Microsoft Windows includes a wide array of features, tools, and applications to help get the most out of Windows and your computer.
To learn more about the features included in Microsoft Windows, click a link below.
Control Panel
The Control Panel is a collection of tools to help you configure and manage the resources on your computer. You can change settings for printers, video, audio, mouse, keyboard, date and time, user accounts, installed applications, network connections, power saving options, and more.
• Control Panel • Cortana • Desktop • Device Manager • Disk Cleanup • Event Viewer • File Explorer • Internet browser • Microsoft Paint • Notepad
• Notification area • Power User Tasks Menu • Registry Editor • Settings • Start and Start menu • System Information • Taskbar • Task Manager • Windows search box
In Windows 10, the Control Panel is located in the Start menu, under Windows System.
You can also start the Control Panel from the Run box. Press Windows key+R, type control, and press Enter. Or, you may press the Windows key, type Control Panel, and then press Enter.
Many of the Control Panel settings are also accessible in the Windows 10 Settings menu.
- What is the Control Panel?
Cortana
Cortana is a virtual assistant introduced in Windows 10 that accepts voice commands. Cortana can answer questions, search your computer or Internet, set appointments and reminders, perform online purchases, and more. Cortana has similarities to other voice-activated services, such as Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant, with the added benefit that it can search the information on your computer.
To access Cortana in Windows 10, press Windows key+S.
- What is Cortana?
- How to enable voice activation for Cortana.
- How to turn off Cortana.
Desktop
The desktop is a fundamental part of the default GUI (graphical user interface) in Windows. It is a space where you can organize applications, folders, and documents, which appear as icons. Your desktop is always in the background, behind any other applications you’re running.
When you power on your computer and log in to Windows, the first thing you see is your desktop background, icons, and the taskbar. From here, you can access the installed programs on your computer from the Start menu, or by double-clicking any application shortcuts you may have on your desktop.
You can access your desktop at any time by pressing Windows key+D to minimize any running applications.
- What is a desktop?
- How do I show the Windows desktop?
- How to create a Windows shortcut.
- How to remove unused icons from the Windows desktop.
- How to adjust the Windows background.
Device Manager
The Device Manager lists the hardware devices installed in a computer. It allows users to see what hardware is installed, view and update hardware drivers, and uninstall hardware through the Device Manager.
With the release of Windows 8 in 2012, the desktop was no longer the default GUI, replaced by the Start Screen. This change was short-lived, and the desktop returned as the default GUI in Windows 10.
You can open the Device Manager from the Power User Tasks Menu (Windows key+X, then press M).
- What is the Device Manager?
- Device Manager help index.
Disk Cleanup
The Disk Cleanup utility helps increase free disk space on your computer by removing temporary or unnecessary files. Running Disk Cleanup helps improve your computer’s performance, and create additional space to store your downloads, documents, and programs.
You can access Disk Cleanup from the File Explorer.
Press Windows key+E to open an Explorer window.
On the left side of the window, find This PC or My Computer, and select it by clicking once.
Then, on the right side, right-click any disk drive on your computer (C:, for example).
Select Properties.
Under the General tab, click Disk Cleanup.
What is Disk Cleanup?
My computer is running slow, what steps can I do to fix it?
How to regain computer hard drive space.
Event Viewer
The Event Viewer is an administrator tool displays errors and important events that happen on your computer. It helps troubleshoot advanced problems in your Windows system.
Event Viewer can be accessed from the Power User Tasks Menu (press Windows key+X, then press V).
- What is the Event Viewer?
- How to fix Windows blue screen errors.
File Explorer
The File Explorer, also called Windows Explorer, provides you with a view of the files and folders on the computer. You can browse the contents of your SSD, hard drive, and attached removable disks. You can search for files and folders, and open, rename, or delete them from the File Explorer.
To open a new File Explorer window, press Windows key+E. You can open more than one Explorer window at the same time, which helps with viewing multiple folders at once, or copying/moving files from one to the other.
- What is File Explorer?
- How to change how files are displayed in Windows Explorer.
Internet browser
Your Internet browser is one of the most important applications on your computer. You can use it to find information on the Internet, view web pages, shop and buy merchandise, watch movies, play games, and more. Microsoft Edge is the default browser in Windows 10. Internet Explorer is included as the default browser in previous versions of Windows, from Windows 95 to Windows 8.1.
To open a new Edge browser window in Windows 10, open the Start menu and scroll down to Microsoft Edge.
- What is an Internet browser?
- How to find the version of an Internet browser.
- How to update an Internet browser.
- Can I have more than one Internet browser installed?
Microsoft Paint
Included in Windows since November 1985, Microsoft Paint is a simple image editor that you can use to create, view, and edit digital images. It provides basic functionality to draw and paint pictures, resize and rotate photographs, and save pictures as different file types.
To open Microsoft Paint in all versions of Windows, press the Windows key, type mspaint, and press Enter. It’s also available in your Start menu: in Windows 10, it’s listed under Windows Accessories, Paint.
- What is Microsoft Paint?
- Microsoft Paint help index.
Notepad
Notepad is a simple text editor. You can use it to create, view, and edit text files. For instance, you can use Notepad to write a batch file, or a web page written in HTML.
In Windows 10, Notepad is located in your Start menu under Windows accessories. In all versions of Windows, you can start Notepad from the Run box: press Windows key+R, type notepad, and press Enter.
- What is Notepad?
- How to create a text file.
Notification area
The notification area, also known as the system tray, displays the date and time, and shows icons of programs that are started with Windows. It also provides your Internet connection’s status and a speaker icon for adjusting sound volume.
- What is the Notification Area?
- Information about the Windows notification area (systray).
Power User Tasks Menu
Available in Windows 8 and Windows 10, the Power User Tasks Menu provides quick access to helpful and important Windows utilities. From this menu, you can open the Control Panel, Device Manager, File Explorer, Task Manager, and more.
To open the Power User Tasks Menu, press Windows key+X, or right-click the Start menu icon.
- What is the Power User Tasks Menu?
Registry Editor
The Registry Editor lets you view the Windows system registry, and edit registry keys. Computer technicians may use the Registry Editor to fix problems with the Windows operating system or installed software.
In Windows 10, the Registry Editor is located in the Start menu under Windows Administrative Tools. You can also start it by pressing the Windows key, typing regedit, and then pressing Enter.
- What is the Windows registry?
- How to open and edit the Windows registry.
Settings
Available in Windows 8 and Windows 10, Settings lets you change many aspects of Windows. You can change the desktop background, adjust power settings, review options for external devices, and more.
Making changes to the registry can cause your applications or system to stop functioning correctly. Don’t edit the registry if you’re unsure what your changing and always back up your registry by exporting it to a file before making changes.
To open Settings in Windows 10, press Windows key+I. Or, open the Start menu, and click the gear icon ().
- What is Windows Settings?
- How to adjust power, standby, and sleep settings.
Start and Start menu
The Start menu is a list of applications and utilities installed on your computer. You can open it by clicking Start on the left side of your taskbar.
Using the keyboard, you can open the Start menu by pressing the Windows key.
- What is the Start button?
- What is the Start menu?
- How to get the start button back in Windows 8.
System Information
The System Information utility provides information about the computer, including hardware and Windows details. You can find out details about your computer’s hardware, including processor, memory, video card, and sound card. You can also view and configure environment variables, device drivers, services, and more.
In Windows 10, System Information is located in the Start menu, under Windows Administrative Tools. You can also open it from the Run box: press Windows key+R, type msinfo32, and press Enter.
- What is System Information?
- How to find hardware and other computer specifications.
Taskbar
The Windows taskbar shows programs that are currently open, and a Quick Launch area that allows quick access to launch specific programs. The notification area is on the right side of the taskbar, showing the date and time, and programs running in the background.
- What is the taskbar?
- How to toggle the autohide feature for the Windows taskbar.
Task Manager
The Task Manager gives you an overview of what’s running on your computer. You can see how much of your system resources is used by each application (task), sorting by CPU, RAM, and disk I/O usage. If a program is frozen or not responding, you can right-click it in Task Manager and end the task, forcing it to quit.
To open the Task Manager at any time, press Ctrl+Shift+Esc.
Windows search box
The Windows search box is a convenient way to search for documents, pictures, videos, applications, and more. In Windows 10, the search box is also integrated with Cortana. The feature first appeared in Windows Vista.
The search box is on your taskbar by default. In Windows 10, if you don’t see the search box, right-click the taskbar and select Taskbar settings. Make sure Use small taskbar buttons is Off. Then, right-click the taskbar again, and select Cortana, Show search box.
- What is the Windows search box?
- How to find a file on a computer.
Related information
- Microsoft Windows programs.
- Microsoft Windows history.
- Description of each category and icon in the Control Panel.
- Microsoft Windows help and support.
