Here we are again… New Windows, new environment to clean up. With each new version of its operating system, Microsoft introduces its share of challenges. In this guide, I'm going to document all my tips for improving the Windows 11 user experience to make it a little more professional, right after a fresh installation. We'll see how to customize the search box, disable Bing, remove Built-In Apps, disable Cortana, clean up the Windows Menu, and much more!
Update February 2025: I've noticed random behavior with this trick.
Despite using the Pro version, the Windows 11 Start Menu is often cluttered with commercial applications, games, and unnecessary items. We'll look at how to clean up the Windows menu with a script that can be deployed in an Active Directory environment.
After cleaning it up, copy the file c:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\start2.bin to a shared folder (in this example, \\SHARE\), then copy the file to the AD domain where your Windows 11 computers are located.
C:\Users\user> Copy-Item -Path \\SHARE\start2.bin -Destination c:\Users\$env:USERNAME\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\start2.bin
Note: the computer must be restarted for the change to take effect.
In this section, we'll look at how to remove Bing Search and reduce the size of the search icon in the taskbar.
Note: I explained in a previous article how to do this using a GPO.
C:\Users\user> reg add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search\ /f /v BingSearchEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0
Note: Restart session to see changes.
C:\Users\user> reg add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search\ /f /v SearchboxTaskbarMode /t REG_DWORD /d 1
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "windowsalarms" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "windowscommunicationsapps" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "windowscamera" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
#Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "windowsCalculator" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "officehub" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "getstarted" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "zunemusic" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "windowsmaps" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "solitairecollection" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "zunevideo" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "bingnews" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "Microsoft.People" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
#Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "photos" } | Add-AppxPackage -AllUsers
#Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "windowsstore" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "soundrecorder" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "bingweather" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "Microsoft.MicrosoftOfficeHub" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "Microsoft.WindowsFeedbackHub" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "YourPhone" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "Microsoft.XboxGamingOverlay" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "gethelp" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *WINDOWSMAPS* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *MICROSOFT.BINGNEWS* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *MICROSOFTCORPORATIONII.QUICKASSIST* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *MICROSOFT.GETSTARTED* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *MICROSOFT.ZUNEVIDEO* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *MICROSOFT.WINDOWSFEEDBACKHUB* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *MICROSOFT.ZUNEMUSIC* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *RIVETNETWORKS.KILLERCONTROLCENTER* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *MICROSOFT.TODOS* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *CLIPCHAMP.CLIPCHAMP* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *MICROSOFT.WIDGETSPLATFORMRUNTIME* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *MICROSOFT.MICROSOFTSOLITAIRECOLLECTION* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *MICROSOFT.GETHELP* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *MICROSOFT.BINGWEATHER* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
#XBOX
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "Microsoft.Xbox.TCUI" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "Microsoft.XboxGameOverlay" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "Microsoft.XboxIdentityProvider" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "Microsoft.XboxSpeechToTextOverlay" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "xbox" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *Microsoft.GamingApp* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
C:\Windows\system32> powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File c:\remove_app.ps1
Windows 11 includes numerous built-in Xbox apps. Here's how to remove them.
PS C:\Windows\system32> foreach ($app in $(Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "xbox" })) { $app | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers }
Contact :