Created
June 14, 2025 19:51
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PowerShell script to remove "Recommended" section from start menu on my Windows 11.
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# PowerShell Script to Remove "Recommended" Section from Windows 11 Start Menu | |
# This script modifies the registry to disable the recommended items in Start menu | |
# Check if running as Administrator (recommended but not required for HKCU changes) | |
$isAdmin = ([Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal] [Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).IsInRole([Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole]::Administrator) | |
if (-not $isAdmin) { | |
Write-Warning "Running without administrator privileges. This should still work for current user settings." | |
} | |
Write-Host "Disabling 'Recommended' section in Windows 11 Start Menu..." -ForegroundColor Green | |
try { | |
# Registry path for Start menu settings | |
$registryPath = "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" | |
# Check if the registry path exists, create if it doesn't | |
if (-not (Test-Path $registryPath)) { | |
Write-Host "Creating registry path..." -ForegroundColor Yellow | |
New-Item -Path $registryPath -Force | Out-Null | |
} | |
# Set the registry value to disable recommendations | |
# Start_IrisRecommendations = 0 disables the recommended section | |
Set-ItemProperty -Path $registryPath -Name "Start_IrisRecommendations" -Value 0 -Type DWORD | |
Write-Host "Registry setting applied successfully!" -ForegroundColor Green | |
# Also disable "Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer" | |
# This further reduces recommendations | |
Set-ItemProperty -Path $registryPath -Name "Start_TrackDocs" -Value 0 -Type DWORD | |
Write-Host "Additional privacy setting applied (disabled recent items tracking)." -ForegroundColor Green | |
# Check current values to confirm | |
$irisValue = Get-ItemProperty -Path $registryPath -Name "Start_IrisRecommendations" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | |
$trackValue = Get-ItemProperty -Path $registryPath -Name "Start_TrackDocs" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | |
Write-Host "`nCurrent Settings:" -ForegroundColor Cyan | |
Write-Host "Start_IrisRecommendations: $($irisValue.Start_IrisRecommendations)" -ForegroundColor White | |
Write-Host "Start_TrackDocs: $($trackValue.Start_TrackDocs)" -ForegroundColor White | |
Write-Host "`n" -NoNewline | |
Write-Host "SUCCESS: " -ForegroundColor Green -NoNewline | |
Write-Host "The 'Recommended' section has been disabled in the Start menu." | |
Write-Host "`nTo see the changes:" -ForegroundColor Yellow | |
Write-Host "1. Sign out and sign back in, OR" -ForegroundColor White | |
Write-Host "2. Restart Windows Explorer (restart your computer), OR" -ForegroundColor White | |
Write-Host "3. Run the following command to restart Explorer:" -ForegroundColor White | |
Write-Host " Stop-Process -Name explorer -Force" -ForegroundColor Gray | |
# Ask user if they want to restart Explorer now | |
$restart = Read-Host "`nWould you like to restart Windows Explorer now to apply changes? (y/n)" | |
if ($restart -eq 'y' -or $restart -eq 'Y' -or $restart -eq 'yes') { | |
Write-Host "Restarting Windows Explorer..." -ForegroundColor Yellow | |
Stop-Process -Name explorer -Force | |
Write-Host "Windows Explorer restarted. Changes should now be visible." -ForegroundColor Green | |
} | |
} catch { | |
Write-Error "An error occurred while modifying the registry: $($_.Exception.Message)" | |
Write-Host "Please ensure you have the necessary permissions to modify the registry." -ForegroundColor Red | |
} | |
Write-Host "`nScript completed." -ForegroundColor Cyan |
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