The First Things To Do When Setting Up Windows 11 – Part 1 – Windows Update, App Updates, Taskbar and Start Menu
Congratulations on your new computer! It’s always exciting to bring a new system home to replace the aging one that has seen better days.
Now to get the most out of your system and get more done! Since it’s a new computer, it most likely came with Windows 11. Here are the things I recommend doing in terms of setting up your new PC!
This is Part 1. Be sure to check out the other blog posts in this series to get more inspiration as to how to make Windows 11 more usable!
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Blog Posts in This Series:
- Part 1 - The First Things To Do When Setting Up Windows 11 Windows Update, App Updates, Taskbar and Start Menu
- Part 2 - The First Things To Do When Setting Up Windows 11 - Desktop Icons, Removing Pre-installed Programs, Startup Items
- Part 3 - The First Things to Do When Settings Up Windows 11 - Notifications, Web Browser, PatchMyPC
- Part 4 - The First Things To Do When Setting up Windows 11 - Hibernate and Sleep, File Extensions, Lock Screen Ads and Tips
- Part 5 - The First Things To Do When Setting Up Windows 11 - Disable File Explorer Ads, Enable System Restore
Windows Update
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Your new computer may have been sitting on the store shelf or in a warehouse for a little while. The latest Windows updates likely haven’t been applied, so it’s very important those are done. Our computers are constantly internet connected, and having the latest security updates really matters!
To access Windows Update, left click the Start Menu once. Then click Settings, or the gear icon. On the bottom left, click Windows Update, and click the “Check for Updates” button. When those updates are done, click the “Restart” button.
Please go back into Windows Update after you restart your PC and login again. Repeat this process until it says, “You’re up to date”.
Big updates like Windows 11 version 23H2 (second half of 2023) are listed under “optional”. Optional updates do not appear if none are available.
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Occasionally you’ll need to manually go into Advanced Options to see them. I do recommend these updates but required updates should be completed first. After you install big updates like 23H2, check for updates again and ensure Windows is fully up to date.
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I think it’s also worth checking out the Advanced Options of Windows Update, and turning on two settings. These settings are “Receive updates for other Microsoft products”, and “Notify me when a restart is required to finish updating”.
The latter one is the most important, otherwise Windows is very inclined to automatically download and install updates. This can automatically restart your computer, even if you’re in the middle of something.
Microsoft Store App Updates
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This is a step commonly missed by people, even those in tech support. Windows 11 comes with a few apps from the Microsoft App Store. So be sure to open that up and check for updates there as well. To do that, left click the Store app once to open it.
Click on “Library” in the bottom left corner, then click “Get Updates” a wait a moment. Almost all pre-installed apps will have updates, so this process might take a little while.
Taskbar and Start Menu
The Taskbar is the row of icons at the bottom of the screen in the centre. On the left, it starts off with the Start Menu icon. Besides that, you’ve got search, then File Explorer, Microsoft Edge, the Microsoft App Store, and more.
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The Start Menu in Windows 11 isn’t great out of the box, so to speak. It has a lot of unused space, a “Recommended” area, which also contains ads for apps, and a tiny “all apps” button you can click to see a list of installed programs and apps.
You can modify the Start Menu to make it somewhat more useful. Right-click an empty area of the Taskbar and left-click “Taskbar Settings” once. Then, left click “Personalization” on the left, and click “Start” on the right. You can change how the Start Menu looks to some extent here.
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In the Start Menu itself, you can change which apps are “pinned”, and even uninstall them from here. Simply right click any icons and choose from the options.
I strongly recommend replacing the existing Start Menu with a reasonably priced alternative called Start11 from Stardock. It’s $7 for life and is the best investment you can make in using Windows 11.
Alternatively, Open Shell is another option and is completely free.
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Click Image To View Larger Version
To customize your Taskbar further, Go to “Settings”, “Personalization”, and on the “Taskbar” page, turn off any switch for the items you don’t want to see or use. This includes things such as Widgets, Chat, and more. You’ll find more options when you scroll down as well.
In the next blog post in this series, I'll talk about customizing your desktop icons, removing pre-installed software, and disabling Startup Items.
Blog Posts in This Series:
- Part 1 - The First Things To Do When Setting Up Windows 11 Windows Update, App Updates, Taskbar and Start Menu
- Part 2 - The First Things To Do When Setting Up Windows 11 - Desktop Icons, Removing Pre-installed Programs, Startup Items
- Part 3 - The First Things to Do When Settings Up Windows 11 - Notifications, Web Browser, PatchMyPC
- Part 4 - The First Things To Do When Setting up Windows 11 - Hibernate and Sleep, File Extensions, Lock Screen Ads and Tips
- Part 5 - The First Things To Do When Setting Up Windows 11 - Disable File Explorer Ads, Enable System Restore
Would you like blog posts like this in the form of a book with various related blog posts (Windows 11, etc)? I am working on that! I am considering options such as crowdfunding via Unbound.com, or Amazon self-publishing.
Meanwhile, you can easily print this blog post by using Reader Mode, then saving and printing the whole post or part of it as a PDF. More details in this ComputerWorld article.
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