📃 Everything Windows

📜 In this 🪟 Windows notes repository, I store all of my notes related to the Windows operating system and Win apps.

📌 Some commands may be outdated.

🌐 Resources 🔗

Install

PERFORM CLEAN INSTALL OF WINDOWS 11 (SIX WAYS)

Rufus - Create bootable USB

Windows 11 ISO

Windows Server Evaluate edition ISO

Privacy

How to protect your privacy in Windows 11

Enable or Disable Choose Privacy Settings Experience at Sign-in in Windows 11 - ElevenForum

Enable or Disable Location Services in Windows 11

Enable or Disable Find My Device in Windows 11

Change Diagnostic Data Settings in Windows 11

Enable or Disable Improve Inking and Typing in Windows 11

Enable or Disable Tailored Experiences in Windows 11

Enable or Disable Advertising ID for Personalized Ads in Apps in Windows 11

10 Settings You Should Change to Protect Your Privacy on Windows 11

Disable the Telemetry on Windows 11 and Stop Microsoft From Logging Your Data

Debloat Windows 11

BloatyNosy - Builtbybel

Windows11-Debloat-Privacy-Guide

Win11Debloat - Raphire

Win-Debloat-Tools - LeDragoX

Install

Windows 11 without Internet

📌 This can be done using the latest Rufus version to create a bootable USB drive with the preconfigured necessary bypasses and automatic local user creation on the bootable Windows 11 ISO.

🔗 How to bypass internet connection to install Windows 11 - Pureinfotech

Install Windows 11 via USB ISO
At the first boot in OOBE (Out-of-the-box experience), select Region and Keyboard layout
On the "Let's connect you to a network" screen, press SHIFT+F10 on the keyboard to open the Command Prompt, type the following command and wait for the reboot.

OOBE\BYPASSNRO

After the reboot, click I don't have internet when asked to connect and Continue with limited setup.
Create a local default Windows 11 account and proceed.
- Disable and answer No to all the Privacy Settings if not needed.

Proceed with the final Configuration.

Configuration

📝 Tip: The following settings should be used with a clean Windows install; otherwise, proceed with caution ⚠️.

Privacy Settings

-TBA-

Disable Bing Search

🔗 How To Disable Bing Search On Windows 11

reg add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search /v BingSearchEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Debloat Win

🔗 BloatyNosy - by Builtbybel

🔗 Windows11-Debloat-Privacy-Guide

🔗 Win11Debloat - Raphire

🔗 Win-Debloat-Tools - LeDragoX

❗ The repositories above contain many useful and powerful scripts. Be sure to review them carefully before applying to your system, and do so at your own risk. ⚠️

Download https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat repo and run Run.bat to configure
- Run additional tweaks like Regfiles\Hide_Onedrive_Folder.reg
Download https://github.com/LeDragoX/Win-Debloat-Tools repo and run other scripts if necessary
- Backup-System
- Optimize-Privacy
- Optimize-ServicesRunning
- Optimize-TaskScheduler
- Optimize-WindowsFeaturesList
- Remove-BloatwareAppsList
- Install-NerdFont
- ...
- and Software install tool

Removing Telemetry and other unnecessary services

📌 The following commands may have already been executed by the scripts above. The command list is outdated and requires some cleaning and fixing.

Open cmd.exe and type the following commands

sc delete DiagTrack
sc delete dmwappushservice
sc delete WerSvc
sc delete OneSyncSvc
sc delete MessagingService
sc delete wercplsupport
sc delete PcaSvc
sc config wlidsvc start=demand
sc delete wisvc
sc delete RetailDemo
sc delete diagsvc
sc delete shpamsvc 
sc delete TermService
sc delete UmRdpService
sc delete SessionEnv
sc delete TroubleshootingSvc
for /f "tokens=1" %I in ('reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services" /k /f "wscsvc" ^| find /i "wscsvc"') do (reg delete %I /f)
for /f "tokens=1" %I in ('reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services" /k /f "OneSyncSvc" ^| find /i "OneSyncSvc"') do (reg delete %I /f)
for /f "tokens=1" %I in ('reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services" /k /f "MessagingService" ^| find /i "MessagingService"') do (reg delete %I /f)
for /f "tokens=1" %I in ('reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services" /k /f "PimIndexMaintenanceSvc" ^| find /i "PimIndexMaintenanceSvc"') do (reg delete %I /f)
for /f "tokens=1" %I in ('reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services" /k /f "UserDataSvc" ^| find /i "UserDataSvc"') do (reg delete %I /f)
for /f "tokens=1" %I in ('reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services" /k /f "UnistoreSvc" ^| find /i "UnistoreSvc"') do (reg delete %I /f)
for /f "tokens=1" %I in ('reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services" /k /f "BcastDVRUserService" ^| find /i "BcastDVRUserService"') do (reg delete %I /f)
for /f "tokens=1" %I in ('reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services" /k /f "Sgrmbroker" ^| find /i "Sgrmbroker"') do (reg delete %I /f)
sc delete diagnosticshub.standardcollector.service
reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Siuf\Rules" /v "NumberOfSIUFInPeriod" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
reg delete "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Siuf\Rules" /v "PeriodInNanoSeconds" /f
reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\WMI\AutoLogger\AutoLogger-Diagtrack-Listener" /v Start /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\AppCompat" /v AITEnable /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\AppCompat" /v DisableInventory /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\AppCompat" /v DisablePCA /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\AppCompat" /v DisableUAR /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\MicrosoftEdge\PhishingFilter" /v "EnabledV9" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System" /v "EnableSmartScreen" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\PhishingFilter" /v "EnabledV9" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer" /v "NoRecentDocsHistory" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\CompatTelRunner.exe" /v Debugger /t REG_SZ /d "%windir%\System32\taskkill.exe" /f
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\DeviceCensus.exe" /v Debugger /t REG_SZ /d "%windir%\System32\taskkill.exe" /f

Scheduled tasks

del /F /Q "C:\Windows\System32\Tasks\Microsoft\Windows\SettingSync\*" 
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\AppID\SmartScreenSpecific" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience\AitAgent" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience\Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience\ProgramDataUpdater" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience\StartupAppTask" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\ApplicationData\DsSvcCleanup" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Autochk\Proxy" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Clip\License Validation" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\CloudExperienceHost\CreateObjectTask" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Customer Experience Improvement Program\BthSQM" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Customer Experience Improvement Program\Consolidator" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Customer Experience Improvement Program\KernelCeipTask" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Customer Experience Improvement Program\Uploader" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Customer Experience Improvement Program\UsbCeip" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Diagnosis\RecommendedTroubleshootingScanner" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Diagnosis\Scheduled" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\DiskDiagnostic\Microsoft-Windows-DiskDiagnosticDataCollector" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\DiskFootprint\Diagnostics" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\FileHistory\File History (maintenance mode)" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\License Manager\TempSignedLicenseExchange" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Location\Notifications" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Location\WindowsActionDialog" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Maintenance\WinSAT" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Maps\MapsToastTask"  /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Maps\MapsUpdateTask" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\NetTrace\GatherNetworkInfo" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\PI\Sqm-Tasks" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Power Efficiency Diagnostics\AnalyzeSystem" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Power Efficiency Diagnostics\AnalyzeSystem" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\PushToInstall\LoginCheck" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\PushToInstall\Registration" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Retail Demo\CleanupOfflineContent" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\FamilySafetyMonitor" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\FamilySafetyRefreshTask" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\FamilySafetyUpload" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Subscription\EnableLicenseAcquisition" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Subscription\LicenseAcquisition" /disable
schtasks /Change /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting\QueueReporting" /disable

Italian Dev Keyboard - Tilde and Backtick

Install Italian Dev keyboard - https://github.com/linuxiamo/devs-kb-layout-ita - and setup in Time & language - Language & region - Options - Keyboards

CMD commands

❗ Most of the following commands have to be run by opening CMD as Administrator.

Change Windows Theme

🔗 How to Change Themes in Window 11 Without Activating Windows

Dark theme

reg add HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes\Personalize /v AppsUseLightTheme /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
reg add HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes\Personalize /v SystemUsesLightTheme /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Light theme

reg add HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes\Personalize /v AppsUseLightTheme /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
reg add HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes\Personalize /v SystemUsesLightTheme /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Winget Upgrade Script

Create a UpgradePackages.bat with the following content and run it to upgrade installed packages

@echo off
:: Check for admin rights
>nul 2>&1 "%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\cacls.exe" "%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\config\system"

:: If error flag set, we do not have admin rights, so prompt for them
if '%errorlevel%' NEQ '0' (
    echo Requesting administrative privileges...
    powershell.exe -Command "Start-Process '%~dpnx0' -Verb RunAs"
    exit /B
)

:: Set the execution policy to allow local scripts to run
powershell -NoProfile -Command "Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser -Force"

:: Run the winget upgrade command and log the output live
powershell -NoProfile -Command "Start-Transcript -Path UpgradeLog.txt -Force; winget upgrade --all; Stop-Transcript"

:: Indicate completion
echo All packages have been upgraded. Press any key to exit...
pause

cmd Cheatsheet

# System
set
set /?
ver
systeminfo
chkdsk
driverquery
sfc /scannow
shutdown /r
shutdown /a

# Network
ipconfig /all
ping example.com
tracert example.com
nslookup example.com
netstat -abon
netstat -abon | findstr :3389

# Files and Disk
cd
dir
dir /a
dir /s
mkdir dirname
rmdir dirname
type
more
copy
copy *.md
move
del
erase

# Tasks and Processes
tasklist
tasklist /FI "imagename eq notepad.exe"
tasklist /FI "pid eq 1516"
taskkill /PID targetpid

Powershell commands

Winget

# Upgrade all installed packages to the latest version if available
winget upgrade --all

Powercat

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
IEX (New-Object System.Net.webclient).DownloadString('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/besimorhino/powercat/master/powercat.ps1')

powercat -l -p 9000 -v
powercat -h

Directory and File Listing Without Extensions

Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Directory | ForEach-Object {
    Write-Output "Directory: $($_.FullName)"
    Get-ChildItem -Path $_.FullName | Where-Object { -not $_.PSIsContainer } | ForEach-Object {
        $_.BaseName
    }
    Write-Output ""
} | Out-File -FilePath "C:\path\to\output.txt"

Powershell Cheatsheet

### Syntax ###
# Cmdlet --> Verb-Noun
# Cmdlet -Property "pattern*"

Find-Module -Name "PowerShell*"
Install-Module -Name "PowerShellGet"

Get-Command
Get-Command -CommandType "Function"
Get-Command -Name "Remove*"

Get-Help Get-Date
Get-Help Get-Date -examples

Get-Alias
Get-Alias | findstr echo

Get-ChildItem
Get-ChildItem -r -Filter '*.txt'
Get-ChildItem -Path ".\test\"
Get-ChildItem | Sort-Object Length
Get-ChildItem | Where-Object -Property "Extension" -eq ".txt"
Get-ChildItem | Where-Object -Property "Name" -like "file*"
Get-ChildItem | Where-Object -Property Length -gt 100
Get-ChildItem | Select-Object Name,Length
Get-ChildItem | Sort-Object Length -Descending | Select-Object -First 1
Select-String -Path ".\file.txt" -Pattern "text" 

New-Item -Path ".\test\dir" -ItemType "Directory"
New-Item -Path ".\test\dir\file.txt" -ItemType "File"
Remove-Item -Path ".\test\dir\file.txt"
Remove-Item -Path  ".\test\dir"
Copy-Item -Path .\test\dir\file.txt -Destination .\test\dir\file2.txt

Get-Content file
Set-Location -Path ".\Documents"

Get-ComputerInfo
Get-LocalUser
Get-NetIPConfiguration
Get-NetIPAddress
Get-Process
Get-Service
Get-Service -DisplayName "*remote*"
Get-NetTCPConnection
Get-FileHash -Path .\file.txt

Get-Help Invoke-Command -examples
Invoke-Command -ComputerName HOSTNAME -ScriptBlock {Get-Service}

Software

Sysinternals

🔗 Web: https://live.sysinternals.com/

Via Windows Explorer:

\\live.sysinternals.com\tools

e.g. Copy tools folder to C:\Program Files\ and rename it to sysinternals

VirusTotal Uploader ContextMenu

Download vt_setup.msi from https://github.com/SamuelTulach/VirusTotalUploader/releases
Run vt_setup.msi and install VirusTotalUploader
Create an account and Get an API key from VirusTotal.com
Copy the API key
Run VirusTotalUploader, paste API key and select Direct file upload

EXTRA: Change the context menu handler by opening regedit.exe and searching for VirusTotalUploader.
- It should be in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell
- Change the MUIVerb data value, e.g. Upload to VirusTotal.

Now you can right-click any file an select "Upload to VirusTotal" to scan it using VirusTotal

VirusTotal - Free public API Limits

Request rate 4 lookups / min

Daily quota 500 lookups / day

Monthly quota 15.5 K lookups / month

VMware Workstation Pro + Windows tweaks

❗ I do not assume any responsibility for the potential risks or consequences associated with the disabled memory integrity.

🔗 Options to optimize gaming performance in Windows 11 - Microsoft Support

🔗 Enable or Disable Core Isolation and Memory Integrity in Windows 11

🔗 How to Disable or Remove Hyper-V in Windows 11

This is done to ensure VMware Workstation virtualization operates smoothly without any performance issues.

Memory integrity (hypervisor-protected code integrity) is a security feature of Core isolation that prevents attacks from inserting malicious code into high-security processes. Take your own risk by disabling it.

Run the command from an elevated Powershell to disable Hyper-V:

# Disables the Windows Hyper-V
bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off

Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux,Microsoft-Hyper-V-All, VirtualMachinePlatform

Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *WindowsSubsystemForLinux* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers

Run the command from an elevated Powershell to disable Memory Integrity and Virtualization-based security (Device/Credential Guard) via Registry:

reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard\Scenarios\HypervisorEnforcedCodeIntegrity" /v "Enabled" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard\Scenarios\SystemGuard" /v "Enabled" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard" /v "EnableVirtualizationBasedSecurity" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DeviceGuard" /v "EnableVirtualizationBasedSecurity" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Reboot PC
Install VMware Workstation Pro - https://support.broadcom.com/group/ecx/downloads (login necessary)
Disable power throttling for the VMware executables

# Disables power throttling for the VMware virtual machine executable (64-bit version)
powercfg /powerthrottling disable /path "C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation\x64\vmware-vmx.exe"

# Disables power throttling for the main VMware Workstation executable
powercfg /powerthrottling disable /path "C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation\vmware.exe"

VMware tips

Delay the bios boot in a VM

# Add line to .vmx file:

bios.bootDelay = "5000"

Troubleshooting

Delete GRUB files from a Boot EFI partition in Windows

🔗 How to delete GRUB files from a Boot EFI partition in Windows 10

Run a cmd.exe process with administrator privileges
Run diskpart
Type: list disk then sel disk X where X is the drive your boot files reside on
Type list vol to see all partitions (volumes) on the disk (the EFI volume will be formatted in FAT, others will be NTFS)
Select the EFI volume by typing: sel vol Y where Y is the SYSTEM volume (this is almost always the EFI partition)
For convenience, assign a drive letter by typing: assign letter=M: where M is a free (unused) drive letter
Type exit to leave disk part
While still in the cmd prompt, type: M: and hit enter, where M was the drive letter you just created.
Type dir to list directories on this mounted EFI partition
If you are in the right place, you should see a directory called EFI
Type cd EFI and then dir to list the child directories inside EFI
Type rmdir /S ubuntu to delete the ubuntu boot directory

## These commands are used to identify and select the hard drive

diskpart
list disk
sel disk 0

## These commands are used to list the partitions, select the Boot EFI partition, 
## then assign it a drive letter

list vol
sel vol 2
assign letter=D:
exit

## These commands are used to change into the Boot EFI folder and delete the GRUB folder

cd /d D:
ls
ls EFI
cd EFI
ls
rmdir /s ubuntu

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winstuff.md

winstuff.md

📃 Everything Windows

🌐 Resources 🔗

Install

Privacy

Debloat Windows 11

Install

Windows 11 without Internet

Configuration

Privacy Settings

Disable Bing Search

Debloat Win

Italian Dev Keyboard - Tilde and Backtick

CMD commands

Change Windows Theme

Winget Upgrade Script

cmd Cheatsheet

Powershell commands

Winget

Powercat

Directory and File Listing Without Extensions

Powershell Cheatsheet

Software

Sysinternals

VirusTotal Uploader ContextMenu

VMware Workstation Pro + Windows tweaks

VMware tips

Troubleshooting

Delete GRUB files from a Boot EFI partition in Windows

VirusTotal - Free public API	Limits
Request rate	4 lookups / min
Daily quota	500 lookups / day
Monthly quota	15.5 K lookups / month

Files

winstuff.md

Latest commit

History

winstuff.md

File metadata and controls

📃 Everything Windows

🌐 Resources 🔗

Install

Privacy

Debloat Windows 11

Install

Windows 11 without Internet

Configuration

Privacy Settings

Disable Bing Search

Debloat Win

Italian Dev Keyboard - Tilde and Backtick

CMD commands

Change Windows Theme

Winget Upgrade Script

cmd Cheatsheet

Powershell commands

Winget

Powercat

Directory and File Listing Without Extensions

Powershell Cheatsheet

Software

Sysinternals

VirusTotal Uploader ContextMenu

VMware Workstation Pro + Windows tweaks

VMware tips

Troubleshooting

Delete GRUB files from a Boot EFI partition in Windows