How to Set Up a Windows PC for Features

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Create Keyboard Shortcuts for Favorite Apps

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Every time you roll your pointer across the screen, launch the Start menu and click an icon to launch one of your favorite apps, you're wasting a little time. Create keyboard shortcuts for your favorite apps and you can launch them by hitting a single key combo such as CTRL + ALT + W to launch Microsoft word or CTRL + ALT + C for Chrome.

To create keyboard shortcuts, first open the command prompt (you can get there by searching for "command") and enter "explorer shell:AppsFolder" (without the quotes). A window with icons for all of your installed apps opens and you should then drag the app you want onto your desktop. Right click the desktop shortcut icon and select properties. Then enter a key combo, usually one that includes ALT + CTRL + LETTER, into the "Shortcut key" box and click Ok. Repeat for all your favorite apps.

Get Rid of the Useless Lock Screen

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When your computer is locked (or first boots), by default, Windows 11 and 10 show you a lock screen with the time, a wallpaper and maybe (if you allow) some notifications. If you use Windows Hello facial or fingerprint recognition, you can log in by staring at the screen or putting one of your digits on the scanner. But, if you use a password, you have to click to dismiss the lock screen before the OS will allow you to enter your credentials.

That's one extra, unnecessary click every single time you want to unlock your PC. To get rid of the annoying lock screen and save your tired fingers, open the registry editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_Machine\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows and create a new key called Personalization if it doesn't already exist. Within the Personalization key, create a DWORD (32-bit) value called NoLockScreen and set it to 1.