8 things to tweak on a new Windows 11 installation

Windows 11 comes with many new features and changes, and there will continue to be other innovations until the end of support. If you're new to Windows 11, it can be a bit of a hassle to set up everything important in one go.

While everyone has different PC desires, there are some specific settings in Windows 11 that you should tweak regardless of your use case. Today's article will compile a list of settings you should change on Windows 11 before using your PC.

1. Enable Clipboard History for efficient content scrolling

The copy and paste functionality is useful to everyone because it helps you move your content from one location to another. Windows 11 offers an advanced copy-paste tool that will save you a lot of time, but unfortunately, it's not enabled by default.

If you're new to Windows 11 or have never heard of this tool, activating it from the Settings app is easy.

Here are the steps to enable Clipboard History:

1. Open the Settings app by pressing Win + I on your keyboard.

2. In System , scroll down until you find the Clipboard option. Click it.

3. Turn on the Clipboard History toggle.

You can now press Win + V on your keyboard to bring up the Clipboard history and select the desired item from all the text strings or pictures you copied earlier. And like previous versions, the Windows 11 Clipboard will forget everything you copied when you turn off the device.

2. Set up Nearby Sharing

If you have multiple PCs running Windows 11 or 10, Nearby Sharing makes it easier to transfer content from one PC to another over WiFi or Bluetooth. However, as the name suggests, it works between Windows computers that are close to each other.

3. A cleaner desktop experience

All your important files and folders will be at your fingertips. By creating shortcuts to apps or folders on your desktop, you can access everything that's important to you in the fastest way possible. However, the number of these shortcuts should not be so much that the desktop starts to look cluttered.

From time to time, you should review what is important to you to prioritize what to keep on the desktop. If you just bought a PC running Windows 11, you'll see desktop icons like the Recycle Bin. You can quickly hide desktop icons from your Windows desktop with just a few clicks. You can also remove shortcuts to any file or folder from the desktop by right-clicking on them and then selecting the trash can icon in the bottom-right corner of the context menu.

4. Enable Storage Sense for better memory management

Storage Sense gives you a smart way to free up your disk space. When enabled, this feature will automatically delete items you no longer need, such as temporary files and items in the Recycle Bin. In addition, Storage Sense allows you to choose how often to run and what to clean. You can also manage locally available cloud content associated with your Microsoft OneDrive account.

It's important to note that all the changes you're making to Storage Sense only apply to you. It won't affect anyone else using the same PC with another account.

5. Turn on Find My Device to track PC

If you're not using the Windows 11 desktop, you should enable Find My Device from the Settings app. If your Windows 11 laptop or tablet is lost or stolen, Find My Device can help you find your device's location. For the setting to work, see how to configure location services on Windows and enable them.

6. Tweak Night light settings for better sleep

One of the reasons why you can't sleep at night could be because you're using your PC too late. More specifically, the blue light emitted by screens is what makes it difficult to fall asleep. If you cannot avoid using your PC at night, the Night light setting in Windows 11 can reduce the amount of blue light exposure to your eyes, thereby helping you sleep better at night. To find and enable it, follow the steps below:

1. Open the Settings app .

2. Navigate to System > Display > Night light .

3. Click Turn on now , right next to Show warmer colors on your display to help you sleep .

You can also set the time range in which Windows 11 will turn on Night light. You can do that by clicking the Schedule Night light toggle switch .

7. Set up Active hours

If you've used Windows 10 before, you're probably familiar with Active hours. This feature is intended to give you more control over Windows updates.

When you set up Active hours, you tell your PC when to restart your device after installing an update. There are two ways you can set it up. You can let Windows learn from your device's activity to automatically adjust Active hours, or let you choose the time range yourself.

Windows 11 understands your daily activity and automatically chooses the time when you don't normally use your PC. You can choose the time manually if your daily usage does not follow a particular pattern. You need to adjust this setting to make sure that Windows updates don't get in the way of whatever you're doing in your work schedule.

8. Turn on Dark Mode to reduce eye strain

Dark Mode is also an important display setting for the user interface in Windows 11. When enabled, it reduces the light emitted by your PC to help reduce eye strain from long staring at the screen. You should also enable it to reduce power consumption on your device. Also, it will affect the real-world battery life of your Windows 11 laptop or tablet. Here's how you can enable Dark Mode on your Windows 11 PC.

However, unlike macOS, Dark Mode in Windows 11 is not available everywhere in the operating system. On the plus side, the level of inconsistency of Dark Mode in Windows 11 is something you don't need to worry too much about, as this mode applies to most areas when activated.

Marvin Fry

Update 27 June 2023