This tutorial will show you different ways on how to restart your local Windows 11 computer.
Restarting the computer will sign out all users, shut down the computer, and then automatically reboot the computer.
When shutting down your PC, any open supported apps are registered for application restart. After restart, these apps will re-open automatically when you sign in.
Microsoft is improving the restarting and shutting down your PC experience by clearly separating power actions from update actions. With this change, the Power menu will always show the standard Restart and Shut down options, meaning you will always have a choice to just restart or shut down your device without having to install the pending update. At the same time...
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Enable or Disable Drop Tray in Windows 11
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable the Drop Tray feature for all users in Windows 11.- Brink
- Replies: 7
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Transfer Files and Settings to New Windows 11 PC using Windows Backup app
This tutorial will show you how to transfer your files, settings, and preferences from your previous (old) Windows 10/11 PC to your new Windows 11 PC during Windows Setup.- Brink
- Replies: 3
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Disable Automatic Windows Updates in Windows 11
This tutorial will show you how to disable Windows Update from automatically downloading and installing updates in Windows 10 and Windows 11.- Brink
- Replies: 33
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Enable or Disable Hidden Feature Flags in Windows 11
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable hidden experimental feature flags in Windows 11.- Brink
- Replies: 53
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Create Windows 11 Bootable USB Installation Media
This tutorial will show you how to create a bootable USB flash drive used to install Windows 11 with UEFI support.- Brink
- Replies: 164
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Add or Remove "Learn about this picture" Desktop icon
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the "Learn about this picture" desktop icon when using Windows Spotlight as your desktop background for your account in Windows 11 and Windows 10.- Brink
- Replies: 42
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Use SFC to Repair System Files in Windows 11
This tutorial will show you how to run the System File Checker (SFC) tool to repair missing, corrupted, and modified system files in Windows 10 and Windows 11.- Brink
- Replies: 25
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Download Official Windows 11 ISO file from Microsoft
This tutorial will show you how to download an official Windows Server ISO or Windows 11 64-bit or ARM64 ISO file from Microsoft.- Brink
- Replies: 601
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Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade
This tutorial will show you how to do a repair install of Windows 11 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything.- Brink
- Replies: 373
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Clean Install Windows 11
This tutorial will show you step by step on how to clean install Windows 11 at boot on your PC with or without an Internet connection and setup with a local account or Microsoft account.- Brink
- Replies: 302
Tutorials
Windows 11 tutorials, tricks, tips, and guides.
This tutorial will show you how to use AI actions in File Explorer for your account in Windows 11.
Starting with Windows 11 build 262100.6725 (24H2), Microsoft is introducing AI actions in File Explorer. With AI actions in File Explorer, you can interact more deeply with your files by right-clicking to quickly take actions like editing images or summarizing documents. Like with Click to Do, AI actions in File Explorer allow you to stay in your flow while leveraging the power of AI to take advantage of editing tools in apps or Copilot functionality without having to open your file. AI actions in File Explorer are easily accessible. This experience is not yet available for customers in the EEA (European Economic Area).
Image actions...
This tutorial will show you how to set File Explorer to open to either This PC, Home (Quick access), OneDrive, Downloads, or a custom location by default for your account in Windows 11.
File Explorer opens to Home (Quick access) by default in Window 11, but you can change File Explorer to open to This PC, Mobile Device (phone), OneDrive, or Downloads instead.
Starting with Windows 11 build 22593, Quick access is now called Home. The name Quick access has been repurposed for the pinned/frequent Folders section and Pinned files is now called Favorites to align with Office and OneDrive. Recent and pinned files displayed in Home are now searchable using the search box in File Explorer even if they are not local files, so you can find...
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable launch folder windows in a separate explorer process by default for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Each process running in Windows is assigned a unique decimal number called the process ID (PID) to identify an active process. This number is used to specify the process when for example attaching a debugger to it.
By default, all File Explorer windows, including the desktop shell, run in a single explorer.exe process. If one File Explorer window hangs or crashes, it will cause all File Explorer windows running in the same process to hang or crash until the process restarts.
You are able to use the Open in new process context menu to manually open folder windows (File...
This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off File Explorer window preloading for faster launch times for your account in Windows 11.
Starting with Windows 11 build 26220.7271 (Dev and Beta 25H2), Microsoft is exploring preloading File Explorer in the background to help improve File Explorer launch performance. This shouldn’t be visible to you, outside of File Explorer hopefully launching faster when you need to use it.
If you do encounter any issues, please file them in the Feedback Hub under Files Folders and Online Storage > File Explorer Performance, or Files Folders and Online Storage > File Explorer.
⚠️ If you don't have preloading File Explorer available yet in the builds above and would like to try it now, then you can...
This tutorial will show you how to move or restore the default location of the Desktop folder for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
The Desktop folder (shell:Desktop) is a component of the user profile that is used as a unified location for storing personal data. By default, the Desktop folder is a shell folder in the user's profile (%UserProfile%) that is used as a default storage location items on your desktop.
The desktop (Win+D) is your home screen and working space in Windows that contains the taskbar and any icons (ex: shortcuts, files, folders, etc...) you add to and arrange on the desktop.
If you like, you can move the Desktop folder and its content to a location you want it at instead.
If the current Desktop...
This tutorial will show you how to find and list all hard links, symbolic links, and junction points and their target source in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
There are three types of file links supported in the NTFS file system: hard links, junctions, and symbolic links. Otherwise known as Reparse Points.
Hard Links can only be created for files. Any changes to that file are instantly visible to applications that access it through the hard links that reference it. Hard links do not support UNC paths (network paths that begin with \\). Hard links to a file will not have a shortcut arrow icon on them.
Symbolic Links are soft links that are basically advanced shortcuts. You can create a symbolic link to a local or remote file, folder, or...
This tutorial will show you how to move or restore the default location of the Documents folder for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
The Documents folder (shell:personal) is a component of the user profile that is used as a unified location for storing personal data. By default, the Documents folder is a shell folder in the user's profile (%UserProfile%) that is used as a default storage location for saved documents.
If you like, you can move the Documents folder and its content to a location you want it at instead.
If the current Documents folder path is incorrect or is no longer available, you can use the Restore Default option to restore the default path.
Reference...
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable thumbnail previews on files and folders in File Explorer for your account, all users, or specific users in Windows 11 and Windows 10.
File Explorer can display thumbnail previews (image) or icons on files and folders in Windows.
If you select to show icons instead of thumbnail previews, File Explorer will show the icon of the default app on the file instead of an image.
Starting with Windows 11 build 22557, File Explorer will now show previews of items (files) within folders. File Explorer displays a thumbnail preview image on a folder of the last file added to the folder by default.
UPDATE 10/22/2025:
Starting with Windows security updates released on and after October 14, 2025...
This tutorial will show you how to move or restore the default location of the Pictures folder for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
The Pictures folder (shell:My Pictures) is a component of the user profile that is used as a unified location for storing personal data. By default, the Pictures folder is a shell folder in the user's profile (%UserProfile%) that is used as a default storage location for saved pictures, images, screenshots, and camera roll.
If you like, you can move the Pictures folder and its content to a location you want it at instead.
If the current Pictures folder path is incorrect or is no longer available, you can use the Restore Default option to restore the default path.
Option One: Move Location...
This tutorial will show you how to copy the full path of drives, files, and folders to paste where you like in Windows 11.
Copy path or Copy as path will copy the full path of selected items (files and folders) wrapped in quotes to the Clipboard so you can paste (Ctrl+V) the full path(s) of the item(s) where you like.
Copy address or Copy address as text will copy the full path of selected items (drives and folders) without quotes to the Clipboard so you can paste (Ctrl+V) the full path(s) of the item(s) where you like.
Starting with Windows 11 build 26220.7271 (Dev and Beta 25H2), Microsoft is making a few refinements to the context menu aimed at reducing the space taken by less commonly used actions, while keeping them easy to...
This tutorial will show you how to open the Start menu in Windows 11.
Starting with Windows 11 build 26200.5641 (Dev 24H2) and build 26120.4250 (Beta 24H2), Microsoft introduced a new redesigned Start menu.
The new scrollable Start Menu is comprised of three sections: Pinned, All apps, and Recommended.
The Pinned section on the Start menu is where you can Pin to Start apps, and rearrange them in any order you want. You can customize your pinned apps on the Start menu by organizing them into folders with a custom folder name. You can add more apps to a folder, rearrange apps within a folder, and remove apps from a folder. You can select to Show more or Show less pinned apps on Start by default.
The All apps section on the Start menu...
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