Win11 - Removing Overhead Original Context Menu and More

VS-Code-Better-Defaults.md

VS Code Clean Configurations

By VS Code has some poor default configurations, lets undo some of those sins.

• Access Settings to begin: Ctrl + ,

Don't Restore Windows on Next Launch

Always start VS Code with a fresh slate. Don't restore previously opened tabs or projects.

Search Term	Setting
"Restore Windows"	Set to, None

Disable Hot Exit

Show a "Save file" prompt when exiting. Don't let the system assume I'll remember to edit the file next time I open it.

Search Term	Setting
"Hot Exit"	Set to, Off

Reuse Opened Tab for F12 - Go to Definition

When pressing F12 to "Go to Definition", don't open a "new tab", use the one that is already opened.

Search Term	Setting
"Reveal if Open"	Checked

Sample settings.json

{
  "search.exclude": {
    "**/cmake": true,
    "**/build": true,
    "**/Drivers": true,
    "**/Middlewares": true,
  },
  "extensions.ignoreRecommendations": true,
  "editor.detectIndentation": false,
  "editor.formatOnPaste": true,
  "editor.formatOnSave": true,
  "editor.formatOnSaveMode": "file",
  "editor.formatOnType": false,
  "editor.insertSpaces": true,
  "editor.tabSize": 2,
  "editor.rulers": [
    120
  ],
  "editor.snippets.codeActions.enabled": true,
  "editor.snippetSuggestions": "top",
  "files.insertFinalNewline": true,
  "files.trimTrailingWhitespace": true,
  "files.trimFinalNewlines": true,
  "workbench.editor.enablePreview": false,
}

Win11-CreateUser.md

Create local user account when installing Win11

Press Shift + F10 to open a Command Prompt

Execute: start ms-cxh:localonly

Windows-11-Revert-to-Classic.md

Removing Win 11 Overhead Garbage

• Start Menu - Disable Search Suggestions from the Web
• Context Menu
  • Orginal (expanded) Context Menu
  • Restoring Simplified Menu
• Recycle Bin - Remove "Pin to Quick Access"

Disable Search Suggestions from the Web

1. Open Registry Editor as admin
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows.
3. Right-click on the Windows key, select New, then Key, and name it Explorer.
4. Click on the new Explorer key. Right-click in the right pane, select New, then DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it DisableSearchBoxSuggestions.
5. Double-click DisableSearchBoxSuggestions and set the Value data to 1.
6. Click OK, close the Registry Editor
   • Kill, Explorer and relaunch it
   • Or, restart your computer

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer]
"DisableSearchBoxSuggestions"=dword:00000001

Win 11 Context Menu

Windows 11 simplified right-click context menu loads slower and you have to click, "Show more options". To normally bypass this, hold shift and right-click (or press Shift + F10) to access the full legacy menu.

The new "simplified" menu loads slower (noticable on corporate laptops) as MS slopped in JS for .. .. don't know why.

Orginal Context Menu

1. Run the following command in Command Prompt (Admin):

reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86CA1AA0-34AA-4E8B-A509-50C905BAE2A2}\InprocServer32" /f /ve

2. Restart Windows Explorer:

taskkill /F /IM explorer.exe & start explorer

Restoring Simplified Menu

NOTE: To restore the default context menu, delete {86CA1AA0-34AA-4E8B-A509-50C905BAE2A2} key from the Registry and restart Explorer.

reg delete "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}" /f

Recycle Bin - Remove 'Pin to Quick Access'

Before	After

|

1. Create a PinQuickAccess-RecycleBin.reg
2. Copy/paste one of the following
3. Run the file.

Remove from menu

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Folder\shell\pintohome]
"AppliesTo"="System.ParsingName:<>\"::{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\""

Restore menu

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Folder\shell\pintohome]