9 Windows settings we recommend

Make your PC life a little easier.

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After decades of development, Windows is densely packed with settings you might not be aware of. There are old, new, and surprising features buried all over the place. Some of them can make it easier to do basic things like log into your PC or find the right emoji. While none of these settings are essential to using Windows, they can make it a much friendlier experience and taking a minute to tweak a thing or two can save you time in the long run.By default, Windows has several settings we recommend using disabled, and it doesn’t do a lot to encourage you to change them. I’ve picked out seven useful Windows settings to change and a handful of bonus features that you might never have seen before that’ll make your Windows life better, including a couple exclusive to Windows 11.

Speed up how you sign-in to your PC

Despite what Windows suggests when you initially set up a PC or laptop, you don’t have to use a password to log in. Windows offers a few options that make the login process much easier at the cost of some security. If that’s not a worry, then you can skip the part where you have to put your Outlook or Microsoft password in every time you want to get back to your desktop.

I’d recommend using a pin, or a set of four numbers to quickly tap before you’re back into Windows.

Turn off Sticky Keys

If you’re a veteran PC gamer, you’ve likely encountered Sticky Keys before. It’s the Windows feature that’s made for people who can’t hold Ctrl or Shift while pressing something else. It’s a useful feature, but if you don’t need it, it can get in the way. Games often require or encourage you to press Shift several times in succession, which can cause the Sticky Keys prompt to show up and ask if you’d like to enable it.

Add folder icons to Windows 11 Start menu

If you habitually find yourself opening up File Explorer to then navigate to your documents or downloads, this can save you a step. Somewhat hidden in the Windows 11 Start menu personalization settings is the option to add folder icons for each of your default file folders.

Turn on Dark mode

Dark modes change the contrast of your application windows and backgrounds, and feel essential if you’re in a dark room where the light from a white screen can be blinding. Or if you’re just spending very, very long hours staring at a monitor.

By default, Windows uses a light mode. You can change it so that everything on your PC obeys the dark mode code and respects your precious eyes. You can also mix and match by having Windows set to dark mode but applications default to light mode, or vice versa.

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Show hidden files and extensions

Windows doesn’t want you to see some of the vital folders in your PC. There are times where you need to, though, especially if you dabble in modding. The AppData folder is an essential one; it’s where a lot of game data is stored and the place you often need to dig through to solve issues with your programs.

Enable Clipboard history

Normally when you copy and paste things like text and links, Windows only lets you paste the most recent one. There’s actually a name for where the things you copy get saved: the Clipboard. In Windows 10 and 11, you can enable Clipboard history to bring up a window of the last several things you’ve copied to make copy/pasting extra convenient.

Turn off suggestions in Start menu

Windows likes to insert suggestions for apps in your Start menu. It can clutter up your preferred list of apps and make it tedious to get to what you want—especially if you’re someone who doesn’t hit the Windows key and type the name of the program you want.

Enable Windows' built-in blue light filter

Whether or not blue light from screens is seriously detrimental to human brains is unclear, but using features that tint your screen to warmer colors can be nice on your eyes after hours on your PC. Windows, it turns out, has this feature built in, though you may prefer to extra options of long-time favoriteFlux.

If you want to use the Windows version, though:

Enable dynamic refresh rate on laptops in Windows 11

Like a lot of smartphones today, some modern laptop displays are capable of dynamically adjusting their refresh rates, which is useful for saving battery life. While gaming you obviously want that full 144Hz refresh, but if you’re staring at an unchanging document for minutes at a time, you’re just wasting juice by having your screen refresh itself so many times per second. Why not dial the refresh rate down to, say, 60Hz when nothing’s moving?

Windows 11 actually supports this feature, if you go digging into the advanced display settings.

Bonus: hidden Windows features

Windows has been around for a while, and there are a lot of features it doesn’t advertise that can save you time if you know about them. Here are a few favorites:

Tyler has covered videogames and PC hardware for 15 years. He regularly spends time playing and reporting on games like Diablo 4, Elden Ring, Overwatch 2, and Final Fantasy 14. While his speciality is in action RPGs and MMOs, he’s driven to cover all sorts of games whether they’re broken, beautiful, or bizarre.

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