Useful Windows 10 Registry Hacks to Optimize Your Windows 10 Experience

By Robert Zak – Posted on Aug 18, 2019 in Windows

windows-registry-hacks-featured

Windows Registry holds all the tweaks to customize your Windows experience and deal
with little nuisances that Microsoft wrongly assumes every user will love. From
changing Windows’ design to unlocking hidden features, there are tweaks for
everything. To help you improve your Windows 10 experience, here are a bunch of
Windows 10 registry hacks worth trying.

Warning: Messing with the registry could corrupt your Windows. It is recommended
that you follow the instructions precisely and don’t mess around if you don’t know
what you are doing. Just to be safe, create a backup of your registry before making
any changes.

Related: Common Windows Registry Errors and How to Fix Them

Accessing the Windows Registry

As all the tweaks require a trip to the Windows Registry, it is important to know
how to access the Registry. Press the Win + R keys and type regedit in the “Run”
dialog that opens. Click “OK” and the Windows Registry will open.
1. Turn Off Lockscreen

Best Windows Registry Hacks Nolockscreen

The lock screen is a nice added layer of security on your Windows PC, requiring a
password or PIN for you to log back in. If you feel secure in the security of your
PC, then you can turn the lock screen off altogether.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\

Once you’re here, right-click ‘Windows’ in the left-hand pane, select “New -> Key”
and name the new key “Personalization”.

Select Personalization, then in the right-hand pane right-click an empty space and
select “New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value”. Name the value “NoLockScreen”, change the
“Value data” to “1” and click OK.
2. Show Detailed Information on Startup

If your PC is experiencing slowdowns or inexplicable crashes, then you should make

it your priority to diagnose what’s causing those problems. One possible way to do
this is to set Windows 10 startup to “Verbose Mode”, which will give you a much
more detailed breakdown of the processes happening on your PC as you boot.

To activate this, go to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\S
ystem

Next, right-click an empty space in the right-hand pane, then select “New -> DWORD
(32-bit) Value”.

Windows Registry Hacks Verbosestatus

Name the value “VerboseStatus”, right-click it then select Modify, and in the
“Value data” box enter 1.
3. Open Last Active Window in Taskbar

The way Windows 10 organizes open apps, it bunches all open windows of a given app
under the same taskbar icon, which you then click to bring up thumbnails of all the
open windows contained therein.

This is reasonably useful, but you may well prefer it if clicking the taskbar icon
took you straight to the last window you had open within the app – cutting out the
thumbnail faff.

To do this, go to the Registry Editor and navigate to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current\Version\Explorer\Advanced

Here, right-click an empty space in the right-hand pane, select “New -> DWORD (32-
bit) Value”, then name it “LastActiveClick”. Right-click your newly created
registry entry, and change the “Value data” to “1”.

windows-10-registry-hacks-last-active-window
4. Disable Shake to Minimize

The “Aero Shake” is a feature introduced in Windows 7 that lets you minimize
windows by grabbing onto the one you want to keep open and “shaking” it. You may
not have realized you even had this feature, but now that you know, you might not
want it. To remove it:

Go to regedit and navigate to:

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current\Version\Explorer\Adva
nced

Here, right-click an empty space in the right-side pane, select “New -> DWORD (32-
bit),” then call it “DisallowShaking.”

windows-10-registry-edits-hacks

Double-click the newly created entry, then change the number in the “Value” box to
“1” and click OK. No more shakes!
5. Add Your Own Apps to the Context Menu

The context menu is a fine thing, but to really take control of it, you can create
registry keys to add specific apps to it. We’ll use Notepad as an example.

1. Navigate to:

Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell

2. Under the “shell” folder right-click and create a new key called “Notepad,” then
within that create a key called “command.” In the “command” key folder right-click
the “Default” string, then in the Value box type “notepad.exe.”

best-registry-hacks-windows-10-context-menu

That’s it. Now close the Registry Editor, right-click on your desktop, and you
should see Notepad appear right there in the context menu.
6. Change Windows Apps and Settings to “Dark Mode”

The debate about whether reading white writing on a dark background or dark writing
on a light background is healthier for you rages on, but if you’re in the first
camp, then you can use the registry to activate Dark Mode across Windows. In the
registry editor go to:
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current\Version\Themes\Person
alize

(To speed up the process you can copy-paste the registry directories from this
article straight into the bar at the top of the Registry Editor window.)

windows-10-registry-hacks-tweaks-dark-theme

Right-click an empty space in the right-side pane, select “New -> DWORD,” and call
it “AppsUseLightTheme.” Once you’ve created it, you don’t need to change the value.
Just reboot your PC, and you’ll have the dark theme enabled.

windows-10-registry-hacks-tweaks-dark-theme-settings
7. Remove the Windows 10 Action Center Sidebar

Windows 10 Action Center Sidebar offers handy quick access buttons and
notifications. However, if you find these buttons to be unnecessary and are not
comfortable with the sidebar taking up half the screen when you open it, you can
simply disable it. In the registry editor go to:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current\Version\ImmersiveShe
ll

Double-click on “UseActionCenterExperience” in the right panel, and then change its

value to “0.” After, restart the PC, and you will see that the Action Center
Sidebar will be gone, and the notification panel will be much cleaner and smaller
in size.

Windows-10-Registry-Hacks-Disable-Action-Center

Windows-10-Registry-Hacks-Action-Center-Disabled
8. Remove the OneDrive Button from the File Explorer

If you don’t use OneDrive or shifted to another cloud storage service after
Microsoft decided to downgrade its storage packages, then there is no point of its
icon hanging around in the File Explorer. The following image shows how to get rid
of it. In the registry editor go to:

Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}

Windows-10-Registry-Hacks-Find

Windows-10-Registry-Hacks-Find-the-option

Double-click on “System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree” in the right panel and change its

value to “0.” This will immediately remove the OneDrive icon. If not, restart the
PC. Additionally, you can also completely uninstall OneDrive or move OneDrive to
another local drive if it is taking up space.

Windows-10-Registry-Hacks-Remove-OneDrive-icon
9. Automatically Delete Pagefile.sys at Shutdown

Pagefile.sys acts as a virtual RAM which Windows uses as RAM to store programs that
are not in use, thus putting less pressure on the actual RAM. Although it is not
recommended to disable it, you can delete it to save space and also avoid any
vulnerabilities. The page file size is mostly near the size of your actual RAM, so
it can take up a lot of space depending on your RAM. When it is set to delete with
shutdown, you will save space but at the expense of prolonging shutdown time. In
the registry editor go to:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Current\ControlSet\Control\Session
Manager\Memory Management

Click on “Memory Management,” and then double-click on “ClearPageFileAtShutDown” in

the panel on the right. Set its value to “1,” and restart the PC. Every time you
shut down your PC, the pagefile will be deleted. Don’t worry – it will be created
again when needed.

Windows-10-Registry-Hacks-Delete-Pagefile-at-shutdown
10. Adjust Menu Animations

You can also adjust menu animations to make them look snappier. If you have a
slower PC, then faster animations should make it easier to navigate. I have written
a detailed article on how to adjust and disable menu animations; you can refer to
it to learn how to pull off that registry tweak.
11. Disable Windows Startup Delay

Windows puts a tiny delay on startup to help apps starting up with Windows go
through the process smoothly and so that you can start with a smooth desktop
without lags. However, if you don’t have many startup apps – for instance, if you
have disabled startup apps – then this delay could be unnecessary. You can disable
this delay to speed up the Windows startup. In the registry editor go to:

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current\Version\Explorer

Right-click on “Explorer,” and then select “Key” from the “New” option. Once the
new key is created, rename it “Serialize.”

Windows-10-Registry-Hacks-Key

Windows-10-Registry-Hacks-Serialize

If the “Serialize” key is already created under the “Explorer” key, then there is
no need to go through the above process. After that right-click on “Serialize” and
select “DWORD Value” from the “New” option. The DWORD Value key will be created in
the panel on the right. Rename this key to “StartupDelayInMSec,” and make sure its
value is set to “0.” Now you should notice a tiny boost in Windows startup time.

Windows-10-Registry-Hacks-DWORD-Value

Windows-10-Registry-Hacks-Rename
Conclusion

Registry tweaks aren’t the only way to turbo-charge your Windows 10 experience. We
also have a list of many other Windows 10 tweaks for you to check out. Say what you
will about Windows – its tweakability runs deep. If you have any other neat
registry tricks or Windows hacks, do share them in the comments.
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