Under the hood improvements of Windows 11 compared to Windows 8.1?


Anixx

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I know that there is very little changes compared to the latest builds of Windows 10, but when Windows 10 was announced it also had little changes compared to Windows 8.1.

So, the most changes, I suppose, were incremental during the Win10 development. I was not watching the pulse of Win10 releases, so, what are some improvements of Win 11 compared to Win 8.1?

I already noticed the memory compression and the compression of system files, there is also a new version of ReFS, but what else?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
I ditched Windows 8.1 at the start of 2018 so I can't remember all, but here's a list of areas in which I did notice some improvements:
  • System performance (in a few ways)
  • DCH drivers
  • DirectX
  • Dark theme (not made entirely system-wide yet, but it's a good start for those who, like me, are somehow sensitive to bright white backgrounds)
  • Multimonitor support
  • Snap GUI feature
  • Windows Settings
  • Start Menu (as opposed to the Start Screen with tiles, albeit I use Open-Shell with a Windows 7 type of menu style and a custom skin)
  • A multitude of extras (that I don't use or very rarely, in part because there exist better, sometimes even highly superior, alternatives if you look for 3rd party tools a lot of which are free)
  • You can now simply type things like powercfg a instead of powercfg -a in the command prompt
  • ...
The only real sacrifice is that the taskbar has been wing clipped very badly, but I use ExplorerPatcher by Valinet on GitHub to deal with that. Other annoyances include the "More options..." in the context menu and the command bar in Explorer, but you can use simple registry tweaks (or just tick the applicable options in ExplorerPatcher's settings to achieve the same effect) to restore the old context menu and to replace Explorer's command bar with the ribbon of Windows 10. By bringing back the old taskbar and applying some additional tweaks in ExplorerPatcher you can use some additional features like the Action Center flyout with the Quick Actions area and Notifications, for example. But there also exist various additional free tweaking utilities like Winaero Tweaker, Ultimate Windows Tweaker, RaMMicHaeL's 7+ Taskbar Tweaker, Battery Mode, etc. so, at least for me, the biggest improvements come from, in a well thought out manner of course, adding/fixing all sorts of stuff that, by itself, Windows either typically can't or else it just won't let you. By comparison, switching from Windows 8.1 to Windows 11 alone (i.e. while not making any of the aforementioned additions/changes that not everyone cares about or has the time to investigate obviously) almost feels like "zero improvement" to me. You either got to improve it yourself (McGuyver style) or go and find other solutions for that, by spending the extra time and effort it takes to search for them and experiment with─after you made an image of your system partition that you can restore later when things go wrong.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus TUF Gaming (2024)
    CPU
    i7 13650HX
    Memory
    16GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Cooling
    2× Arc Flow Fans, 4× exhaust vents, 5× heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
  • Operating System
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Medion S15450
    CPU
    i5 1135G7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    2TB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
I was asking for under-the hood improvements.

Dark theme (not made entirely system-wide yet, but it's a good start for those who, like me, are somehow sensitive to bright white backgrounds)
This is available at least since Windows 95.

Snap GUI feature
Of courese, instantly get disabled because you cannot move windows around without it suggesting to clip them.

Windows Settings
In what way it is an improvement? It is Metro-based and does not even use system fonts and subpixel hinting.

Start Menu (as opposed to the Start Screen with tiles, albeit I use Open-Shell with a Windows 7 type of menu style and a custom skin)
Which is unusable, I for 30 minutes was figuring out how to start notepad before installing OpenShell.

The rest of the text seems to deal with taskbar, etc, which is totally not what I was asking about. I was asking about under-the-hood improvements.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
The major improvements from Windows 10 to Windows 11 include security and performance.

The Windows insiders computers were monitored for crashes.

With the new supported requirements Microsoft reported that Windows was greater than 99% crash free.

Supported installations are now more secure with UEFI, Secure boot, and TPM requirements.

These major improvements may not be noticed as they reduce problems.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4800MQ CPU @ 2.70GHz
    Motherboard
    Product : 190A Version : KBC Version 94.56
    Memory
    16 GB Total: Manufacturer : Samsung MemoryType : DDR3 FormFactor : SODIMM Capacity : 8GB Speed : 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Quadro K3100M; Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC; PNP Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_76E0
    Hard Drives
    Model Hitachi HTS727575A9E364
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Mobile Workstation
Snap GUI feature
That I tried out, but OF COURSE it wasn`t working (tried to arrange 2xNotepad or UniversalViewer, but the second instance wasn´t offered in the menu.)
Anyway, I am used to MS introducing half cooked features which sound good on paper, but fail in practial use....

One more reason to avoid "feature" upgrades at any cost, be it Windows or Android.

A good example here is the latest Mozilla FF built. Why on earth these developers always try to reinvent the weel and destroy nicely working software or render them almost usesless with new "features" or look&feel?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    W10 Enterprise LTSC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    custom
    CPU
    i7-2700K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-P67A-D3-B3
    Memory
    24GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce RTX2060 Super
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung curved
    Screen Resolution
    FHD
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO870 SSD 1TB
    Seagate Barracuda HDD 8TB
    PSU
    be quiet 550W
    Case
    CoolerMaster
    Cooling
    be quiet PURE ROCK SLIM BK008
    Keyboard
    KLIM Domination k852
    Mouse
    Logitech standard cordless
    Internet Speed
    10/1 DSL (the fastest line speed available here...)
    Browser
    Mozilla FF 91.2.0esr
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    W10 GUI heavily modified with Stardock Blinds "7 for 10" skin and Startmenu.
    No MS Account and no MS apps.
    I upgraded to W10 only for gaming purposes, otherwise I'd kept my beloved W7 Ultimate x64
  • Operating System
    W11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-2500
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte PH67A-D3-B3
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics card(s)
    MSI Geforce 1050Ti
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    FujitsuSiemens 19"
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 (oldschool 4:3)
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO850 SSD 250GB + Samsung 1TB HDD
    PSU
    be quiet 550W
    Case
    Mars MCNW ATX Gaming
    Cooling
    be quiet PURE ROCK SLIM BK008
    Mouse
    oldschool Dell optical wired
    Keyboard
    Dell German 102
    Internet Speed
    slow DSL, 10/1Mbps, but thats the best offer here
    Browser
    Mozilla 91.2.0esr
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    This is an older PC for testing new OS,
    Furthermore: 4 Dell/HP laptops on Win7 Ultimate x64, used for NAS, Media server, browsing, workshop and sound studio

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
I have opened 2 different files with two instances of UniversalViewer. Both appear correctly as different instances in the (ungropued) taskbar. But if I try to use that GUI split to arrange them side by side, the second instance is not offered.
(Just tried it with notpad, and that works. But that's not what I need.)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    W10 Enterprise LTSC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    custom
    CPU
    i7-2700K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-P67A-D3-B3
    Memory
    24GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce RTX2060 Super
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung curved
    Screen Resolution
    FHD
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO870 SSD 1TB
    Seagate Barracuda HDD 8TB
    PSU
    be quiet 550W
    Case
    CoolerMaster
    Cooling
    be quiet PURE ROCK SLIM BK008
    Keyboard
    KLIM Domination k852
    Mouse
    Logitech standard cordless
    Internet Speed
    10/1 DSL (the fastest line speed available here...)
    Browser
    Mozilla FF 91.2.0esr
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    W10 GUI heavily modified with Stardock Blinds "7 for 10" skin and Startmenu.
    No MS Account and no MS apps.
    I upgraded to W10 only for gaming purposes, otherwise I'd kept my beloved W7 Ultimate x64
  • Operating System
    W11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-2500
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte PH67A-D3-B3
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics card(s)
    MSI Geforce 1050Ti
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    FujitsuSiemens 19"
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 (oldschool 4:3)
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO850 SSD 250GB + Samsung 1TB HDD
    PSU
    be quiet 550W
    Case
    Mars MCNW ATX Gaming
    Cooling
    be quiet PURE ROCK SLIM BK008
    Mouse
    oldschool Dell optical wired
    Keyboard
    Dell German 102
    Internet Speed
    slow DSL, 10/1Mbps, but thats the best offer here
    Browser
    Mozilla 91.2.0esr
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    This is an older PC for testing new OS,
    Furthermore: 4 Dell/HP laptops on Win7 Ultimate x64, used for NAS, Media server, browsing, workshop and sound studio
I have opened 2 different files with two instances of UniversalViewer. Both appear correctly as different instances in the (ungropued) taskbar. But if I try to use that GUI split to arrange them side by side, the second instance is not offered.
(Just tried it with notpad, and that works. But that's not what I need.)
Ah! Got it.
Hmmm, strange!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
I was asking for under-the hood improvements.
To which I have replied, it almost feels like "zero improvement" to me.
This is available at least since Windows 95.
They made under-the-hood improvements as for the negative side effects that might result from the old-traditional way of relying on color customizations.
Of courese, instantly get disabled because you cannot move windows around without it suggesting to clip them.
They made under-the-hood improvements to it, exactly because this type of annoyance had to be addressed, which was impossible for them to address without digging under the hood.
In what way it is an improvement? It is Metro-based and does not even use system fonts and subpixel hinting.
Simple answer, it is much better organized now. By comparison, on Windows 8.1/10 it looked and felt more akin to skimming through a stack of old newspapers some of the pages of which either were crumpled or were buried under the hood.
Which is unusable, I 30 minutes was figuring out how to start notepad before installing OpenShell.
In a certain way, that was also my point re "got to improve it yourself (McGuyver style)", but then, the Start Screen of Windows 8.1 was even much worse than this, as it made me feel all dizzy in addition to suffering under-the-hood nervous breakdowns. At least they got rid of useless Live Tiles that were merely distractions and were hogging system performance, there's no more carnival colored tile backgrounds, there's no more tiles going dim all of a sudden and for no apparent reason, there's no more tiles, and, they made the icons a bit easier to rearrange by dragging them so that the act of doing so feels a little bit less like playing some kind of drunk board game TBH.
The rest of the text seems to deal with taskbar, etc, which is totally not what I was asking about. I was asking about under-the-hood improvements.
When switching from Windows 8.1 to Windows 11, the old taskbar of Windows 10 is arguably the best under-the-hood improvement of them all.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus TUF Gaming (2024)
    CPU
    i7 13650HX
    Memory
    16GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Cooling
    2× Arc Flow Fans, 4× exhaust vents, 5× heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
  • Operating System
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Medion S15450
    CPU
    i5 1135G7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    2TB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
That I tried out, but OF COURSE it wasn`t working (tried to arrange 2xNotepad or UniversalViewer, but the second instance wasn´t offered in the menu.)
Anyway, I am used to MS introducing half cooked features which sound good on paper, but fail in practial use....

One more reason to avoid "feature" upgrades at any cost, be it Windows or Android.

A good example here is the latest Mozilla FF built. Why on earth these developers always try to reinvent the weel and destroy nicely working software or render them almost usesless with new "features" or look&feel?
It is simply because, if there can be no destruction, life will be boring. 🤣
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus TUF Gaming (2024)
    CPU
    i7 13650HX
    Memory
    16GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Cooling
    2× Arc Flow Fans, 4× exhaust vents, 5× heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
  • Operating System
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Medion S15450
    CPU
    i5 1135G7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    2TB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
Well what I was interested in, is the support of new standards, technologies, etc.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
One under the hood improvement over Win 8.1 would be security enhancement with the use of Core Isolation and virtualization. These existed in Win 10 but I was not aware of them. They were turned off on my laptop and are now on. That has been an improvement for me. The system "feels" faster to me than Win 10, so I assume it would also be the same over Win 8.1.

The update process is also smaller and much faster, but not sure if this would qualify as an "under the hood" item.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP / Spectre x360 Convertible 13
    CPU
    i5-8250U
    Motherboard
    83B9 56.50
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) UHD Graphics 620
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio(SST)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 256GB SSD
    Internet Speed
    500Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
It took you 30 minutes to figure out how to open notepad? xD
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    10700k@5.2
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Gaming X Z490
    Memory
    Viper Steelseries 32gb@ 3600mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte 2070 Super 8GB, +200 core + 600 memory
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 4k HDR, Two 1080p Benq and Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160/2560x1440/1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Adata XPG SX8200 PRO 1tb
    Samsung EVO 870 500GB
    PSU
    Corsair RX 650
    Case
    NZXT h510
    Cooling
    CM HYPER 212 RGB
    Keyboard
    Razer Ornata Chroma
    Mouse
    Steelseries Rival 710
Well what I was interested in, is the support of new standards, technologies, etc.
Well, for one thing on machines that support S0 sleep W8's Connected Standby was expanded to Modern Standby in W10. This allows a choice over whether or not to enable network connectivity while in standby. W8 was always connected.

The first iteration of Modern Standby was Connected Standby, which first shipped in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Modern Standby expands upon the Windows 8.x Connected Standby concept, allowing more flexibility in component selection.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
Yes. And I gave up and installed OpenShell.
Im genuinely baffled that you could install OpenShell but couldn't open notepad...Click on the start menu..type notepad. Tada
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    10700k@5.2
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Gaming X Z490
    Memory
    Viper Steelseries 32gb@ 3600mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte 2070 Super 8GB, +200 core + 600 memory
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 4k HDR, Two 1080p Benq and Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160/2560x1440/1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Adata XPG SX8200 PRO 1tb
    Samsung EVO 870 500GB
    PSU
    Corsair RX 650
    Case
    NZXT h510
    Cooling
    CM HYPER 212 RGB
    Keyboard
    Razer Ornata Chroma
    Mouse
    Steelseries Rival 710
Im genuinely baffled that you could install OpenShell but couldn't open notepad...Click on the start menu..type notepad. Tada
There is no notepad in Start menu (I had removed all Metro apps before installing), and there was no "Run" menu entry. It turns out, "Run" can be invoked by pressing Win+R, but I usually use Win for language switching, so was not familiar with this combination. There was (and still is) no "Create .txt document" context menu entry on the desktop. I am looking how to restore it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
There is no notepad in Start menu (I had removed all Metro apps before installing), and there was no "Run" menu entry. It turns out, "Run" can be invoked by pressing Win+R, but I usually use Win for language switching, so was not familiar with this combination. There was (and still is) no "Create .txt document" context menu entry on the desktop. I am looking how to restore it.
Hmm, When i click on start menu, there should be a button on the right handside(Parallel to "pinned") that says "all apps" if you click on that, it should be in there about halfway down depending on how many programs you have showing there.
Other than that, Press start and just type in notepad. Should be there.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    10700k@5.2
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Gaming X Z490
    Memory
    Viper Steelseries 32gb@ 3600mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte 2070 Super 8GB, +200 core + 600 memory
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 4k HDR, Two 1080p Benq and Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160/2560x1440/1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Adata XPG SX8200 PRO 1tb
    Samsung EVO 870 500GB
    PSU
    Corsair RX 650
    Case
    NZXT h510
    Cooling
    CM HYPER 212 RGB
    Keyboard
    Razer Ornata Chroma
    Mouse
    Steelseries Rival 710
There is no notepad in Start menu (I had removed all Metro apps before installing)....
Well there you have it. Now that some system apps like Notepad, Paint and Snipping Tool are updated through the Store rather than through Windows Update, then removing all Metro apps can have unexpected/unwanted consequences.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.

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