[Windows 11] indospot:
Welcome to the official Windows FAQ thread! Here you can find all kinds of information about the Windows operating system, including terms you may now know the meaning of and answers to common questions. We also have some tips for you if you're using it for the first time or if you haven't used it in a while.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)​

Let's start by answering a few questions about Windows that you may be wondering about.

What's the latest version of Windows?​

The last major Windows release is technically Windows 10. Microsoft positioned Windows 10 as the last major version of Windows, and instead of releasing a new version every three years, Microsoft now releases feature updates to the operating system. These updates can include new features, design changes, and a lot more, but now we have to look at versions in a different way. Each update is available for free if you already have Windows 10, so you don't need to pay for an upgrade again.

The latest version of Windows 10 is 21H1, which was released in May 2021. Most Windows 10 PCs should be able to upgrade to the latest version.

What are cumulative updates? And feature updates?​

Cumulative updates are a type of Windows update that's rolled out on a monthly basis during what's called Patch Tuesday (the second Tuesday of each month). These updates mostly focus on improving stability and security, though some small new features and changes can be added sometimes. Because of their security and stability benefits, these updates are usually mandatory, but you can postpone them for a while.

Feature updates, as the name implies, usually focus on adding or changing Windows features. These are only released twice a year, and you don't need to install them right away. Feature updates are optional unless your current Windows 10 version is nearing the end of support. That's because without the newer feature update, you would also stop receiving security (cumulative) updates at that point.

Is Windows 10 really the last version of Windows?​

Microsoft positioned Windows 10 as the last major version of Windows, with it getting feature updates about twice a year. However, after six years, the company seems to be preparing to launch Windows 11. It's currently unclear how upgrades to the new version will be handled, but we'll update this post as soon as we have answers.

Can I still upgrade from Windows 7 and 8.1 to Windows 10 for free?​

Yes, if your PC is compatible. Microsoft initially said you'd be able to upgrade for free within the first year of the release of Windows 10. However, while the upgrade was removed from Windows Update, you can still do it manually. You can download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool from this page to begin the upgrade, and if you have an active license of Windows 7/8.1, it will activate Windows 10 as well. However, the update may be blocked if some compatibility issue is found.

Wait, is Windows 10 free?​

No. Upgrading from Windows 7 and 8.1 to Windows 10 is free because Microsoft recognizes your existing license and approves it for Windows 10. If you don't have a valid Windows 7 or 8.1 license, you'll need to pay for Windows 10. New Windows computers will come with Windows 10 pre-installed, so the price of the license is already included. If you want to buy a license, Windows 10 Home costs $139.99, Pro costs $199.99, and Pro for Workstations costs $309.

Where do I download Windows 10?​

You can download Windows 10 using the Media Creation Tool or the Update Assistant on this page. The Update Assistant is designed to update your current system, so you won't be able to create installation media for Windows 10 this way. The Media Creation Tool lets you create installation media, either as an ISO file or by creating a bootable USB drive. Keep in mind you'll need a valid Windows 10 license to use it.

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What editions of Windows 10 are there?​

For most general consumers, there are two editions you're likely to see: Home and Pro. Home includes most features general consumers need, but Pro adds support for some advanced features like Remote Desktop, Hyper-V, and BitLocker. A newer edition is Windows 10 Pro for Workstation, which is built for high-end workstation PCs. It adds support for Intel Xeon and AMD Epyc processors, up to 6TB of RAM, and more.

For organizations, there are a few more editions you might find. Windows 10 Enterprise and Education are two of them. They offer the same features as Windows 10 Pro but with some expanded functionality to help with managing organizational devices. Enterprise has some exclusive features like Windows Update for Business. There's also Windows 10 Pro Education, which is more limited than the regular Education edition. Finally. Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC offers long-term support for organizations, with security updates being available for up to 10 years.

There are also Windows 10 editions for specific kinds of devices. Windows Holographic is the operating system that runs on the HoloLens AR headset; and Windows 10 Team powers the Surface Hub family of devices. For smaller embedded devices, there's also Windows 10 IoT.

What's the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit Windows?​

32-bit and 64-bit refer to how a computer's processor, the CPU, handles instructions. 64-bit Windows is more modern, and that's what you'll find in most PCs nowadays. It can take full advantage of PCs with more than 4GB of RAM, which many machines now have. 32-bit systems used to be more prominent, but most modern PCs work better with 64-bit versions. In fact, Microsoft is no longer selling 32-bit versions of Windows to PC manufacturers. You can still download it yourself if you have an older 32-bit system, though.

Is Windows 7 or 8.1 still supported?​

Windows 7 reached end of support in January 2020 for most users, meaning you won't be able to get any security updates for your PC. If you're in an organization, you may have opted to pay for extended security updates, which can last up to three years. Windows 8.1 is still supported, though only with extended support. That means all the updates released for Windows 8.1 now are focused on security and won't change the overall functionality of the system.

What's new in Windows 10?​

The initial release of Windows 10 included numerous changes from previous releases, including a new Start menu, a new design language, and a new browser called Microsoft Edge. Windows 10 has also received numerous feature updates since its initial release in 2015. These have brought changes to the overall look of the OS, added new features, and removed some others. Microsoft has a comprehensive guide on everything that's been added to Windows 10 with each feature update.

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What features have been removed in Windows 10?​

While there's a lot that's new, Windows 10 also removed a few features compared to previous versions. For instance, you won't be able to use Windows Media Center even if you had it on Windows 7 or 8.1. Windows 10 also doesn't have a built-in DVD player, meaning you can't play DVDs out of the box. A program like VLC can fix that for free. though. There's a running list of deprecated features in each version of Windows 10 on Microsoft's website, which might be useful if you're looking for a specific feature.

Can I run Windows 10 on a Mac or Chromebook?​

It depends on what kind of device you have. With Intel-based Macs, you can use Boot Camp to install Windows 10 and use it alongside macOS. However, Apple Silicon Macs can't run regular versions of Windows 10, and Microsoft doesn't let you download a version that's compatible with Apple Silicon unless you're in the Insider program. If you really need it, software like Parallels Desktop may be your best solution. This is also the best option if you're using a Chromebook and want to run Windows.

What's the Windows Insider Program?​

The Windows Insider Program is Microsoft's program for early testers and enthusiasts. Windows Insiders get new updates multiple times a month and test new features many months before regular users. The builds released for Windows Insiders are in active development, so there are stability and performance risks associated with it.

We don't recommend enrolling in the Windows Insider Program unless you have a solid knowledge of how to get back to a functioning state. However, registering on the Windows Insider Program doesn't mean you'll automatically get Insider updates on all your computers. Each computer needs to be enrolled individually through the Settings app.

Tips, and how to fix common problems​

As with any software, all kinds of issues might pop up when using Windows 10. Here are few solutions to problems you may have, and some suggestions to get things in working order.

Free up space in Windows 10​

If you download a ton of files and have a smaller hard drive or SSD, you may find yourself running out of space for new files and apps. This can also cause issues with installing some updates. Aside from deleting files you don't need anymore, you can also clear temporary files stored by Windows. Here's how:

Open the Settings app;

Click System, followed by Storage on the side menu. You'll see a breakdown of what's taking up space on your computer;

Click Temporary files. Windows will calculate the space being taken by different types of files.

Select the categories you want to clean. Keep in mind that the Downloads folder also shows up here. Selecting the Downloads folder will delete all the files you have downloaded on your PC, so be careful. You can manage your downloaded files using File Explorer instead. The remaining categories should be safe to delete.

Click Remove files near the top. All the selected categories will be cleared and free up additional storage space.

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Set up a metered connection so you don't use too much data​

Some networks still impose limits on how much internet data you can use, and Windows 10 can sometimes use a lot of data in the background to perform updates. If you have a limited connection and you're worried about extra fees, you can set up a Wi-Fi network as a metered connection. This will limit background data usage for that connection, so you only use the data you want to.

Open the Settings app;

Click Network & Internet. You'll see details for your current connection;

If the network you want to configure is the one you're currently using, click Properties under its name and skip to step 6

Click Wi-Fi on the left side menu;

Select Manage known networks;

Find the network you want to set up as metered, click it, and choose Properties;

Scroll down to the Metered connection section and enable the Set as metered connection toggle.

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If your PC has a SIM card reader and built-in cellular data, those networks should automatically be set to metered. If you have unlimited data and want to fully use it, you can follow the same steps to disable the metered connection setting.

Manage your notifications​

Windows 10 introduced the Action Center, which is a centralized hub for all your notifications. When you get a notification, it will often pop up near the bottom right, but if you get a lot of them, it can get annoying. If you want to declutter your Action Center, here's what to do:

Click the Action Center icon in the bottom right corner of your screen (or press the Windows key + A at the same time);

Choose Manage notifications in the top right corner

If you never want to get any notifications, disable the Get notifications from apps and other senders toggle;

If you only want to disable notifications from specific apps, scroll down and disable the toggle for each app;

You may also want to un-check some of the checkboxes for tips and suggestions from Windows itself.

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If you do like the notifications but need to focus for a while, you can use Focus Assist. This will temporarily disable notifications from most apps. Here's how:

Follow steps 1 and 2 above, then click Focus Assist on the left side menu;

Choose either Priority only if you want to get notifications from specific apps, or Alarms only to only get alarms;

You can click Customize your priority list to set up which apps send notifications in Priority only mode;

There are also a few automatic rules for Focus assist, which you can enable or disable below this;

You can quickly switch between Focus assist modes from the Action Center. You may need to click Expand to see the Focus Assist quick action.

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Pause or schedule updates​

Windows 10 installs many updates automatically, and sometimes it can happen at the worst of times. If you can't afford to be interrupted for a while, there's an option to pause updates for up to 35 days. Here's how:

Open the Settings app;

Click Update & Security;

Choose Advanced options;

Under the Pause Updates section, select the date until which you want updates to be paused.

Keep in mind that you can't do this indefinitely. After your pause period ends, you need to install updates before you're able to pause again.

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If you have a specific update that's asking to restart to finish installing, you can schedule the restart for a more convenient time, too. Follow steps 1 and 2 above, or click the Windows Update icon on your taskbar, and choose Schedule a restart. You can choose a time and day within the next week for the update to be installed.

Choose your look​

Windows has always offered a few customization options, and Windows 10 is no exception. You can change between a light or dark theme, choose any accent color you want, and a lot more. The quickest way to access your customization options is to right-click your desktop background and choose Personalize. This will open the Settings app, and you can do a lot from here.

Change your desktop background

Changing your desktop background is pretty easy. You can choose between a single picture, a slideshow, or a solid color. Windows includes a few default wallpapers, but you can download any image you want and choose it as the desktop background. Additionally, you can choose the Lock screen section on the left side menu to also change the background image for your lock screen. Your ock screen has an additional option called Windows Spotlight, which gives you a new image every day, curated by Microsoft.

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Change your primary and accent colors

If you click the Colors section in the left side menu, you get a ton of options for how you want Windows 10 to look. First, you can choose your main color, which is essentially an overall theme. You can choose Light, Dark, or Custom. The Custom option lets you choose separate colors for Windows (including elements like the taskbar, Start menu, and action center) and for apps, which will affect every app that supports Windows 10 themes.

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You can also choose your accent color. This will show up in certain bits of text, toggles, and buttons throughout Windows and some apps. A few default colors are offered, but you can fully customize it using a color picker, HEX codes, or RGB values. You can also have Windows choose a color from your desktop background. You can also customize where you want your accent color to appear. It can be set to show up on the Start menu, taskbar, and action center (which is all in one setting), or on the title bars for apps.

Themes

Another option you may want to check out here is the Themes section on the left side menu. Themes will set your desktop background, colors, and even some system sounds all in one go. Windows 10 comes with a few, but you can find more of them in the Microsoft Store.

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Turn off the search bar, Task View button, and "News and interests"​

When you first set up the computer, you may notice a few things on your taskbar that you might not need. These include the Task View button, the search bar, and the weather widget, which is a link to "News and interests" feature. These can all be easily disabled, and here's how.

For the Task View button, simply right-click an empty area of the taskbar and uncheck the Show Task View button option. You can still enter Task View by pressing the Windows key + Tab on your keyboard at the same time.

For the search box, right-click an empty area of the taskbar and move your mouse over the Search option. A drop-down menu will show up, and you can choose to turn the bar into a search button or remove it completely. And don't worry, you can still search your system if you remove the button. Open the Start menu and type anything on your keyboard, and the search window will show up right away.

Finally, for the more recent News and Interests, you can right-click an empty area of the taskbar and move your mouse cursor over the News and interests option. You can set it to only show a weather icon or nothing at all, and you can also change settings like whether the window should open when you hover over the icon, or only when you click it.

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My PC is slow, what can I do?​

The speed of your computer will largely depend on the computer hardware, so some slowness can be expected on cheaper and older PCs. However, if your PC used to work well and you're noticing that's not quite what it used to be, there are a few things you can try. First, you can follow the steps above for freeing up space in Windows 10. Having your storage capacity filled up can affect performance, so it's a good idea to clean out temporary files every now and then.

Check your startup apps

Another thing you might try is checking up on your startup apps. As you use the computer, you may end up installing a ton of programs that you don't always need to be running. Some of them may try to start with Windows, so they're pretty much always using up resources when the computer is on. Here's what you can do:

Right-click an empty area of the taskbar, and then choose Task Manager

Click More details at the bottom of the window (unless it's already enabled)

Near the top of the window, switch to the Startup tab. Look for any tasks you may not need running all the time, and click the ones you want to disable. Then click the Disable button in the lower right corner of the window

If you notice something stopped working as usual when you disable an app, you can always go back and enable it again

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Uninstall apps you don't need

While some apps may just not make sense to runwhen Windows starts, others might just not make sense to have at all. If you notice you have an app that you don't need, you can try to uninstall it. However, always make sure that the app in question isn't necessary for something you do regularly. It might be a good idea to look up the app on the internet if you're not sure.

If you know you don't need an app, you can uninstall it easily from the Start menu. Right-click the app you want to remove and then choose Uninstall. If the app is a "modern" Windows 10 app, it will be removed right away. If it's an older desktop app, a new window will open with a list of apps. Find your app again, click it, and then click Uninstall at the top of the list.

Run a virus scan

Sometimes computers may get slower due to malware (viruses) that get installed on them by accident. Windows includes some security features with Windows Defender, but if you think something may have happened, you can run a full virus scan to make sure noting is wrong. To do this:

Open the Start menu and scroll down until you see Windows Security. Open the app

Open the Virus and threat protection section on the left side menu

From here, you can run a quick scan, which Windows does periodically by itself. If you want to run a full scan, click Scan options;

Check the Full scan option and then click Scan now. This option may take over an hour

You can also run a Microsoft Defender Offline scan. This will restart your computer, but it may remove some more difficult malware.

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If after all that you're still unsure, you can also try a specialized anti-malware program, like MalwareBytes.

Bluetooth audio has low quality on Windows 10 or my mic isn't working​

Bluetooth devices on Windows 10 can be quite complicated to work with. When you connect a Bluetooth headset, Windows actually recognizes two different audio outputs: one is your regular Bluetooth audio and one is a "Hands-Free AG Audio" version. This is because Windows 10 can't handle higher-quality Bluetooth audio output while also accepting input from a Bluetooth microphone. Because of that, it uses higher quality audio when you're not using the microphone, but switches to lower quality audio output (the Hands-Free AG version) during calls and meetings, so you can use the microphone on your Bluetooth headset.

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When you receive a call while listening to music or watching a video, that can cause some trouble with the way audio outputs work for different apps. You may end up with someone coming through your PC's built-in speakers, or some things might be muted altogether. When this happens, you may need to disconnect and reconnect your Bluetooth headset to get back to normal. Another option is disabling the higher-quality audio output (not the Hands-Free AG version). That will give you worse quality audio, but at least you won't have issues when switching from calls to video or music apps. Thankfully, Microsoft is working on improving the Bluetooth audio experience in Windows, so this might not be a problem for much longer.

Some apps have higher volume than others​

If you've found that some apps tend to be a lot louder than other apps on your computer, you can use the Volume mixer to adjust the volume for each app, instead of having every app on the same level. Right-click the speaker icon in the bottom right area of your taskbar and choose Volume mixer. You'll see a list of all the running apps and you can adjust the volume for each one.

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Another thing that you might notice is that when you take a call on a service like Skype or Zoom, other apps become more quiet. This is so you can hear the call better, but you can also customize it. Here's how:

Right-click the speaker icon in the bottom right of your screen, then choose Sounds;

In the window that appears, switch to the Communications tab;

By default, Windows will be set to reduce other sounds by 80% during calls. You can change that to 50%, disable it entirely, or choose to completely mute all other sounds.

My printer or other device isn't working​

If you've plugged in a new device and it's not working properly, or if one of the computer's components isn't working as intended, it may be due to outdated or incompatible drivers. You can update your device drivers in a few ways. Usually, your PC manufacturer will provide the best drivers for your device, so you may want to check there first. However, you can try a couple of other ways.

Windows Update

Much like other types of updates, drivers are very often delivered through Windows Update. You can check for updates using the following steps:

Open the Settings app

Choose the Update & Security option

Click Check for updates

Restart the computer to finish installing updates if required

If your issue isn't solved, go back to Windows Update and click Show optional updates. Many driver updates are hidden here.

Choose any updates that seem appropriate and install them

Device Manager

Another way to install driver updates is using the Device Manager. Here's how:

Right-click the Start menu icon (Windows logo);

Choose Device Manager. You'll see a list of devices in different categories;

Find the device that's causing you trouble, right-click it, and choose Update driver.

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Troubleshooting in Windows 10

If none of this fixes your problems, Windows 10 also includes a few troubleshooting tools for all kinds of problems. Here's how to do it:

Open the Settings app;

Click Update & Security;

Open the Troubleshoot section;

If Windows detects any problems, it will show you a recommended troubleshooter to run. If not, click Additional troubleshooters;

Find the specific problem you're having and click it. Then click Run the troubleshooter.

If none of that solves your issue, you may need a specific driver from your device manufacturer, the device may not be compatible with Windows 10, or there may be a hardware fault.

This should help you get started with the Windows ecosystem, but be sure to let us know if you have any other major questions or problems that we should add to the list.