laptop-settings-windows-11

v1.20260422.3

Relevant as of 2026-04-15+0000. At a minimum should work with

Windows 11 Home 25H2 Build 26200.8037

Purpose

I wrote these so I have a quick reference for the changes I've been applying everytime on a fresh Windows install. Walang command line or registry edits, all within user interfaces lang. There are some default settings that are already good as is from a fresh install so they do not have to be modified.

1. Getting Started

1.1 Windows Settings

• press and hold Windows key then press i

Note

Please follow and apply the settings below as exactly written.

2. Absolute Minimum

2.1 Privacy and security

Privacy and security -> Device encryption

• turn off Device encryption
• click Turn off

Note

Turns off encryption and decryption of every file you open so it gives a small performance boost. We turn this off because it is an overkill security feature for a personal computer, if a Windows update glitches Windows up and triggers BitLocker lock and you don't have the BitLocker recovery key saved, this encryption can permanently lock you out of your own files.

Warning

Make sure to keep your laptop or computer turned on while it is decrypting your files, plug it in! You can still use it while it does that. Check its progress from time to time, completes the decryption much faster on SSDs.

Privacy and security -> Device encryption -> BitLocker drive encryption -> Control Panel -> System and Security -> BitLocker Drive Encryption

-> Operating system drive

• turn off BitLocker on every drive shown, if not already
• click Turn off BitLocker

-> Fixed data drives

• turn off BitLocker on every drive shown, if not already
• click Turn off BitLocker

Note

Turns off encryption and decryption of every file you open so it gives a small performance boost. We turn this off because it is an overkill security feature for a personal computer, if a Windows update glitches Windows up and triggers BitLocker lock and you don't have the BitLocker recovery key saved, this encryption can permanently lock you out of your own files.

Warning

Make sure to keep your laptop or computer turned on while it is decrypting your files, plug it in! You can still use it while it does that. Check its progress from time to time, completes the decryption much faster on SSDs.

Privacy and security -> Recall and snapshots

• turn off Save snapshots

Note

If it's there, turn it off.

2.2 Bluetooth and Devices

Bluetooth and devices -> Mouse

• set Mouse pointer speed to 10/20 (default)

Tip

If you wanna change your mouse sensitivity, do it inside an app or game and using your mouse's software DPI settings, not the Mouse pointer speed.

• turn off Enhance pointer precision

Note

Despite how it's named, we actually turn this off to get rid of mouse acceleration so that the movement of your cursor depends only on how far you move your mouse, not how fast you move it.

2.3 Accessibility

Accessibility -> Keyboard -> click Sticky keys, it's a dropdown

• turn off Sticky keys (default)
• turn off Keyboard shortcut for Sticky keys

Note

Turn it off because it can cause accidental interruption when you press the Shift key quickly 5 times in a row anywhere. A regular user don't need it.

Accessibility -> Keyboard -> click Filter keys, it's a dropdown

• turn off Filter keys (default)
• turn off Keyboard shortcut for Filter keys

Note

Turn it off because it can cause accidental interruption when you press and hold the right Shift key for 8 secs anywhere. A regular user don't need it.

Accessibility -> Keyboard

• turn off Toggle keys (default)

Accessibility -> Narrator

• turn off Keyboard shortcut for Narrator

Accessibility -> Mouse

• turn off Hide pointer while typing

Accessibility -> Visual effects

• turn on Always show scrollbars

2.4 Control Panel

1. press the Windows key
2. type control panel
3. find it and open it
4. at top-right, set View by: to Category

Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Power Options -> Choose what the power buttons do -> Change settings that are currently unavailable -> User Account Control

• click Yes if prompted
• turn off Turn on fast startup (recommended)
• click Save changes

Note

When Turn on fast startup (recommended) is turned on, Windows doesnt actually shut down, it hibernates saving stuff on memory so it launches back up faster the next time you turn it on, it can be problematic at times so we turn it off to prevent future headaches so your computer or laptop can start fresh and power cycle properly. Affects your boot times slightly, doesn't matter that much on SSDs, maybe 1-2 seconds.

2.5 Apps

Apps -> Resume

• turn off Resume

2.6 System

System -> Display -> Scale and layout

• set Scale to a scale that is marked as (Recommended)

• set Display resolution to a resolution that is marked as (Recommended)

System -> Display -> Related settings -> Advanced display -> Display information

• set Choose a refresh rate to the highest value when plugged in or to the lowest value when on battery
• turn off Dynamic refresh rate

Note

We turn off Dynamic refresh rate to have the power consumption of the Display be more predictable. On laptops you shouldn't leave Choose a refresh rate's value the way it is all the time when you're on battery, take extra care of your laptop's battery especially on gaming laptops lol.

System -> Power and battery -> click Power Mode, it's a dropdown

• set Plugged in to Balanced (default)
• set On battery to Balanced

System -> Power and battery -> Screen, sleep, and hibernate timeouts -> Plugged in

• set Turn my screen off after to Never
• set Make my device sleep after to Never

System -> Power and battery -> Screen, sleep, and hibernate timeouts -> On battery

• set Turn my screen off after to Never
• set Make my device sleep after to Never

System -> Power and battery -> Lid, power and sleep button controls -> Plugged in

• set Pressing the power button will make my PC to Do nothing
• set Pressing the sleep button will make my PC to Sleep (default)
• set Closing the lid will make my PC to Sleep (default)

Note

Power button presses no longer shuts down to prevent accidental shut downs.

System -> Power and battery -> Lid, power and sleep button controls -> On battery

• set Pressing the power button will make my PC to Do nothing
• set Pressing the sleep button will make my PC to Sleep (default)
• set Closing the lid will make my PC to Sleep (default)

Note

Power button presses no longer shuts down to prevent accidental shut downs.

System -> Clipboard

• turn on Clipboard history

System -> Advanced -> Taskbar

• turn on End Task

System -> Advanced -> File Explorer -> File Explorer

• turn on Enable long paths

System -> Advanced -> File Explorer -> File Explorer -> File Explorer

• turn on Show file extensions

System -> Sound -> Output -> click Speakers, it's a dropdown -> Properties

• set Output settings -> Format to 2 channels, 24 bit, 48000 Hz (Studio Quality)
• turn off Advanced settings -> Audio enhancements
• turn off Advanced settings -> Spatial sound

System -> Sound -> Output -> click Headphones, it's a dropdown -> Properties

• set Output settings -> Format to 2 channels, 24 bit, 48000 Hz (Studio Quality)
• turn off Advanced settings -> Audio enhancements
• turn off Advanced settings -> Spatial sound

Note

24 bit, 48000 Hz is a good set-it-and-forget-it setting to have. Turn off Audio enhancements and Spatial sound because you don't need filters on sound. Clear stereo sound lang sa right and left channel and it's all good. If you had a game or other softwares that also handle their own sound, filters stack up on each other which is a nono, that's why it's better to have Windows' sound adjustments off.

System -> Sound -> Input -> click Microphone, it's a dropdown -> Properties

• set Output settings -> Format to 2 channels, 16 bit, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality)
• turn off Advanced settings -> Audio enhancements

System -> Sound -> Advanced -> More sound settings -> Sound -> Sound

• turn off Program Events: -> Play Windows Startup sound
• click OK

System -> About -> Related links -> Advanced system settings -> System Properties -> Advanced -> Startup and Recovery -> Settings... -> System failure

• turn off Automatically restart
• click OK

Note

We turn it off because when your computer encounters a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death), it doesn't restart your computer by itself after a certain time. It helps letting you know that a BSOD actually happened and the error that caused it.

2.7 Bluetooth and devices

Bluetooth and devices -> Touchpad -> click Touchpad, it's a dropdown

• turn off Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected

Bluetooth and devices -> Keyboard -> Shortcuts and hotkeys

• turn on Use the Print screen key to open screen capture (default)

3. A Little Deeper

3.1 Personalization

Personalization -> Themes -> Related settings -> Desktop icon settings -> Desktop icons

• turn on Desktop icons -> Computer (default)
• turn on Desktop icons -> User's Files
• turn on Desktop icons -> Recycle Bin (default)
• turn off Allow themes to change desktop icons

Note

These are most often accessed to access more things, so it kinda makes sense to always have these on desktop.

3.2 Time and language

Time and language -> Typing

• turn off Show text suggestions when typing on the physical keyboard
• turn off Multilingual text suggestions
• turn off Autocorrect misspelled words
• turn off Highlight misspelled words

Time and language -> Date and time

• turn on Set time automatically (default)
• set Time zone to (UTC+08:00) Kuala Lumpur, Singapore (varies, this is for the Philippines)

3.3 Control Panel

1. press the Windows key
2. type control panel
3. find it and open it
4. at top-right, set View by: to Category

Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Power Options

• set Selected plan to Balanced

Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Power Options -> Selected plan -> Balanced -> Change plan settings -> Change advanced power settings

• set Hard disk -> Turn off hard disk after -> On battery (Minutes) to 0
• set Hard disk -> Turn off hard disk after -> Plugged in (Minutes) to 0
• set Desktop background settings -> Slide show -> On battery to Available
• set Desktop background settings -> Slide show -> Plugged in to Available (default)
• set Wireless Adapter Settings -> Power Saving Mode -> On battery to Medium Power Saving
• set Wireless Adapter Settings -> Power Saving Mode -> Plugged in to Maximum Performance (default)
• set Internet Explorer mode -> JavaScript Timer Frequency -> On battery to Maximum Performance
• set Internet Explorer mode -> JavaScript Timer Frequency -> Plugged in to Maximum Performance
• set Intel(R) Graphics Settings -> Intel(R) Graphics Power Plan -> On battery to Balanced
• set Intel(R) Graphics Settings -> Intel(R) Graphics Power Plan -> Plugged in to Balanced
• set Sleep -> Allow wake timers -> On battery to Disable (default, may be hidden)
• set Sleep -> Allow wake timers -> Plugged in to Disable (may be hidden)
• set USB settings -> USB selective suspend setting -> On battery to Disabled
• set USB settings -> USB selective suspend setting -> Plugged in to Disabled
• set PCI Express -> Link State Power Management -> On battery to Off
• set PCI Express -> Link State Power Management -> Plugged in to Off
• set Processor power management -> Minimum processor state -> On battery to 5 (default)
• set Processor power management -> Minimum processor state -> Plugged in to 5 (default)
• set Processor power management -> Maximum processor state -> On battery to 100 (default)
• set Processor power management -> Maximum processor state -> Plugged in to 100 (default)
• set Processor power management -> System cooling policy -> On battery to Passive (default)
• set Processor power management -> System cooling policy -> Plugged in to Active (default)
• set Switchable Dynamic Graphics -> Global Settings -> On battery to Optimize power savings
• set Switchable Dynamic Graphics -> Global Settings -> Plugged in to Optimize performance
• set Multimedia settings -> When sharing media -> On battery to Prevent idling to sleep
• set Multimedia settings -> When sharing media -> Plugged in to Prevent idling to sleep
• set Multimedia settings -> Video quality playback bias -> On battery to Video playback power-saving bias
• set Multimedia settings -> Video quality playback bias -> Plugged in to Video playback performance bias
• set Multimedia settings -> When playing video -> On battery to Balanced
• set Multimedia settings -> When playing video -> Plugged in to Optimize video quality
• set Battery -> Critical battery action -> On battery to Hibernate (default)
• set Battery -> Critical battery action -> Plugged in to Hibernate (default)

Tip

Leave as is the settings that are missing or hidden on your end.

4. Deep

4.1 Control Panel

Control Panel -> Appearance and Personalization -> File Explorer Options

• turn off Show recently used files
• turn off Show frequently used folders
• turn off Show files from Office.com

4.2 Time and language

Time and language -> Typing -> Typing insights

• turn off Typing insights

4.3 Privacy and security

Privacy and security -> Recommendations and offers

• turn off Personalized offers
• turn off Allow websites to access my language list
• turn off Improve Start and search results (turned on may help if you want to look up recents)
• turn off Recommendations and offers in Settings
• turn off Advertising ID

Privacy and security -> Diagnostics and feedback

• turn off Diagonostic data -> Send optional diagnostic data
• turn off Improve inking and typing -> Improve the language recognition and suggestion capabilities of Microsoft apps and services by sending optional inking and typing diagnostic data to Microsoft
• turn off View diagnostic data -> Turn on the Diagnostic Data Viewer (uses up to 1 GB of hard drive space)

Privacy and security -> Speech

• turn off Online speech recognition

4.4 Windows Update

Windows Update -> More Options -> Advanced options

• turn off Receive updates for other Microsoft products
• turn off Get me up to date

Windows Update -> More Options -> Additional options -> Delivery Optimization

• turn off Allow downloads from other devices

5. Optionals: If You Want Only Functional Visuals

5.1. Accessibility

Accessibility -> Visual effects

• turn off Transparency effects
• turn off Animation effects

5.2. System

System -> About -> Related links -> Advanced system settings -> System Properties -> Advanced -> Performance -> Settings... -> Performance Options -> Visual Effects

• select Adjust for best performance to toggle all of them off
• turn on Show thumbnails instead of icons
• turn on Show translucent selection rectangle
• turn on Show window contents while dragging
• turn on Smooth edges of screen fonts
• turn on Use drop shadows for icon labels on desktop
• it'll automatically select Custom: for you
• click OK

It should look like this:

• Animate controls and elements inside windows
• Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing
• Animations in the taskbar
• Enable Peek
• Fade or slide menus into view
• Fade or slide ToolTips into view
• Fade out menu items after clicking
• Save taskbar thumbnail previews
• Show shadows under mouse pointer
• Show shadows under windows
• Show thumbnails instead of icons (default)
• Show translucent selection rectangle (default)
• Show window contents while dragging (default)
• Slide open combo boxes
• Smooth edges of screen fonts (default)
• Smooth-scroll list boxes
• Use drop shadows for icon lables on the desktop (default)

Warning

Some websites and applications such as Discord, Chrome, Edge's Smooth scrolling defaults depend on Animate controls and elements inside windows, as a result it may turn off their Smooth scrolling too.

Note

Keeping the functional visuals so that Windows doesn't look very old from that.

6. Optionals: If You Want The Old Look

6.1 Personalization

Personalization -> Taskbar -> Taskbar Behaviors

• set Taskbar alignment to Left

6.2 Old Right-click Context Menu

• at File Explorer or Desktop, press and hold Shift then press Right-click on a blank space

Note

No registry edit needed.

7. Others Worth to Check Briefly

7.1 Task View

• press and hold Windows key then press Tab
• around + New desktop, check for Desktops you don't need. If you don't need them, delete it.

The Big Three Browsers

1. Google Chrome

Relevant as of 2026-04-15+0000 Version 147.0.7727.56 (Official Build) (64-bit)

1.1 Getting Started

• go to Google Chrome -> Top-right vertical three-dot icon -> Settings

1.2 Absolute Minimum

• set On startup -> On startup to Continue where you left off
• turn off System -> Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed
• turn off Autofill and passwords -> Autofill and passwords -> Google Password Manager -> Settings -> Settings -> Offer to save passwords and passkeys

1.3 A Little Deeper

• turn off AI innovations -> Help me write -> Offer writing help
• turn off Languages -> Spell check -> Check for spelling errors when you type text on web pages
• turn off You and Google -> Google services -> Help improve Chrome's features and performance
• turn off You and Google -> Google services -> Make searches and browsing better
• turn off You and Google -> Google services -> Improve search suggestions

1.4 If You're Fine Not Having Smooth Scrolling

• Google Chrome -> enter the URL chrome://flags/#smooth-scrolling
• set Smooth Scrolling to Disabled

2. Microsoft Edge

Relevant as of 2026-04-15+0000 Version 147.0.3912.60 (Official build) (64-bit)

2.1 Getting Started

New tab -> Top-right gear icon -> Page Settings

• turn off Show promoted links

• turn off Show content

• turn off Show widgets

• turn off Show feed

• turn off Background

• turn off Show weather

• go to Microsoft Edge -> Top-right horizontal three-dot icon -> Settings

2.2 Absolute Minimum

• turn off System and performance -> System -> Startup boost
• turn off System and performance -> System -> Continue running background extensions and apps when Edge is closed
• set Start, home, and new tab page -> On startup to Open tabs from the previous session
• turn off Passwords and autofill -> Passwords and autofill -> Microsoft Password Manager -> Ask to save passwords and passkeys

2.3 A Little Deeper

• turn off Languages -> Writing assistance -> Use text prediction
• turn off Languages -> Writing assistance -> Use grammar and spell-check assistance
• turn off Privacy, search, and services -> Privacy -> Send optional diagnostic data to improve Microsoft products
• turn off Privacy, search, and services -> Privacy -> Help improve Microsoft products by sending the results from searches on the web
• turn off Privacy, search, and services -> Privacy -> Allow Microsoft to save your browsing activity including history, usage, favorites, web content, and other browsing data to personalize Microsoft Edge and Microsoft services like ads, search, shopping and news.

2.4 If You're Fine Not Having Smooth Scrolling

• Microsoft Edge -> enter the URL edge://flags/#smooth-scrolling
• set Smooth Scrolling to Disabled

3. Mozilla Firefox

Relevant as of 2026-04-15+0000 149.0.2 (64-bit)

3.1 Getting Started

• go to Mozilla Firefox -> Top-right horizontal three-line icon -> Settings

3.2 Absolute Minimum

• set General -> Startup to Open previous windows and tabs
• turn on AI Controls -> Block AI enhancements
• turn off Privacy and Security -> Passwords -> Ask to save passwords

3.3 A Little Deeper

• turn off General -> Spell check -> Check your spelling as you type
• turn off Firefox Data Collection and Use -> Send technical and interaction data to Mozilla
• turn off Firefox Data Collection and Use -> Allow Firefox to improve features, performance, and stability between updates
• turn off Firefox Data Collection and Use -> Send daily usage ping to Mozilla

3.4 If You're Fine Not Having Smooth Scrolling

• turn off General -> Browsing -> Use smooth scrolling