Best Windows Registry Hacks in 2020 To Make Windows Better.
You recently had the May 2020 Windows Update and here’s one of the features – improved conversations with Cortana. Microsoft won’t give up soon!
But with every Windows update, you have a new way to hack the registry to hide Cortana. So with this and other registry hacks that allow you to remove OneDrive from File Explorer, Bing search from the Start menu, and more, here are the best Windows Registries to improve Windows experience.
Best Hacks in Windows Registry
Before we get started, the Registry Editor is a graphical tool that lets you edit your own OS settings, kernel settings, and more. However, incorrect settings in the Registry Editor can even cause your OS to malfunction. Therefore, it is best to back up your registry entries before making these changes.
1. Get rid of Cortana
Let’s get down to business. How do I turn off Cortana? Good. Previously, Windows allowed you to disable Cortana. But now they are gone.
Editing registry entries is the same for all hacks.
Although Cortana has been separated from the Start menu, it is now only vaguely positioned on the taskbar. What’s more, Cortana is now restrictive and only uses Bing and Edge for everything. The only way to remove it now is through the Registry Editor. Now go to the start menu, type “regedit” and open it as an administrator.
Alternatively, you can simply go to the launch menu by pressing Win + R. Then type “regedit”. In the pop-up window, click Allow to get administrator rights.
In the URL bar at the top, paste this location displayed on the screen and press Enter. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Policies Microsoft Windows Windows Search
If you don’t see the Windows Search folder, create it in Windows. Just right-click the Windows folder and select the New Key option. Then name the new key “Windows Search”.
Now in Windows Search create a D-Word (32-bit) value and name it “AllowCortana”. Then double click on it and make sure the value is 0. Now we you need to restart your computer because Cortana settings are checked only at startup.
Post a restart, you shouldn’t see the Cortana icon in the taskbar. If you want to undo your changes and get Cortana back, just remove the AllowCortana key or change the value from 0 to 1.
2. Google Incognito mode in context menu
Next, the registry key allows you to have a configurable parameter in the right-click context menu. For example, you can place Calculator, Notepad or WhatsApp on the right-click context menu. In my case, I use it a little differently. I’ve used Chrome incognito mode too often for research purposes (* winks * winks), and I like it to show up in the context menu for convenience.
To do this, go to Registry Editor and navigate to the following URL. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT Directory Background Skin
Then create a folder in the shell folder. You can name the folder whatever you like and that name will appear in the right-click menu. I’ll call it Chrome Incognito.
Now in Chrome Incognito create another folder and name it “team”. This folder will contain the command to be executed when clicking on the menu. Then double-click the default key in the commands folder. This folder should contain Chrome EXE file.
In my case, I want the location of the Google Chrome executable, so just type Google Chrome in the Start menu and select Open File Location. Then hold down Shift and right-click. On the menu, click Copy as Path. When you have the location of the file, paste it into the Target text box. But since I want to open the Chrome Incognito tab, I will add the file location using “–Incognito”. “C: Program Files (x86) Google Chrome Application chrome.exe” –Incognito
We don’t need to restart here, just right click anywhere that Chrome incognito option is. Alto! Similarly for WhatsApp, create a WhatsApp folder and a folder with commands in it. Go to the start menu to find out the location of the file and paste it into the default key text box of the commands folder.
Read: How to Restore Google Chrome Tabs after Restart
3. Remove OneDrive from File Explorer
I don’t use OneDrive because I’m more dependent on Google Drive. I also disabled the launch of the application. Now, the easiest way to do this is to uninstall OneDrive, but just in case you want to keep it for future use, you can hide it in File Explorer. First go to this URL HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT CLSID {018D5C66-4533- 4307 -9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}
Double click the key “System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree” and change the value to 0. We have to do it again for 64-bit Windows. Go to the following URL. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT Wow6432Node CLSID {018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}
Then double click “System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree” and change the value to 0. When finished, reboot the system, and you’re done. You won’t find the OneDrive folder in Windows Explorer. But wait, you have even more menus in Windows Explorer that you rarely use, such as 3D objects, videos, photos, etc. For example, let’s take a look at 3D objects. I have never used this and would prefer to remove it from Windows Explorer.
To do this again h navigate to the following registry URL. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion Explorer MyComputer NameSpace
And delete the key “{0DB7E03F-FC29-4DC6-9020-FF41B59E513A}”. Like OneDrive, you must do this for 64-bit Windows too. So, navigate to the following registry URL. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Wow6432Node Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion Explorer MyComputer NameSpace
Then delete the key “{0DB7E03F-FC29-4DC6-9020-FF41B59E513A}”. Publish a relaunch, no more 3D objects.
4. Remove Bing from the Start menu
Now, web search results in the Start menu are something that nobody asked for. This often conflicts with local file lookups. This is what a start menu search looks like with and without Internet search results.
So, if you feel as annoyed as I do, Microsoft does not offer an easy way to disable web searches. The only way to do this is to use the Registry Editor again. Open Registry Editor and h navigate to the following URL. Computer HKEY_CURRENT_USER SOFTWARE Policies Microsoft Windows
Then right-click Windows and choose New Key. Rename the folder to “Explorer”. In the Explorer folder, right-click an empty space and select New DWORD (32-bit) Value. Rename the key to “DisableSearchBoxSuggestions” and change the value to 1.
If you are going to be guided by the Windows settings on the Internet after reboot, just select “Skip now” and you should be okay.
By the way, if you like web results on the Start menu, you use them a lot and want to go to Google instead of Bing, you can use Chrometana Pro. expansion. Set this to your default browser and it will redirect all your Bing searches to Google.
5. Inactivate the aerosol
Now you might know about the AeroShake gesture. If you don’t, it allows you to minimize or maximize another open window if you hold and shake a specific application window. This is useful when you have multiple windows open in a specific case. But, I have never used this gesture before and prefer to swipe with three fingers.
If you want to get rid of this gesture, go to the following URL in the Registry Editor. HKEY_CURRENT_USER Software Policies Microsoft Windows Explorer
If you don’t find the folder in Explorer, create it in Windows. Then in the explorer window create a new Dword key “ NoWindowMinimizingShortcuts” and set this time to 1. Publish this, r fire up your system and you should be fine.
6. Screen lock ditch
I’ve never liked the blurry lock screen. Neither Windows 10 nor Ubuntu 20.04. An additional swipe up or button press is required before entering the password. Now, to disable it, navigate to the following registry URL. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Policies Microsoft Windows Personalization
If you don’t find the Personalization folder, create it and create a new DWORD key – “NoLockScreen”. Since we want this key to be effective, change the value from 0 to 1. After that h is the win + l key and you must have a password. screen instantly. Try it and you will see how comfortable it is without the lock screen.
7. Go back to “Open with Command Prompt”
I don’t use Powershell much now, because I don’t work with Powershell scripts and cmdlets. That being said, it’s a powerful tool, but I was pretty pissed off when Microsoft started distributing PowerShell everywhere. For example, if you are using ADB and want to open the command line here. Previously, you would press Shift + Right Click and you would have the option “Open Command Window Here”. But now Powershell has replaced it and you will have to manually copy the link to Powershell.
The old school method can be reverted, but the process is slightly different. First navigate to the following registry URL HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT Directory Background shell cmd
Then right-click the cmd folder and select permissions.
In the folder with permissions, click Advanced. Then click the “Change” button next to the owner option. In the owner window, we need to assign a custom username as the owner of the command line object.
If you don’t know your username, run “whoami” on the command line.
After that, make sure the “Replace owner and subcontainer on objects” checkbox is selected and click Apply. Then on the Permissions menu, click Admin and make sure he has full control.
Then, in the “cmd” folder, rename the HideByVelocityID key to ShowByVelocityID. Once you’re done, right-click to make sure you also have a “command window open”.
8. Better copy options
Finally, let’s finish with my favorite. If you do a lot of copy and paste, you get a terrible popup asking you to take action on missing or similar objects. If you don’t check the box next to “Do this for similar items”, Windows will fucking ask you for every file.
To avoid this issue, go to Registry Editor and paste this URL. HKEY_CURRENT_USER Software Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion Explorer OperationStatusManager
Now we need to create a DWORD named “ ConfirmationCheckBoxDoForAll” and set the value to 1. Post this, you will have the default checkbox checked. I t helps me a lot because I copy and paste a lot of files from the NAS.
This trick works in the old copy and paste dialog, not the new one. This is because Windows has an anomaly in the copy and paste dialog in the operating system. Thank you Microsoft!
Closing words
Ok, now I missed a few other registry tricks because not all of them are useful. How do I go back to my old Windows photo viewer because most of us are already using another photo viewer and I use Quick View which also helps me view PSD files.
So, if you use any such registry hacks, let us know and everyone else in the comments below. Also let me know about the one Windows feature that worries you the most.
Also Read: How to Get Windows 10X File Explorer on Windows 10