If you have successfully installed Windows 11, or you have purchased a computer with Windows 11 pre-installed, then it is time to customize Windows 11 to your liking.
In this article, I offer you recommended tweaks that can make working with Windows 11 more enjoyable, suggest several changes to optimize your computer, and explore different settings to personalize Windows 11.
PC Tips for If You Just Installed Windows 11 (Guide)
Enable and create a restore point
The first thing I recommend you do is create a restore point. This is a backup that allows you to easily restore Windows 11 to the date and time in which you created the restore point. This restores Windows 11 in its entirety, it is not a file or folder backup.
Right-click on the Start button. Click “run” in the menu. In the run window, type: rstrui.exe.
If a restore point has never been created, you must create it first. To do this, click on the “System Security” link.
Click “Configure” to open system restore. In the system recovery settings click on “Enable System Security” and then click “OK” to confirm.
After you enable system restore, click the “create” button to create a restore point. Enter a recognizable name for the restore point and click “OK”. System restore is now running, this will not take long.
Read here how to get one restore point when needed. You can also use one create a restore point when you start the computer.
Set up power management
Power management in Windows 11 is a set of settings and features designed to manage and optimize your computer's power consumption. This is especially important for laptops to maximize battery life, but it can also be useful for desktop computers to save energy and run more efficiently. It is advisable to select the desired energy plan immediately after installation.
Windows offers several preset power plans, such as Balanced, Power Savings, andHigh performance. Each schedule adjusts various settings such as screen brightness, sleep time, and processor performance to balance performance and power consumption.
To set the desired power plan, open the Control Panel. Then click on “Hardware and Sound” and on “Select a power plan”.
To choose an energy plan, first click on “Change settings that are currently unavailable”. This requires an administrator account.
Then select the desired energy plan. Below is an overview of each energy plan with an explanation.
- Energy saving:
- Your Goal: You want to maximize battery life.
- When Used: This is ideal when you don't have access to a charger and need to stretch the battery life as long as possible.
- How it works: You reduce screen brightness and limit processor performance to save power. Background activities that consume energy are also reduced.
- Recommended For: If you are on the road or have limited access to power, this is the best choice.
- Balanced:
- Your Goal: You are looking for a balance between performance and energy savings.
- When Used: Suitable for most daily computing activities.
- How it works: It automatically adjusts your computer's performance based on your usage. When you need more power, it increases processor performance, and it decreases it when the computer is less active.
- Recommended For: Everyday use, both for laptops and desktops.
- High Performance:
- Your Goal: You strive for maximum performance, regardless of energy consumption.
- When Used: Ideal for tasks that require a lot of your computer, such as gaming or video editing.
- How it works: It keeps the processor and other components at maximum performance, leading to higher power consumption and shorter battery life.
- Recommended For: If you need maximum performance and are not concerned about power consumption or battery life, this is the right choice for you.
Delete Windows.old folder to free up disk space
If you updated Windows 10 through Windows 11, a folder containing Windows 10 contents will remain available on your computer. This is the “Windows.old” folder and can be quite large. It is recommended (if you are sure you do not want to go back to Windows 10) to delete this folder to free up disk space.
Open the settings. First click on “System” and then on “Storage”. In the storage settings, click on “Temporary files”. In the list of temporary files, look for “previous Windows installations (Windows.old)”. You select this option and click the “Delete Files” button to delete this temporary folder. You can use this up to Gigabytes free up disk space, always included.
Install all your personal apps
Now it's time to install all your personal apps. Consider the desired internet browser such as Google Chrome, Firefox or Brave. An internet security package or antivirus is also recommended to be installed, as is an email client such as Outlook. If you use the computer in a work environment, you can additionally use Microsoft Office install and Skype.
In short, you can install all the apps you think you need. After installing these apps, you can continue updating Windows 11 with the latest updates.
Install all updates
After installing Windows 11, make sure you install new updates as they protect your computer from security threats and viruses. They also improve the stability and performance of your system, leading to a smoother user experience. Additionally, updates often bring new features and improvements, allowing you to take advantage of the latest capabilities that Windows 11 offers.
Windows updates also ensure compatibility with the latest software and devices, keeping your programs and equipment running smoothly. Finally, having the latest updates makes it easier to get support if any issues arise, as Microsoft typically offers better support for the most recent version of their operating system. Regular updating is therefore essential for the security, functionality and efficiency of your Windows 11 computer.
Open the settings. Then click “Windows update” and check for new updates by clicking the “Check for updates” button. I recommend that you do this several times, for example after installing updates, go back to the update settings and click this button again. This will force you to constantly check for updates and ensure that you have received the latest updates.
You can also select the option “Get the latest updates as soon as they are available" switch.
Connect peripherals and install drivers
If you use peripheral equipment such as a printer, a webcam, a microphone, etc., now is the time to connect them. After connecting, the peripheral equipment is not always recognized by Windows 11. If the peripheral does not work immediately, install the appropriate drivers for this device. You do this by searching the internet for the brand/model in combination with “driver”. For example “HP model + driver + Windows 11”. Then download the suitable one drivers for Windows 11 for this device from the manufacturer's official website.
In some cases, the suitable driver is not specific to Windows 11, so you can also download the driver for Windows 10 and try it.
Check for optional updates
If your peripherals are connected, then it is recommended to check for it optional updates. These updates are not critical to the security or basic operation of your system, so they are not installed automatically. You must select and install this yourself from the Windows Update section in Settings. To do this, first click on “Windows update”, then on “Advanced options” and then on “Optional updates”.
It is up to you to decide whether you want to install these updates. They can be useful for troubleshooting specific problems or improving the functionality of devices such as printers and displays. Checking and installing these updates can help keep your system running smoothly and up to date.
Set default apps
Once you have installed all the apps you want to use, you can use the change default apps. Standard apps are apps that are used when opening various actions in Windows 11. Consider opening a link in an email, for which the Microsoft Edge browser opens by default. If you prefer to use a different browser, you must change the default app for the browser via the settings.
Change default browser
Many people want to change the default browser. You can do this in the following way.
Open the settings. In the settings, click on “Apps” and then on “Default apps”. Search for the browser you want (you must install it first) in the list of apps. Click on it to open. In the settings, click “Set default” to change the default browser.
Change default file type app
You can do the same for a specific file type. For example, if you have installed a photo editing program and you want to link a specific photo file type to this photo program, you do this as follows.
Open the settings. In the settings, click on “Apps” and then on “Default apps”. In the “enter a file or link type” field, enter the file type, for example “jpg” without quotes. Then click on the app that is currently connected to it.
You can now associate a new app with this file type. You do this for each file type for which you want to change the default app.
Change privacy settings
If you are someone who wants to keep control over the privacy settings in Windows 11, then it is advisable to go through the various privacy options and adjust them to your liking.
You will find the privacy options if you open the settings and then click on “Privacy and security”. Here is an explanation of all privacy settings.
General Privacy Settings
Here you can set how Windows and apps handle your activity data, such as voice recordings, writing behavior and typing, and location history.
App permissions
You can manage specific permissions for apps, such as access to your location, camera, microphone, contacts, calendar, and more. This gives you control over which apps can use certain sensitive data.
Camera and Microphone Settings
You can control which apps have access to your camera and microphone. This is important for your privacy, especially if you are concerned about apps that may be accessing it in the background.
Location Services
Here you can enable or disable location services and see which apps have access to your location data. You can also view and manage your location history.
Diagnostics and Feedback Settings
You can choose what level of diagnostic data is sent to Microsoft. This includes basic information about your device and more detailed troubleshooting information.
Activity history
You can manage how your activity history is collected and used. This includes data about the apps and services you use, as well as websites you visit.
voice recognition
If you use speech recognition, you can control how your speech data is collected and used to improve speech recognition services.
Advertising ID
You can manage your advertising ID, which is used to serve personalized ads in apps.
Change Windows 11 wallpaper
Just after installation you can personalize Windows 11. One of the ways to personalize Windows 11 is through another background to set. There are several options for this.
Open the settings. Then click on “Personal settings” and then on “Wallpaper”. You can now choose your own background image by clicking on the “Browse photos” button.
Alternatively, you can also choose a solid color, slideshow of set windows spotlight as background. You do this by clicking on the “image” button in the “adjust background to your personal preference” heading.
Change Windows 11 theme
In addition to a wallpaper, themes are also available in Windows 11. A theme contains a combination of background images, system colors, sounds, and sometimes a custom cursor style. You choose a wallpaper for your desktop from a range of standard images or use your own photo. The theme's colors change the appearance of menus, the taskbar and the start menu. You can choose your own accent color or use a predefined color palette. Themes can also have unique sounds for system events. Some themes even change the appearance of your cursor.
You can choose a theme in the personal settings. Open the settings. Then click on “Personal settings”. Here you will see six standard themes that you can choose by clicking on them.
If you want to further personalize a theme, click on “Themes” in the “personal settings”. Here you can then personalize the background, accent color, sounds and mouse cursor for the theme.
Personalize Windows Explorer
The Windows Explorer is the tool to browse your computer. It provides an overview of various files, folders and settings to make it easier to navigate the contents of your computer. You can personalize the appearance of Windows Explorer. These are the most frequently changed options for Windows Explorer.
Open Explorer
When you open Explorer, the “Home” overview is shown. Home provides an overview of “Quick Access”, “Favorites” and “Recently Opened Files”.
In previous versions of Windows this overview was not available, the Explorer always opened in “This PC”. There are many people who would prefer to restore this old overview. You do this as follows.
In Explorer, click on the “…” in the ribbon. Then click on “Options” in the menu.
Change “Open Explorer in” to the desired view. For example, “Home”, “This PC” or “PC – Personal” (OneDrive). Click “Apply” and “OK” to confirm.
If you now close Explorer and reopen it, you will see the familiar overview of all local and any network drives and connected external or USB drives.
Change explorer view
Another common change to File Explorer is its appearance. By default, “tiles” are displayed, which are fairly large icons with little meta information. You can change this view to any size of icon or detail view.
To do this, click on “View” in the Explorer ribbon. Now select the desired view from the menu.
Show preview window
The preview window is also widely used. For example, the preview window displays a preview image when you click on it, including the contents of a PDF file are shown in the preview window. You can enable the preview window in the following way.
To do this, click on “View” in the Explorer ribbon. Now click on “Preview Window” in the menu to display the preview window.
Show checkboxes for items
Some people find it useful to show the checkboxes next to files and folders. This gives more control when selecting multiple files or folders. You can check or uncheck boxes as follows.
To do this, click on “View” in the Explorer ribbon. Now click on “Item Checkboxes” in the menu to enable the checkboxes. Click again to turn off.
Show filename extensions
In Explorer you do not see the filename extensions by default. The filename extensions is the type of file after the ., for example “image.jpg” where .jpg is the filename extension. If you prefer to see immediately what file name extension it is, you can display it via Explorer as follows.
To do this, click on “View” in the Explorer ribbon. Now click on “Filename Extensions” in the menu to enable the filename extensions. Click again to turn off.
Show hidden files
Windows 11 uses hidden files. Many hidden files are essential system files. By hiding these files, Windows prevents users from accidentally modifying or deleting important system files, which can lead to system problems or errors. If you prefer to have control over these hidden files, here's how you can view them through File Explorer.
To do this, click on “View” in the Explorer ribbon. Now click on “Hidden Items” in the menu to display the hidden files directly. Click again to turn off.
Other adjustments to Windows Explorer
In the Explorer ribbon you will also find the “Sort” option. This allows you to sort files and views as desired. This can be done by name, type, size and more. You can then group this sorting. It is advisable to also set this sorting as desired.
If you want to change more settings for Explorer, click on “…” in the ribbon and then on “Options”. In the various tabs “General”, “View” and “Search” you can change all kinds of folder options for Explorer and adjust them to your liking.
Do you want to put everything back to how it was? Then click “restore default settings” in the folder options.
Also read this 16 tips for Windows Explorer.
Back-up
If you have Windows 11 set up exactly the way you want it after installing it, then it's time to make a backup. This can be done in several ways, I have created some guides for backups.
- Windows 11 backup to external hard drive.
- Create Windows 11 backup with Macrium Reflect software.
- Windows 11 system backup.
I hope this guide helped you set up Windows 11 as desired for a new installation or purchase. If you have any additional questions, please ask. Thank you for reading!