How to pin "This PC" in Start Menu, create sections & never combine question

Have a few quick questions about the UI.

1) How do I pin "This PC" to the Start Menu? I somehow did this on my Win 11 laptop about 2+ years ago, but cannot recall how I did that.

2) Is there a way I can create "sections" in the Start Menu that are pinned rather than folders, so I can have an organized section without needing to do a 2nd click opening a folder?

Example from Win 10, which I'd like to create, a pinned "System" section and a pinned "PC Monitoring" section.



3) I currently have my Task Bar set to "never combine", showing both icon & text. Though as I switch tabs the minimized windows in the Task Bar dynamically become smaller/larger. So if I am in a folder with a long name, it extends, if I move into a folder with a short name, it shrinks in size. In previous Windows they would stay the same size and only become smaller if you run out of space by having more minimized windows in the Task Bar.

I don't like the frequent resizing when there is still plenty of space (say 4-5 windows open) as it is a minor distraction to me. I'd rather have them stay a consistent size and only get smaller as needed.

Flogger23m said:

pin "This PC" to the Start Menu

Click to expand...

First change file explorer to open at This PC. Change Folder to Open File Explorer to by Default in Windows 11

On desktop, right click, new, shortcut. Set a target of C:\Windows\explorer.exe shell:MyComputerFolder
Name it This PC.
Right click on the newly created shortcut, select properties, select change icon. Pick your icon, OK. It can then be pinned to taskbar or pinned to start if you wish by right clicking on it..

Flogger23m said:

Is there a way I can create "sections" in the Start Menu

Click to expand...

Not like in Windows 10 unless you use 3rd party app, but you can create groups. Go here, scroll down and expand "rearrange and group the pins"

I combine my taskbar items and I don't show badges so I can't answer the question about the taskbar. Again, I believe to do what you want you will have to use a 3rd party app like Start 11, Explorer Patcher, etc. I don't use 3rd party tools either so someone else can verify that.

I do not run any windows maximized. I have manually sized them to my liking. I do know this. Windows will open at the size they were when last closed. So if you snap windows be sure to double click on the title bar to restore size before closing one of the snapped windows.