Hidden Windows settings you should change

Windows has settings that aren't in Settings. Five registry edits worth making, and the export habit that keeps them safe. #windows #TechTips #itpro #troubleshooting #registry Windows has settings that aren't in Settings. They aren't in Settings and they need to be changed. They live in the registry, and there are exactly five in there that you should change. These are the ones I actually deploy on machines that I manage. And the first one alone changes how you troubleshoot a PC when it's stuck. Everything on those 50 registry hacks lists is either placebo or just good way to break your computer. These genuinely useful things. First things first though, before you change anything in regedit, click the key that you're in, hit File, then Export. That's your undo button. Every single time. Number one, Verbose Status messages. You know how Windows likes to show you "Getting Windows ready" or "Installing updates" or "Please wait"? And that makes it hard to know exactly what it's working on. When a machine boots down, instead of seeing "Please wait," it tells you exactly what it's working on. For example, HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System, create a DWORD called VerboseStatus and set it to one. Now, when a machine boots down, instead of seeing "Please wait," it tells you exactly what it's working on. Next hangs on "Getting Windows ready" for 20 minutes, you can actually see the exact step that it's stuck on. Number two, Long Paths. Windows has been refusing paths longer than 260 characters since the 1990s, and a big copy job dies at 90% when somebody has nested levels 15 deep. This. To fix this, go to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem and set LongPathsEnabled to one. Flip this and the tools that support long paths like Robocopy and PowerShell stop dying at 90%. Problem. Number three, Get the web jump start out of my start menu. I hate that. Give me a simple start menu, please. HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Explorer, create a DWORD called DisableSearchBoxSuggestions and set it to one. You menu apps and files instead of being obnoxious. Number four, Real right-click menu. Please give me back a normal click menu. I don't want to have to click "Show more options" to do something basic. This gives you your legacy right-click menu options back on Windows now. Pause it, grab it, and then restart Windows Explorer. Number five, Menus Snap Open. Microsoft has tried to get fancy with this delayed visual on opening menus, and it's annoying. You can change that by going to HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop, MenuShowDelay = 200 (was 400). Not zero. Tooltips misbehave at zero. Set that to 200. Windows menu snaps open instead of in that that while out do a couple or just reboot your computer. Save all five. Video. These things are not the kind of thing anybody remembers on the spot. They're the kind of thing you pull back up whenever you need them. Also, be sure to follow if you like nerdy stuff.