Though Windows 10 is a handy tool, it’s not being optimized for your needs. The software offers various tools with preloaded bloatware and features that are annoying and can intervene with your productivity.
Fortunately, there are ways how to clean up and customize the Start menu in Windows 10 to make it work better for your needs.
Whether your problem is to get rid of the suggested annoying apps or removing unnecessary bloatware, you still want to clean up Windows 10.
Luckily, it’s easy to clear out the Start menu. Here’s how:
You can also clear out the Start menu. Here’s how:
1. Remove annoying suggestions
When you open the Start menu, you’ll notice that there are few suggested links popping up. That’s the feature of the Windows 10 Start menu. Recommended apps appear automatically thinking that you may find them useful.
Though in some cases these suggested apps can be useful, they can also be annoying. If seeing these suggestions makes you tires, you can turn them off, so they are not messing up your Start menu anymore.
- Click Start Menu then Go to Settings
- Click the Personalization icon
- Click Start on the left side of the pane
- Toggle the slider off to disable “Show suggestions occasionally in Startup”
2. Simplify the app list
It could be a nuisance seeing the app list that pulls up in the Start menu, especially if there are filed of pre-installed bloatware. But you can clear out that bloatware from your Start Menu quickly or you can disable the “Show app list in Start menu” if the apps are not needed.
To hide the apps list in the Start menu:
- Open Settings on your desktop
- Click the Personalization icon
- Select the Start tab in the left sidebar
- You’ll see the Show app list in the Start menu option in the right-side pane. Toggle this option off
- If you turn it off, you’ll see only live tiles in the Start Menu
- You can still click the All apps button at the top left of the Start Menu to expand the apps list you’ve hidden
If you find there are apps that you no longer need, remove them:
- Log in to your computer as an administrator
- Type Apps into the Windows 10 search box
- Under the search results, select Apps & Features
- Select an application you want to remove
- Tap Uninstall
- Repeat the process for each application you want to remove
- Disable unused options
By default, the Windows 10 Start menu shows things like recently added or your most frequently used apps. Viewing new apps you’ve added in the past few weeks can be helpful at first, but this feature may not be particularly useful over time.
To disable the other options in Windows 10:
- Navigate to Settings > Personalization > Start
- Toggle the “Show most frequently used apps” feature off
- You can also toggle off “Show recently added apps” in this section if you don’t want to see all newly installed applications
4. Sort the tiles according to your preference
You can organize the tiles according to your desire. For sure you don’t want to face a ton of square tiles when accessing quickly the Microsoft Store or Calendar when you sign in.
If you’d chose not to use the tiles built into Windows 10, you can turn them off. It’s easy too.
Note: You must be logged in as an administrator to enable or disable the “Show additional tiles on startup” setting.
- Navigate to Settings > personalization > Start
- Enable “Show more tiles on startup”. off
To rearrange or rearrange the tiles on startup:
- Click the Windows button in the lower-left corner
- To move a tile, click and drag it to where you want it
5. Pick out which folders to display
By default, three folders fill the Start menu: Documents, Pictures, and Settings.
You can have additional other folders in the mix to the default settings. You might want to add File Explorer, Downloads, Music, Videos, the Network, or even a personal folder.
You must work within the height restrictions of the Start menu screen, but you can customize which folders are shown as often as you want.
To add, edit, or remove folders from the Start menu:
- Navigate to Settings > Personalization > Start
- Click Choose which folders to show on startup at the bottom of the menu
- You will see a list of folder options
- From here you toggle them on or off depending on your preferences
Bingo! Now your Start Menu is precisely the way you want it.
