After installing Windows 11 on our computer, we should immediately optimize it to make it really perfect and fast
Windows 11 has brought several innovations to all compatible PCs and more and more people have installed it as a primary system by upgrading from Windows 10 or by buying computers that already had this operating system. After the first start, however, there is always something we can do to optimize the system, make it truly user-friendly and be able to work, study or have fun with it without encountering problems.
In the following guide we will show you what the things to do after installing windows 11so as to become familiar with the new menus and new options, make Windows faster and put the icons and programs pre-installed with the PC in order (especially if we have bought a new laptop).
READ ALSO -> Check if your PC is ready for Windows 11 and minimum requirements
1) Get updated drivers
If we’ve upgraded from Windows 10 to Windows 11 or bought a new PC, the drivers are probably already up to date and don’t need further updates. But if we installed Windows 11 after a clean formatting the first thing to do is to update the missing or obsolete drivers present in the system.
Thankfully Windows 11 is capable of automatically recover missing drivers and update older ones directly using Windows Update.
To install all the drivers press WIN+I on the keyboard to open immediately Settingslet’s go to the menu Windows Update and press the button Check for updates. Windows will start looking for the missing drivers and update the older or generic ones completely automatically: all we have to do is wait for the drivers to install and restart when necessary.
To verify that all the drivers have been installed, right-click on the Start menu and click on Device management and make sure there are no entries with yellow triangles or entries with missing drivers.
If we are missing some drivers we can always install them with a third party program like Driver Boostersvery good indeed for finding older drivers.
2) Activate operating system
If we did a clean install of Windows 11 and didn’t enter the product key right away during installation (pressed on I don’t have a product key) the system will not be active at startup and some Windows 11 functions (for example those related to customization) will not be available.
Microsoft account
To immediately activate our copy of Windows 11, we advise you to add a Microsoft account to the systemespecially if this account had already been used on the same PC (before formatting), so as to automatically recover the user license.
To proceed, press on WIN+I to open Settingslet’s go to the menu Accountswe press on Your infolet’s click on Sign in with a Microsoft account and enter the login credentials of the Microsoft account already used on that PC.
This procedure is valid only if we have activated a digital license saved online on the Microsoft account; if we had Windows 10 as a digital license it would be better before install windows 10 on the computer, activate it with the digital license of the Microsoft account and then upgrade to Windows 11, so as to keep the license on the new system as well.
New Windows 11 license
If instead we do not have any Windows 11 license let’s buy one directly on Amazonthen we proceed to add the code to the system by taking us to the path Settings -> System -> Activationby pressing on Enter product key and providing the code purchased online.
For more information, you can also read our guide on how to activate windows 10 and 11 and resolve product key errors.
3) Remove unnecessary apps
Anyone who buys a new laptop with Windows 11 will often also find advertising programs, PC control apps or assistance systems installed that they will never use. To delete all these useless and pre-installed programs, just use the uninstall menu integrated in Windows 11.
To proceed then we open the menu Settingswe press on the menu Appwe open the menu Apps and features and we choose which apps to uninstall from the system by scrolling through the list. Once a useless app has been identified, we press on the three dots next to the app name and use the voice Uninstall to remove it from your PC.
Alternatively, we can quickly uninstall useless apps by opening the Start menu by pressing on the item All appsidentifying the app to remove and using the right mouse button on it, so you can press on the item Uninstall.
4) Customize Start menu
The apps we use most often can be quickly added to the bottom bar or the Start menu, so you can quickly recall them without having to search for them every time. To add new apps to the bottom bar, open the Start menu, press on the item All appsidentify the app to add then right click on it and press on the item Pin to taskbar.
To add them to the start screen of the Start menu, open the aforementioned menu, press on All appswe right click on the app to add and use the voice this time Pin to Start.
The steps are also valid for removing any useless apps on the bottom bar or in the Start menu: just right-click on the unwanted app and use the items Remove from Start or Unpin from taskbar based on the context.
On this subject we can read our guide on how to change start menu in windows 11.
5) Customize the taskbar
The bottom bar of Windows 11 or the taskbar can be customized as desired, perhaps by removing the icons and functions of Windows that we do not use and that only take up space. To customize the bar, all we have to do is open the menu Settingspress on the menu Personalizationselect the menu Application bar and turn off the switches next to the items and functions that we do not want to use.
In this regard, I invite you to read our guide on how to customize the look and theme of windows 11.
6) Adjust privacy settings
Privacy is a very important aspect on all modern operating systems and Windows 11 is no different, with a menu dedicated to privacy settings and access to the most dangerous hardware resources (such as microphone and webcam).
To manage privacy on Windows 11 we open the menu Settingswe select the menu Privacy and security and let’s explore all the sections present one by one, especially the menus General, Voice commands, Activity history, Search Permissions And Windows search.
By scrolling through the page it is also possible to access the permissions assigned to the apps: to obtain a good level of privacy we advise you to check the apps activated in the menus Path, Camera, Microphone And Voice activationchoosing which apps should use certain permissions on Windows and which permissions to block altogether (for example the service Path it is useless if we are using Windows 11 on a fixed PC).
To obtain maximum privacy while using Windows 11 we can also rely on a program like O&O ShutUp10++capable of shutting down all traces of espionage and monitoring of Windows and Microsoft.
7) Adjust battery and power settings
On Windows 11 we find a new menu for energy saving management, especially useful if we run the system on laptops. To configure it we open the menu Settings and let’s get on the path System -> Power and Battery. From the new menu we choose the desired energy saving mode and also configure the activation of energy saving by opening the menu Battery saver (we advise you to activate the automatic saving as soon as we go below 50% charge).
On fixed PCs this menu is frankly useless: we can therefore use it only to bring the system power to the maximum, by expanding the drop-down menu next to the item Energy saving mode and selecting Maximum performance.
To learn more, we can read our guide on how to limit the battery charge on Windows PC to preserve it.
8) Enable backup of important files
Windows 11 has introduced a new system for backing up personal files: OneDrive is used by default as a cloud space where you can save files in the most important folders on your computer (Documents, Images And Desktops).
To activate the backup of important files let’s go to the path Settings -> Accounts -> Windows Backupwe press on the key Set up syncwe confirm the folders to be included in the backup and finally press on Start Backup. From the screen Windows backups we can also activate the backup of settings and installed apps, so that we can always restore Windows 11 and get back all the settings and apps we had previously installed.
This type of backup only works if we have added a Microsoft account to Windows; alternatively we can always use the traditional backup tools present on Windows (albeit somewhat hidden in Windows 11).
9) Use built-in antivirus
Windows 11 integrates Windows Defender as an antivirus to counter the most dangerous malware and viruses. This antivirus has grown a lot over the years and offers an adequate level of protection in all circumstances and sufficient to avoid installing a third-party antivirus.
To always obtain maximum protection, let’s make sure that all the antivirus components are active by taking us to the path Settings -> Privacy and Security -> Windows Securityby pressing the key Open Windows Security and finally pressing on Virus and threat protection.
In the new screen we press on the item Manage settings and make sure that all the switches of the various modules that make up the integrated antivirus are active. At the end of the check, press the arrow at the top left to return to the previous screen and press up Fast analysis to do a quick check of your computer.
to strengthen Windows Defender we can read our guides on how to increase Microsoft Defender protection in Windows 11 come on how to reset windows defender if it doesn’t work or crashes.
Conclusions
After installing Windows 11 on our computer, it is advisable to immediately follow the steps seen in this guide, so as to get a fast, responsive and customized operating system according to the needs of each user. On paper, we can still use Windows 11 even without following the steps described, but the risk of running into some error or malfunction is very high.
Always themed Windows 11, we advise you to read our guides on how remove recommended items in the Windows 11 Start menu and on Windows 11 settings to change now after finishing the initial check.
