Here we are again… New Windows, new environment to clean up. With every new iteration, Microsoft introduces its share of challenges. In this guide, I'll document all my insights on refining the user experience of Windows 11 right after a fresh installation. We will see how to customize the Search Box, disable Bing, remove Built-In Apps, disable Cortana, clean up the Windows Menu, and possibly more!
Despite having the Pro version, the Windows 11 Start Menu tends to be cluttered with commercial, gaming, and unnecessary apps. We will see how to clean up with a script to make it works in an Active Directory environment.
Once cleaned, copy the file c:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\start2.bin to a shared folder (here in \\SHARE\ for the example), then copy the file to your Windows 11 computers AD domain.
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: click here to know how to do it via 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
#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 | ? { $_.Name -match "xbox" } | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
C:\Windows\system32> powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File c:\remove_app.ps1
There are a lot of Xbox Built-In Apps so let's see how to remove them.
PS C:\Windows\system32> foreach ($app in $(Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ? { $_.Name -match "xbox" })) { $app | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers }
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