Microsoft badgered us for months: Upgrade to Windows 11 or else. Well, it wasn’t that alarmist, but the company ended security updates for Windows 10 in October. (Users of the older operating system can still enroll in a free Extended Security Updates program until October 2026.)
Many of us have leveled up to Windows 11, but that hasn’t come without its headaches. Maybe you’ve experienced shorter battery life or other issues after upgrading. If so, here are some ways to fix the most common issues with the latest iteration of Windows.
Uninstall Windows Copilot
Microsoft really wants its customers to use its AI assistant, Copilot, and the company is adding it seemingly everywhere — Word, Excel, Notepad, Edge, etc. If you like it and use it, great. But if you find the extra AI features intrusive, here’s how to get rid of it.
Search for Copilot from the Start menu or search bar at the bottom of your screen. When it appears, don’t hit Return. Instead, right-click on the app and select Uninstall.
Get rid of OneDrive
OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud service that lets you store and sync your files, photos and apps. But people have experienced issues with it, including syncing and sharing glitches, data loss and concerns over Microsoft’s access to your data.
If you want to uninstall OneDrive, search for it from the Start menu or search bar at the bottom of the screen. When the app comes up, right-click on it and select Uninstall.
Warning: Before you uninstall OneDrive, make sure you’ve backed up all important documents, files, photos, videos and whatever else you want to keep. That way you don’t have to dig around for them on various devices later.
Turn off recommendations
Microsoft will often recommend apps, shortcuts, tips and other things on the Start menu. If you don’t want that, go to Settings > Personalization > Start and turn off «Show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps, and more.»
Reconfigure your Start menu
I’m not a big Start menu fan, but some people use it to access their favorite apps. In Windows 11, the Start menu is preloaded, and there are probably several apps that you rarely or never use.
There are a couple of easy ways to get your Start menu to its most useful layout. First, click on the Start menu icon at the bottom of the screen. In the pop-up window, you’ll see a list of Pinned apps. If you right-click on any of them, you can select Unpin from Start.
Once you’ve cleared all your unwanted apps from the Start menu, there might be some that you want to keep. Click on the Start menu again and select the All apps button at top right, which will take you to a window that shows all your installed apps. You can search for the ones that you want Pinned in the Start menu, then right-click on the app and select Pin to Start.
Clean up your taskbar
Ideally, the taskbar at the bottom of your screen contains the apps that you use the most. For me, those are Outlook, File Explorer, Notepad, Snipping Tool and Edge. But maybe you prefer Chrome, Weather, News or other apps to be in the taskbar for easy access.
There’s an easy way to redo your taskbar: Click on the Start menu, and in the pop-up window, click on the All apps button at top right. You’ll then see a long list of your installed apps. You can right-click on an app, select More and then select Pin to taskbar.
Turn off Edge feed and widgets
When you open up Edge on Windows 11, you’ll see a vast array of tiles showing news headlines and sponsored ads. For the most part, the tiles are influenced by how you personalize your content choices and also by Microsoft’s AI. For example, if you click on a lot of crime news, you might start getting more crime news.
But maybe you don’t want any feed at all. To remove it, click on the plus sign at the top of your Edge screen; this will open up a new tab, sometimes called a New Tab Page. From there, click on the Settings icon at top right (the gear icon). Look down a bit and set Show widgets and Show feed to Off.
Voila — the next time you open a new Edge page, you’ll probably only see a magnificent image from the natural world.
Limit or eliminate notifications
Getting tired of all those Facebook notifications? There are times when you might visit a website and — without really thinking about it — you click on a button that allows those sites to send you alerts and reminders.
To customize your notification preferences, search for Notifications in the search bar at the bottom of the screen. At the top, you’ll see the Notifications menu, where you can toggle them off completely. Scroll down and you’ll see all the apps and websites that send you notifications, which you can toggle on or off individually.
Disable startup apps
By default, Windows launches certain apps when you boot your computer. Some of those are vital, like your antivirus program (Defender, for example); but some of them you might not need to start up automatically, such as Teams or OneDrive.
To disable startup apps, go to the Start menu and search for Task Manager. Click Startup apps in the left-side column. You’ll see all the apps that start up when you log in and their startup impact — high, low or not measured. By disabling apps that you don’t need on startup, you might help your computer run more smoothly.
