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The Windows Control Panel has been one of the most important parts of the operating system ever since Windows 1.0 was released way back in 1985.
But that’s about to change…
As you probably know, Microsoft has been migrating various settings from the Control Panel into Windows 10’s Settings app with every recent major Windows update, and that process is about to come to a conclusion.
If you access the Control Panel and File Explorer as often as I do, clicking an icon on the Desktop to access them can be a real time saver. I do it all the time.
Although accessing either of these essential tools is faster and easier than ever before in the latest versions of Windows, there’s absolutely nothing faster than just clicking on an icon.
It’s actually quite easy to add File Explorer and Control Panel icons to the Desktop in Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1. Here’s how: [Read more…]
Question from Gio K.: Hi Rick. I use a lot of your tips, but my friend got a new windows 8 computer and he is wondering how he can disable the Control Panel. If you know any way to do that, please reply. Thank you.
Rick’s answer: Hello Gio. It’s actually quite easy to disable access to the Control Panel in Windows 8, and there are plenty of circumstances under which it might be desirable to do so.
Follow these steps to disable the Control Panel in Windows 8: [Read more…]
Question from Kenny: Hi Rick. First of all, I wa
nt to thank you for your generosity in posting all these amazing tips. You have helped so many people by posting them! Now, I have a question for you if you don’t mind.
I recently bought a new computer and decided to give my 2 year old Gateway laptop to my son. Since he’s only 8 years old I’d like to keep him from accessing the Control Panel and accidentally messing things up.
My question is can you tell me how to disable the Control Panel in Windows 7?
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
The Windows Control Panel contains dozens of tools and settings for tweaking the way Windows performs many of its numerous tasks.
Most of these tools and settings are nested underneath a plethora of menus, making it difficult to find exactly what you’re looking for without doing a bunch of clicking and searching.
Lucky for us, there’s a very simple way to create a handy Super Control Panel app that lists every single Control Panel tool and setting on a single page, neatly filed under one of several easy-to-understand categories. Here’s the simple two-step process for creating your very own Super Control Panel: [Read more…]