New to Win11 and got some Customisation Questions


Vonbek

Member
Local time
5:42 AM
Posts
3
OS
Win 11 Home
Bear with me... fuzzy brain between Fibro and painkillers and my google-fu also sucks majorly it seems.

First up, long time lurker and first time poster. Been lurking and using stuff since this was Seven Forums :D
Got a few hopefully simple Questions, including a few that are just simple clarification issues if it turns out there is no other options.

Used so far :

WinAero Tweaker - already sorted a lot of stuff that I was after including old context menus etc
General .ini hacks for the drive icons ( which nicely enough now work native on C:\ too as well so no need to reghack it )
General low impact stuff like moving pagefile to separate partition on the OS SSD that isn't C:\
Partitioning of drives to try and keep C:\ for OS and things that really can't or won't install elsewhere ( question for that later )

Looking for Advice on :

This PC desktop customisation - I was sure that there was something in WinAero that allowed easy customisation or something in Windows itself for both setting what desktop icons showed and also changing them from default Windows Icons. My fuzzy brain is not finding either or easily finding it on Google, and hoping to add This PC and Network to desktop ( I know to custom name the This PC one however that's gonna be a "create the link then shortcut it and rename the shortcut" job like creating the old "force shutdown link" from win 10 ) and them custom icon that and Network

This PC navigation customisation - Again I was sure there was an option in WinAero for tweaking that but it seems to be gone and win11 is frying my brain for doing it via explorer shell. Is there any easy way to sort this or is it down to the reghacks listed in the old TenForums post here?

Quick Access Customisation preferred or removal if not possible in W11 - Again I was sure Tweaker had an option but seems not for the win11 version. Any easy or quick ways to edit, or if not editable easily remove, apart from the reghacks listed here

Library Icon customisation - Any way to do this easily, again this was something I was sure was easy to do via Tweaker but seems not and my google-fu has failed me. I vaguely remember something about being able to dupe the shells onto a shortcut you then added as custom and do it that way, is it still possible if no cleaner method?

Wishlist if these exist as any form of edit whether simple or Reghack level :

Adding the Action Centre icon back to the bottom right overflow area to allow action centre to be easily pulled out. preferably without 3rd party software and definitely not paid options
Taskbar Pins icon customisation
forcing windows default view for all folders to be tiles + thumbnails, I've tried the listed tricks and none stick so far. it keeps defaulting back to either small icons or even worse content layouts
any way to get true transparent taskbar like you could in win10 with 7TT+?
any way to hive off Users dir to a separate partition apart from doing it via sysprep? I'd like to do it since there's a couple of games want to put portrait files and similar in the appdata rather than installdir like a sensible person would


TIA, hopefully someone out there can answer these or at worst say "windows 11 says no joy"...

wanders off to work out why my USB-C ports can't support external drives or indeed any form of charging/data... hoping that the ports themselves are not DOA since that'll be my third machine in as many months returned for a fresh unit
 
Windows Build/Version
21H2/22000.613

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus A17 2022
    CPU
    R7-6800H
    Motherboard
    FA707RM
    Memory
    2x8GB Samsung DDR5-4800
    Graphics Card(s)
    dGPU : RTX 3060 Mobile / iGPU : 680M
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1980p ISP inbuilt
    Screen Resolution
    1980p/144
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 3x4 1TB NVME OS internal
    Adata SX8200 Pro 2 TB 3x4 NVME secondary internal
    Crucial MX500 2TB 2.5" SATA External via USB-C Caddy
    Seagate 4TB 7200rpm HDD External via USB-A 3.2
    PSU
    Asus 240W laptop brick
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    Laptop own plus CM Uplus 3+ stand
    Keyboard
    N/A
    Mouse
    Deathadder V2 Pro
    Internet Speed
    Variable ( will be either Hardwire Cat7 or WIFI6 )
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    only ever laptops, so don't be surprised when I say things like "not an option" ;)
Bear with me... fuzzy brain between Fibro and painkillers and my google-fu also sucks majorly it seems.

First up, long time lurker and first time poster. Been lurking and using stuff since this was Seven Forums :D
Got a few hopefully simple Questions, including a few that are just simple clarification issues if it turns out there is no other options.

Used so far :

WinAero Tweaker - already sorted a lot of stuff that I was after including old context menus etc
General .ini hacks for the drive icons ( which nicely enough now work native on C:\ too as well so no need to reghack it )
General low impact stuff like moving pagefile to separate partition on the OS SSD that isn't C:\
Partitioning of drives to try and keep C:\ for OS and things that really can't or won't install elsewhere ( question for that later )

Looking for Advice on :

This PC desktop customisation - I was sure that there was something in WinAero that allowed easy customisation or something in Windows itself for both setting what desktop icons showed and also changing them from default Windows Icons. My fuzzy brain is not finding either or easily finding it on Google, and hoping to add This PC and Network to desktop ( I know to custom name the This PC one however that's gonna be a "create the link then shortcut it and rename the shortcut" job like creating the old "force shutdown link" from win 10 ) and them custom icon that and Network

This PC navigation customisation - Again I was sure there was an option in WinAero for tweaking that but it seems to be gone and win11 is frying my brain for doing it via explorer shell. Is there any easy way to sort this or is it down to the reghacks listed in the old TenForums post here?

Quick Access Customisation preferred or removal if not possible in W11 - Again I was sure Tweaker had an option but seems not for the win11 version. Any easy or quick ways to edit, or if not editable easily remove, apart from the reghacks listed here

Library Icon customisation - Any way to do this easily, again this was something I was sure was easy to do via Tweaker but seems not and my google-fu has failed me. I vaguely remember something about being able to dupe the shells onto a shortcut you then added as custom and do it that way, is it still possible if no cleaner method?

Wishlist if these exist as any form of edit whether simple or Reghack level :

Adding the Action Centre icon back to the bottom right overflow area to allow action centre to be easily pulled out. preferably without 3rd party software and definitely not paid options
Taskbar Pins icon customisation
forcing windows default view for all folders to be tiles + thumbnails, I've tried the listed tricks and none stick so far. it keeps defaulting back to either small icons or even worse content layouts
any way to get true transparent taskbar like you could in win10 with 7TT+?
any way to hive off Users dir to a separate partition apart from doing it via sysprep? I'd like to do it since there's a couple of games want to put portrait files and similar in the appdata rather than installdir like a sensible person would


TIA, hopefully someone out there can answer these or at worst say "windows 11 says no joy"...

wanders off to work out why my USB-C ports can't support external drives or indeed any form of charging/data... hoping that the ports themselves are not DOA since that'll be my third machine in as many months returned for a fresh unit
Some more tweaks here Download MajorGeeks Windows Tweaks Tools for Windows - MajorGeeks
Bunch of Registry tweaks here
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 and Insider Dev.+ Linux Mint
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home brewed
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 7900x
    Motherboard
    ASROCK b650 PRO RS
    Memory
    2x8GB Kingston 6000MHz, Cl 32 @ 6200MHz Cl30
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte Rx 6600XT Gaming OC 8G Pro
    Sound Card
    MB, Realtek Ac1220p
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 x 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    Kingston KC3000. 1TBSamsung 970 evo Plus 500GB, Crucial P1 NVMe 1TB, Lexar NVMe 2 TB, Silicon Power M.2 SATA 500GB
    PSU
    Seasonic 750W
    Case
    Custom Raidmax
    Cooling
    Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360mm
    Internet Speed
    20/19 mbps
ExplorerPatcher might also give you some of the window dressing you're after.

With whatever's left over from your wishlist, you might be better addressing them one by one, one after the other when one is solved, through separate posts.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 22H2 (latest update ... forever anal)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Slim S01
    CPU
    Intel i5-9400
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT730
    Sound Card
    OOBE
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 32"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2 x 1TB SSDs
    PSU
    OOBE
    Case
    OOBE
    Cooling
    OOBE
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    Classic Australian w.a.p.
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    KIS
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro (latest upadte ... anally always)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion 15
    CPU
    i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Hard Drives
    Samsung NVMe 512GB
    + numerous/multiple SSD Type C USB enclosures
    Internet Speed
    NBN FTTN 50
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    KIS
Some more tweaks here Download MajorGeeks Windows Tweaks Tools for Windows - MajorGeeks
Bunch of Registry tweaks here

Cheers, there's a lot of those that are already in the 11Forums thread or Winaero but spotted a couple for later on if no one is able to either point me at the bit I'm being blind about or a cleaner option.

ExplorerPatcher might also give you some of the window dressing you're after.

With whatever's left over from your wishlist, you might be better addressing them one by one, one after the other when one is solved, through separate posts.

Had a look at it, I'm still loath to use it due to some of the things it and open shell are reporting as possible glitches.

Half the issue is I'll be using the machine for work and that will involves long uptimes with solid data throughput ( the machine is basically a portable playback rig for event AV ) so want to be doing as little as possible and preferably with things that are "run and done".

It looks great, but I can't afford to have things like unresponsive UX elements etc. even if they're rare occurences.


Appreciated though, and I've filed the bookmark and alos tagged it in my Git account for going back to.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus A17 2022
    CPU
    R7-6800H
    Motherboard
    FA707RM
    Memory
    2x8GB Samsung DDR5-4800
    Graphics Card(s)
    dGPU : RTX 3060 Mobile / iGPU : 680M
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1980p ISP inbuilt
    Screen Resolution
    1980p/144
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 3x4 1TB NVME OS internal
    Adata SX8200 Pro 2 TB 3x4 NVME secondary internal
    Crucial MX500 2TB 2.5" SATA External via USB-C Caddy
    Seagate 4TB 7200rpm HDD External via USB-A 3.2
    PSU
    Asus 240W laptop brick
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    Laptop own plus CM Uplus 3+ stand
    Keyboard
    N/A
    Mouse
    Deathadder V2 Pro
    Internet Speed
    Variable ( will be either Hardwire Cat7 or WIFI6 )
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    only ever laptops, so don't be surprised when I say things like "not an option" ;)
Weird. This PC customisation is still an option in winaero. I'm using version 1.33.0.0
1653342591502.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 21H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook 15, model K513E
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Generation (1135G7) at 2.4GHz
    Motherboard
    Unknown
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe (intergrated), NVIDIA GeForce MX350 (dedicated, 2GB VRAM)
    Sound Card
    Unknown
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1080p ASUS OLED display, 15.6 inches, pixel shift enabled via MyASUS app
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    512GB NVMe SSD (encrypted with TPM 2.0)
    PSU
    Unknown
    Case
    Laptop body - aluminium + plastic
    Cooling
    Unknown
    Keyboard
    Non-backlit, with numpad
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 1000, built-in trackpad
    Internet Speed
    (From speedtest.net, recommended server, WiFi 6) 383.36 Mbps download, 35.80 Mbps upload
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge (Chromium)
    Antivirus
    Windows Security/Defender
    Other Info
    Win11 compatible, although update not yet offered through Windows Update (Win11 install assistant was used).
Hey
You can get transparent taskbar with TranslucentTB
It has options to make it clear, opaque, acrylic or blur ( blur doesn't work for now )
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i9 9900K
    Motherboard
    MSI MPG Z390 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32GB [ 4 x 8GB ] DDR4 3600MHz CL18
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX 1660Ti Ventus XS 6GB OC @ +120/+500
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung Odyssey G7 , 32" , 2560x1440 , VA , 240Hz , 1ms
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    SSD: Samsung 980 Pro 250GB
    HDD: 2x Western Digital Blue 4TB
    PSU
    Cooler Master MWE 550W White
    Case
    Cooler Master MasterCase H500P Mesh ARGB
    Cooling
    DeepCool Gammaxx L360 v2
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 RGB Platinum ( MX Speed ) [ SteelSeries PrismCaps ]
    Mouse
    Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro SE
    Internet Speed
    16 Mb/s ‌ ‌ | ‌ ‌ 1 Mb/s
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
Hey
You can get transparent taskbar with TranslucentTB
It has options to make it clear, opaque, acrylic or blur ( blur doesn't work for now )

Sorry about the time lag, much appreciated for the pointer.

Exactly what I'd been looking for to tweak the bar and easy enough to sort the settings in VSCode ( or indeed for most folk just pad or pad++ ).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus A17 2022
    CPU
    R7-6800H
    Motherboard
    FA707RM
    Memory
    2x8GB Samsung DDR5-4800
    Graphics Card(s)
    dGPU : RTX 3060 Mobile / iGPU : 680M
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1980p ISP inbuilt
    Screen Resolution
    1980p/144
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 3x4 1TB NVME OS internal
    Adata SX8200 Pro 2 TB 3x4 NVME secondary internal
    Crucial MX500 2TB 2.5" SATA External via USB-C Caddy
    Seagate 4TB 7200rpm HDD External via USB-A 3.2
    PSU
    Asus 240W laptop brick
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    Laptop own plus CM Uplus 3+ stand
    Keyboard
    N/A
    Mouse
    Deathadder V2 Pro
    Internet Speed
    Variable ( will be either Hardwire Cat7 or WIFI6 )
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    only ever laptops, so don't be surprised when I say things like "not an option" ;)

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