Enabling and Disabling Windows Features

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated November 30, 2015)

1

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

Scaling Graphics in a Macro

If you need to make sure that the graphics in a document are all scaled similarly, you'll love the macros presented in ...

Discover More

Jumping to the End of a Word

Using shortcut keys to navigate through your document is really handy. One navigation shortcut that Word doesn't provide ...

Discover More

Inserting a Watermark Behind Merged Cells

If you have a group of merged cells into which you want a user to enter information, you may want some sort of ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Controlling the Mouse Pointer Speed

One of the personalization settings you can control is how fast the cursor moves when you move your mouse. You can ...

Discover More

Changing the Mouse Pointer

Windows is rather configurable, especially when it comes to the user interface. Here's how you can modify the way that ...

Discover More

Turning Off Bothersome Windows Messages

Bothered by messages from Microsoft letting you know about their various apps and tools? Here's a way to configure ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WindowsTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

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}] 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 0 + 1?

2015-11-30 11:05:53

doug james

This does not WORK on Windoz 7. I had to go to Control Panel, Programs, Programs and Features, Turn Windoz features on or off.

Being an old engineer, I use terms like MicroSlop & Windoz as they more than usual apply to their products and attitude. (sorry if this is not PC)

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WindowsTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2018 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.