25 Essential Windows 11 Settings to Change After Installation

• 25 essential Windows settings to change post-installation
• Key tips on avoiding common mistakes during installation
• Importance of updating Windows and software
• Customization suggestions for taskbar and file explorer
• Advanced settings for better functionality and efficiency

Here's 25 plus Windows settings that you need to change after a fresh installation of Windows 11. Having reinstalled Windows on my laptop a couple weeks back, I've compiled this list which should serve almost as a comprehensive checklist of settings, all covered as fast as possible. So with that, let's begin!

Actually, before we begin, edit to me here: skip to this time code to get right at the Windows settings part of the video, 'cause I speak about a few dos and don'ts regarding the installation of Windows 11 beforehand.

All right, back to the video chapters below! By the way, a quick note before we begin into the settings side of things is to make sure that you take a note of all your apps on your old system, as well as back up all your files, including those buried in system locations such as within your user folder. For example, trust me, the last bit is easily missed.

Okay, now let's head into the settings. Woah, that's the first mistake! First things first, once you get into the OS, before you do anything at all, make sure you do all the Windows updates that are available. This might take 2 to 3 restarts to get everything installed correctly, but make sure you do it to avoid crippling your machine. This also applies to manufacturer software as well, and any other software that you might need for certain hardware, like a GPU or SSD for example. Trust me, this will pay off in the long run, especially if something's not set up right due to the drivers.

Okay, now we can head into the settings. Woah, wrong again! At this point, you should download all your apps and software, 'cause otherwise, you'll just need to go back into the settings and change things again. Further note: it is especially useful tool for this, so feel free to check the cards for a video on Windows apps I did covering this. Not to mention, you should also remove any bloatware that comes with Windows as well at this point, like Cortana, LinkedIn, Clipchamp Video Editor, and Microsoft To-Do. What the heck! I mean, at least it's better than having Candy Crush installed.

Okay, so now can we head into the settings? Yes!

Start menu and taskbar: though centered, now there are still quite a few customization options that you should change in the settings. This includes whether you want more pins or more recommendations for example, and also enabling the various icons that are in the taskbar. I prefer to have all these off personally.

Dark mode: Heading to the personalization section of your settings, change it to dark mode. Ah, much better! Also, from now on in other apps, you should tell them to follow your system theme as well, so they follow the light or dark theme respectively.

Startup apps: I touched on it previously, but be sure to go in here periodically, especially during the first couple of days after installation, to ensure that you haven't got a million apps loading all at once when you power on your computer.

Trackpad settings: Set up the trackpad if you have one, so that the bottom right corner does not right click depending on your preference, as well as making sure that your gestures are set up properly. 'Cause on default, you have quite a few duplications of actions. This is one of the many mistakes that people make when using their laptop or computer, so be sure to check the video I did highlighting these in the cards above.

Show the desktop in the bottom corner: Windows does a much better job of hiding this now, but when enabled, you'll be given an invisible button that you can press in the corner of your screen to get to your desktop wherever you are. Not useful on its own probably, but when you're dragging and dropping files or other stuff, it's particularly useful.

Oh, and on the point of files, I just want to touch upon the File Explorer settings quickly as part of a rapid-fire list. Open File Explorer at "This PC." This will allow you to get right at the top of your tree in regards to your drives, which is quicker than the homepage.

Condensed view: Change a file explorer in regards to showing the condensed view instead, so you can fit more on the page. It might look a little squashed initially, but you'll get used to it, and it's perfectly fine if you use a mouse or keyboard, which most of us will be doing.

Adding Quick Access: Spend a couple of minutes customizing the quick access sidebar pins on the side. Having this available and laid out properly in regards to frequent locations will go a long way in finding what you need quickly within the file explorer.

Developer options: In the system section of your settings, head to the developer section. You should go to the file explorer options and enable all these options. Really, they're all self-explanatory. The "Run as different user" add stock allows you to run an application as admin. Again, these can be accessed mostly from within the file explorer settings, but it's easier to do from within here.

Okay, so that was a slight detour, but let's carry on with the main settings now.

Night Light: If you work at night and don't have this setting on, then you're seriously searing your eyes. So please just enable this and you'll wonder how you used to not use it before, and how much better your sleep gets too. The only exception I'd give to this is if you're doing some intense photo editing at night. Honestly, it's just the worst when you realize that your photo is just too warm or too cool because you've been working with a filter on.

Windows Hello: Be sure to set this up if you have it available, 'cause it can be really annoying to set up later down the line and will save you time in the long run. You can also use this in other apps as well, such as Chrome and password autofill, so be sure to check those apps as well for this setting.

Check your printer settings: Not the most exciting thing to do, but make sure you reconnect your printer to your device when you have a chance, 'cause it'll only annoy you further down the line when you actually do have stuff to print and you haven't got any printers installed within Windows.

Bluetooth devices: On the topic of printers, be sure to head into the Bluetooth settings and pair your various Bluetooth devices, as they're likely not going to be present straight away on your new reinstall.

Time zones: Nothing too complex, but just make sure you have it set to automatic, just in case it's set to manual for whatever reason.

Display settings: Check your display settings, particularly if you have a high refresh monitor, 'cause if for some reason Windows defaults only using 60 Hz, then you're literally not using one of the key features of your monitor.

Graphic settings: Similarly, this applies to your graphic settings as well. By going into this setting, you can specify which programs use your GPU, whether that be your dedicated or integrated one for example. So would definitely check this area out before getting started on some intense gaming or professional applications.

Battery and power: Be sure to check in here, particularly if you have a laptop, to change when your device goes to sleep, turns off the display both on Power and Battery respectively. Same goes for battery saver and your usage graph as well.

Clipboard history: Be sure to enable this so you can simply press the Windows and V key in order to see your clipboard history wherever you may be in the system. A nice little feature which you should enable. Again, I'll leave a card up above which covers Windows apps, including a clipboard manager if you're interested.

Find my device: Make sure you have this enabled so you can actually find your laptop if you lose it. And if you have a desktop, then yeah, never mind!

Camera settings: So this extends more into the permission side of things, but also the fact that you can change the way that your camera looks. This includes the saturation, brightness, colors, contrast, etc., which you may not have known about.

Exclude folders from Windows search: Now Windows search is quite a bit better in Windows 11, but you can make it even better by disabling certain file locations to help avoid all duplicates, backups, and other locations where search results are just irrelevant.

Autoplay: Again, something you might need to head into and take a look at, but I like to make sure that it's set to open folders to view files. This includes memory cards as well, so it takes me right into file explorer once a form of external drive is inserted.

Disable your Wi-Fi card: Now, if you want to disable your Wi-Fi card from a somewhat deeper level, then be sure to go into this menu where you can disable it. Just thought it might be handy for some people to know about. Oh, and the same thing applies to Bluetooth, which you can control using the toggle below.

Default apps: This is something you'll probably want to change as you use your system more and more, but nice to do from the get-go so you always use Chrome, for example, as your browser of choice over Edge. Not to say that Edge isn't better in some aspects, but yeah, just your preference. Again, another video up in the cards in regards to a deep comparison video I did between Chrome and Edge, and the results might surprise you.

Turn off map updates: Microsoft Maps trash! You likely don't use Microsoft Maps or offline maps on your PC, so yeah, be sure to go in here and turn off automatic downloads for those.

But those are just settings and the setup of Windows to make it more tolerable. I'm sure I've missed a couple, so please do leave a comment down below if you think I have, as I focus less on the typical privacy ones and those that get repeated over and over.

But if you want to improve your productivity even more, then be sure to check out this video next. Anyway, thanks for watching! Be sure to subscribe, and I'll see you later.