updates installations" option. When we had Windows 10, the system would not restart. After installing the December update for Windows 11, the system forced a restart. The problem occurs on all computers. How do I disable automatic restart? Update via Wsus. Windows Update configured via GPOHow to Remove the Alphabetical Index Bar Under All Apps in the Windows 11 Start Menu?
I want to remove or hide the alphabetical index bar on the left side of the "All Apps" list in the Start Menu to simplify the visual layout or restore a more traditional list browsing method. No direct option to turn off this index was found in the system settings. Seeking specific adjustment methods.
Win 11 Activation issue with fresh install on new ssd
Installed Win 11 on a new ssd, no other hardware changes, and now Win 11 wont activate with the license attached to my Microsoft account. When I put the old ssd in the windows 11 on it is activated and works fine. Info from my old ssd. Fresh install on new ssd A friend told me to delete the old version from ACCOUNTS - LINKED DEVICES but when I tried it did this. It has done that consistantly for days now, I've even reinstalled again trying to get it to work but nothing is helping. Any help would be appreciated.
help with windir and system32 in quality enviroment
about a month ago i reinstalled windows 11 ( home) and so far not got older updates as i try to reset the windows updater i discover in one step ( after the rename of softwaredistribution and catroot steps) has windir and system 32 shown below cd /d %windir%\system32 than has abunch of regsvr32 dll to register anyway a error shows in red ( command prompt) saying cant be located or found in summary) so find how to fix it and no problems until after its fixed! when i apply this fix ( all profiles tab in box and add) the command prompt ( cmd) is gone cant open nor is windows key and x to bring up that list ( task manager commpand prompt, device manager etc...) and defrag is not able to run either to open the cmd ( command prompt ) i have to use windows key and r for box and than gives message im not administrator or words to that affect find fix for that but rather strange anyway ( not the other missing things) how do i go and fix this issue ? note i had to delete the fix above to get normal working functions again i cant find anything that mentions this or a fix i dont understand how a "fix " can affect or disable things this is link to show the step i mentioned i.e step 5 https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/installing-updates-features-roles/additional-resources-for-windows-updateWindows 11 just started to chew up RAM. ~15 GB unaccounted for.
Hey guys, possible this is a known thing, but in the last few days, I've noticed a huge amount of memory getting consumed by seemingly nothing or some background service. Which I only really noticed since Star Citizen complained about having less than 8 GB of free memory. I have 64 GB of RAM here, and ~15 GB is not accounted for. The consumption got so out of hand that I had to restart my computer to keep it at bay.... I sort of wonder if this is that new Windows 11 recording feature. not sure, any ideas? Is there any software that can tell me what's happening in the background?
