Windows 11 is a great OS out of the box, but its factory defaults quietly favour ads, telemetry and Microsoft services. Here are the eight settings we change on every new laptop we set up at Repair Point. Total time: about ten minutes.
1. Turn off 'Suggestions' and Start-menu ads
Settings → Personalisation → Start → turn OFF 'Show tips, tricks and suggestions' and 'Show recommendations'. Then Settings → Privacy & security → General → turn OFF the four toggles, especially 'Let apps show me personalised ads using my advertising ID'.
2. Move Start button back to the left (optional)
If the centred Start still feels wrong, Settings → Personalisation → Taskbar → Taskbar behaviours → Taskbar alignment → Left. Small thing, big daily comfort.
3. Rename the PC to something you'll recognise
Settings → System → About → Rename this PC. Default names are gibberish; a friendly name (e.g., 'jane-laptop') helps with backups, remote access and network diagnostics.
4. Enable BitLocker (full-disk encryption)
Control Panel → BitLocker Drive Encryption → Turn on for C: drive. Save the recovery key to your Microsoft account. This is the single biggest security setting on a laptop that might one day get lost or stolen.
5. Turn on the 3-2-1-style automatic backups
Settings → Accounts → Windows Backup → turn ON OneDrive sync for Desktop, Documents and Pictures. Combine with a weekly external drive image via File History or Macrium Reflect Free.
6. Enable clipboard history
Settings → System → Clipboard → turn ON 'Clipboard history'. Press Win + V to paste any of the last 25 things you copied. Once you use it you can't go back.
7. Storage Sense
Settings → System → Storage → turn ON Storage Sense. Automatically empties the Recycle Bin, clears temp files and removes old Downloads. Prevents 'disk full' warnings without any manual maintenance.
8. Set a proper power profile
- Settings → System → Power & battery → Power mode: 'Balanced' when plugged in, 'Best power efficiency' on battery.
- Turn off automatic sleep for short breaks (Screen and sleep → set 'On battery, put my device to sleep after' to 30 minutes).
Bonus: pin the four apps you actually use
Right-click each essential app in the Start menu → Pin to taskbar. Then right-click every default pinned icon you don't use (Widgets, Copilot, Microsoft Store previews) → Unpin. Your taskbar is now yours, not Microsoft's.
Just bought a new Windows laptop? Book our $79 remote new-PC setup — we apply all of the above, migrate your files, and hand you back a laptop that's faster, more private and ready to work in 60 minutes.
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