Enabling and Disabling Windows Features

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 15, 2019)

Windows includes a ton of built-in features designed to be used by a wide variety of people. Of course, there is a good chance that you may not need all the features provided by Windows, or there may be some features that are disabled by default and you want to enable.

To enable or disable features, follow these steps:

  1. Display the Control Panel.
  2. Click the Programs link. Windows displays a screen showing what program-related tasks you can perform.
  3. Click the Turn Windows Features On or Off link, under the Programs and Features heading. Windows displays all the Windows Features dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. The Windows Features dialog box.

  4. Use the check boxes at the left side of each feature to indicate whether the corresponding feature should be enabled (checked) or disabled (unchecked).
  5. Click OK. Windows updates itself according to your selections. (Some changes may require restarting Windows.)

Note that you may see some checkboxes in the features list that aren't clear and, conversely, they don't contain a check mark. Instead, they are filled with a gray color. These aren't individual features but, instead, are categories of features. Click the plus sign next to such items and they expand to show you individual features in that category that can be enabled or disabled.

It's a good idea to only disable those Windows features that you know you really don't need. If you are in doubt about a particular feature, study up on it to make sure it is one you really want to disable.

 This tip (10133) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Selective Formatting using Find and Replace

The Find and Replace tool in Word allows you to check for formatting in what you search for and use formatting in your ...

Discover More

Dealing with Run-On Sentences

A common task when editing documents is to break up run-on sentences. You can make this task a little easier by using the ...

Discover More

Changing the Start Screen's Theme

You'll spend a lot of time viewing the Start screen in Windows. If you want to change up things, you can modify which ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Disabling Automatic Reboot after a Windows Update

It may not always be a good thing to have Windows automatically restart your computer after an update. This tip tells you ...

Discover More

Camera Privacy

Your computer's camera allows you to connect with people in engaging ways. Whether used to login to your computer or for ...

Discover More

Changing Where New Media is Saved

You can specify where Windows 10 saves new media. This quick change will allow you to better control how your media is ...

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is five less than 6?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

Newest Tips
Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.