How to block the windows button on the keyboard. How to turn Windows features on or off

The Windows button is found on every keyboard, and we use it every day to perform various actions. If you click on the Win button, the Start menu will open. Apart from this, you can also use the Win button with other keys on your keyboard.

For example, pressing Windows+E will open Windows Explorer. If you press Windows + R, you can open the “Run...” utility. In general, there are a huge number of combinations with this key and all of them are incredibly useful for any user.

However, if the Win key does not work, then these combinations can be easily forgotten. Why does this button stop working? There are several reasons why the Win button stopped working. These include problems with the keyboard, system settings, blocking key functionality, etc.

Method No. 1 Pressing the combination Fn + F6

This method is likely to work for some laptop users and those with specialized keyboards. Find the FN key on the keyboard of your PC or laptop (usually located in the lower left corner, next to CTRL).

Then find the F6 key and take a closer look at it, as its surface may display functionality activated by the FN+F6 combination. If you see something like a Win icon on this key, then try pressing the Fn + F6 key combination to activate or deactivate the Win key.

However, be careful, as on some laptops the Fn + F6 key combination may turn off the device's display or its touchpad. However, the F6 key should display functionality.

Method No. 2 Pressing the Win Lock key

The next method will require you to press the Win Lock key. This key was most often observed on older keyboards, which some users may still have.

In addition to older keyboards, the Win Lock key may also be present on a number of gaming devices. In the heat of battle, players can often accidentally press the Win key. This is precisely why the Win Lock key was introduced on gaming devices.

Perhaps you own either an old or a gaming keyboard (although there are exceptions and the Win Lock key may also be present on a regular keyboard). Find it and click to return functionality to the Win key.

Method #3 Cleaning the keyboard

You probably won't like it next question, but since we are trying to solve a problem in the form of a non-working Win button, we have to ask: how long have you cleaned your keyboard?

Yes, the fact is that the keys, when enough dirt accumulates, may simply begin to stick or not be pressed at all (or pressed, but not transmit a signal). Membrane keyboards are especially susceptible to contamination.

Open up the insides of your keyboard (it's not difficult at all) and then do a little cleaning. Especially near the Win key. Once you're done, reassemble the keyboard and test the Win key.

Method #4 Changing the connection port

In very rare cases, some keyboard buttons may not function correctly due to the port to which the keyboard itself is connected. Most keyboards nowadays connect via USB. Try connecting your keyboard to a different USB port and test the Win key. It is advisable to also test the functionality of other keys.

If you have an old keyboard that has a PS/2 connection, you can connect it to another such port, if you have motherboard There is a second PS/2 port for the keyboard (which is quite rare).

If none of the above helped in solving the problem with the Windows key, then perhaps the problem is with the keyboard itself and it has failed. In this case, there is nothing else left to do but buy a new keyboard.

Found a typo? Select the text and press Ctrl + Enter

In this article we will touch on the age-old question that torments inquiring minds trying to squeeze the last drop of performance out of a computer.

What are Windows services

Windows Services are essentially the same applications, just without a user interface. They work in the background and provide operating system various features and functions. Not all services are developed by Microsoft and not all are available immediately after installation. Many applications and drivers install their own services on the system. The services are actively used by antiviruses, as they constantly monitor the health of your system and provide protection against malware. The advantage of services is the ability to start during the operating system startup even before applications start, as well as the ability to monitor everything that is running on your computer. This is why antiviruses can reliably protect the computer they are running on.

Many “computer specialists” recommend disabling some Windows 10 services, pursuing a wide variety of goals. Some are tinkering with the list of operating system services in an attempt to improve their privacy (a tin foil hat, unfortunately, is not included with Windows 10), while others are trying to squeeze out the last drop of performance. Disabling Windows 10 services is a double-edged sword. Yes, disabling services can indeed partially improve the performance of your system, but the effect will be extremely small, if noticeable at all. Often, or upgrading any other component gives a much more noticeable performance increase than experimenting with Windows services.

Generally speaking, we are against disabling Windows 10 services. You see, Microsoft developers sometimes release crooked software, but they are not fools - they know much more than the average “tyzhprogrammer”. Services, services, processes and Windows components polished and improved over the years. They are optimized well enough to minimally load your computer's resources (here we are not talking about exceptions when a bug or virus leads to abnormal loads on the processor, disk, memory or network). In this case, the principle “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” applies. Often, users harm their computer rather than improve its performance by blindly trying to disable some Windows 10 services. If our statement about optimizing Windows 10 services is not enough for you and you still want to experiment, in this article we have compiled a list of services that can be safely disable it without making your computer worse.

To be fair, it should be said that together with a third-party software third-party services enter the system. Sometimes it is worth disabling them if it becomes known about malicious practices of developers or if the code is simply crooked. It is also worth disabling Windows services if you are trying to diagnose your computer and detect the causes of performance degradation, freezes, or other anomalies.

Disabling Windows 10 services

Before proceeding directly to disabling Windows services, we strongly recommend that you. This is your insurance against the unforeseen consequences of disconnecting a particular service. If you did something wrong and the system began to work worse, rolling back to a previous restore point will quickly return everything to its place and save you from headaches and time spent on computer software repairs.

How to disable a service in Windows 10

Everything is done quite simply:

Important: There are so-called “optimizers” that take on the task of disabling operating system services. Don't use them! Don't let third-party software decide which services will work on your PC and which won't. Carefully study the services that you want to disable, and also decide for yourself whether to disable them or not. In addition, do not use third-party software to disable or enable them. This procedure is extremely simple and, if you have already taken up this matter, it is best to know how to configure such a sensitive section of the operating system.

What services can be turned off in Windows 10

Please note that some of these services may not be available on older versions of Windows, such as Windows 7 or Windows 8 / 8.1. By the way, many of the truly unnecessary and unnecessary services for the average user are already in the “Manual” mode. Here we return to the point above, where we said that Windows developers are not fools and do not push ordinary consumers with services they do not need.

• AllJoyn Router Service. This service is responsible for communication between the operating system and nearby IoT devices.
• Fax. Explanations are unnecessary here. If you don’t use a fax in conjunction with a computer, you can safely disable the service.
• BitLocker Drive Encryption Service. If you don't need encryption of your drives and don't use BitLocker software, you can disable the service.
• Bluetooth Audio Gateway Service. If you don't have Bluetooth on your computer or don't plan to talk to Cortana through a headset, turn off the service.
• Bluetooth support. Disable it only if you don’t use Bluetooth at all (or don’t have it at all). Disabling this service while you have connected devices may cause them to stop working with your computer.
• Client License Service. We recommend disabling this service only for those who do not use applications from the store at all. If you have programs installed from the Microsoft Store, they may no longer launch after you disable this service.
• Smart card. It is unlikely that your home PC is configured to work with smart cards. Disable this service if you do not use smart cards. Especially if you don’t even know what it is. This also includes Smart Card Reader Enumeration Service, Smart Card Removal Policy.
• Downloaded map manager. Can be disabled if you do not use the built-in Maps application. If you use it, disabling the service may cause problems with the application.
• Encrypting File System (EFS)) . Required for data encryption technology to work inside the file NTFS systems. Not needed if you do not use and do not plan to use data encryption.
• Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service. iSCSI is an acronym for InternetSmallComputerSystemInterface. This service allows the user's computer to access information in highly remote data centers using existing infrastructure. You can turn it off.
• Offline files. You can disable it if you don't use the Offline Files feature or don't know what it is. By the way, this feature is not available in the home edition of Windows.
• Payment manager and NFC/ Protected elements. It does exactly what it says, namely processes payments using NFC. It is useful on devices with the appropriate chip, but the vast majority of tablets and laptops (and even more so on desktop PCs) do not have such chips, so you can disable it.
• Parental control. If you have no one to control, disable this service.
• Print Manager. You only need to disable it if you do not have a printer, you do not use network printers, or virtual printers. This service is directly linked to the service Fax.
• Nvidia Stereoscopic 3D Driver Service. This service is available on computers with Nvidia video cards. Allows you to work with stereoscopic images. You can turn it off if you don't use it.
• Hyper Guest Service Interface-V. Disable it if you do not use virtual machines. This also includes Service Hypwer-VPowerShellDirect, Pulse service, Time synchronization service Hyper-V, Data exchange service, Hyper-V, Remote Desktop Virtualization Service, Shutdown service as a guest.
• Remote Desktop Service. With this service, users can remotely connect to and control other computers. Disable it if you can’t imagine yourself in such scenarios.
• Service geographical location . Disabling this service will prevent apps from receiving location information.
• Store demo service. Unless you put your computer up for sale at a retail store, you definitely won't need this service.
• Wi-Fi Services Connection Manager Service-FiDirect. This service is needed to connect your computer to wireless screens and docking stations using Miracast technology and its analogues.
• Windows Insider Service. If you don't plan to test early Windows versions 10 in the Insider program, feel free to disable this service. Don't forget to turn it on if you change your mind.
• Windows Player Network Sharing ServiceMedia. This service allows you to share media libraries from your computer with other playback devices on your network.
• Windows serviceMobileHotspot. The service is needed only for devices with cellular modules and allows you to distribute mobile Internet. If a SIM card cannot be inserted into your computer, then you do not need the service.
• Secondary login. With this service, users can perform tasks as an administrator from an account with normal rights. If you are the only person using the computer, you do not need this service.
• SuperFetch. This service is described in detail in the article "".
• Remote registry. This service allows users to remotely edit the operating system registry. Someone thinks that activating it jeopardizes the user's safety, so they disable it.
• Sensor Service, Sensor Data Service And Sensor Monitoring Service. Feel free to turn off these services if you have a desktop PC. They are needed for laptops and tablets that use auxiliary sensors, such as a light sensor, screen rotation, and so on.

If you want to disable a service that is not mentioned in this list (it's safe to say that we didn't include a lot in this article), we recommend that you search for information about it online. The best is in the official Microsoft documentation. Alternatively, read several resources to gather several opinions on the justification of a particular service.

Windows hotkeys are used to simplify (speed up) the user's work with the computer. This is achieved by minimizing user interaction with the mouse.

Most combinations combine the Windows logo key with other keys on your keyboard. For example, the keyboard shortcut Windows+M minimizes all open windows. Agree, this is much faster and more convenient than minimizing all windows individually.

Now let's move directly to the topic of the article. Although these keyboard shortcuts are designed to make life easier for the user, in some cases it may be necessary to disable them. How to disable Windows hotkeys? Let's look at a few options.

Using gpedit.msc

1.Open the menu Start.

2. Select an item Execute.

gpedit.msc and press Enter.

If you have Windows 7 Home Premium, Home Basic or Starter, then use the instructions to run gpedit.msc.

4. In the window that opens , on the left in the menu tree select items User Configuration - Administrative Templates - ComponentsWindows - ExplorerWindows

5. In the list of parameters on the right we find the line Disable keyboard shortcutsWindows+X and click on it 2 times.

6. A window will appear in which you need to select the item Turn on and press OK.

7. Close the window Local Group Policy Editor and restart the computer.

As a result of performing the above steps, all hotkeys using the key will be disabled Windows.

Using Registry Editor

Attention! Using Registry Editor incorrectly can damage your computer's operating system. Therefore, follow the steps described below very carefully. It would be a good idea to create a system restore point.

1.Open the menu Start.

2. Select an item Execute.

3. In the window that appears, enter regedit and press Enter.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies

If at point Policies there is a section Explorer, then go to point 7.

Policies Create, then Chapter.

6. Rename the newly created section to Explorer.

7. Right-click on the section Explorer and in the context menu select the item Create, then ParameterDWORD (32 bits).

8. Assign a name to the created parameter NoWinKeys.

9. Right-click on the parameter NoWinKeys and select the item Change.

10. Enter the value 1 and press OK.

11. Close the registry editor window and restart the computer.

As with the first option, in this case all hotkeys using the key will also be disabled Windows.

Disabling individual hotkeys

Both options described above disable all hotkeys. But how can you disable individual hotkeys? To do this you need to do the following:

1.Open the menu Start.

2. Select an item Execute.

3. In the window that appears, enter regedit and press Enter.

4. The Registry Editor will open, in which you need to go to the following section:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

5. Right-click on the section Advanced and in the context menu select the item Create, then Expandable string parameter.

6. Assign a name to the created parameter DisabledHotKeys.

7. Right-click on the parameter DisabledHotKeys and select the item Change.

8. Next, you need to enter the characters used in the Windows hotkey combinations that you want to disable. For example, if you want to prohibit combinations Windows+R And Windows+E, then you need to assign a value to the string parameter RE.

Now consider an example in which you need to prohibit a combination with a key that is not associated with any letter of the Latin alphabet or number. In this case, you need to use virtual key codes and a table of ASCII character codes.

Here we will not discuss what virtual key codes are and provide a table of ASCII codes, because There is enough information on the Internet on these issues. Let's consider just one option using the example of a hotkey combination Windows+Home.

And so, the key Home corresponds to the virtual key code 24 . But to us in the string parameter DisabledHotKeys you need to enter a character. Therefore, using the table of ASCII character codes, we find which character the number 24 corresponds to. In our case, this is the character $ .

Now if we want to block hotkey combinations Windows+R, Windows+E And Windows+Home, needed in a string parameter DisabledHotKeys enter value RE$.

9. Close the registry editor window and restart the computer.

That's all. Now you know how to disable Windows hotkeys in three different ways.

By default, Windows 7 has the option to automatically download and install updates enabled. The operating system downloads update packages from the Microsoft server every time you connect your computer to the Internet. In theory, automatic updates are useful, as they are designed to patch system “holes”, modify files and optimize Windows operation, but in practice there are a number of reasons why you should disable Windows updates. Let's look at the main reasons:

• There have been cases when, due to updates or critical errors during their installation, failures occurred that led to Windows not working;
• Over time, there are more and more installed update packages, and there is less and less free space on the system disk, which can lead to Windows malfunctions if the C drive is small;
• While downloading updates, Internet speed may drop significantly (especially noticeable for users with small Internet channels); also, for some users, updates may hit their pockets (if the Internet is limited or a package with payment for traffic is connected);
• Many people are annoyed that during the installation of updates they cannot turn off the computer and sometimes have to wait quite a long time for the process to complete;
• Using a pirated version of Windows may limit the functionality of your operating system when trying to download updates;
• There is a whole list of less significant reasons, which I will not consider in this article.

Let's move directly to ways to disable Windows 7 updates.

How to disable Windows 7 update completely

For complete shutdown Windows 7 updates you need to get into Windows Services Management. To do this, click Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Services, or Start -> Control Panel -> System and Security -> Administrative Tools -> Services.

Use your mouse wheel to scroll to the bottom of the list and open the Windows Update service. In the window that opens, select the startup type “Disabled”, then click the “Stop” button and only then the “Apply” button.

You can close all open windows. Windows 7 update is now completely disabled. If necessary, the update can be enabled in the same way.

How to disable automatic updates in Windows 7

If you don't want to completely disable updates, you can disable only automatic Windows 7 updates. You will still have the option to download updates manually. To do this, go to Start -> Control Panel -> Windows Update, or Start -> Control Panel -> System and Security -> Windows Update. Click "Settings" in the left menu.

In the window that opens, select “Do not check for updates (not recommended)”; it is also advisable to uncheck the boxes below. Click "OK" at the bottom of the window to confirm the changes.

Windows 7 automatic updates are now disabled. To manually download updates, you can go to Windows Update at any time and click the "Check for updates" button.

Latest version Microsoft's operating system is literally packed with various components and services. And if some of them can be considered conditionally useful, then it would be advisable to turn off some of them and not think about them again. And many who want to download and try it in action, note this very desire. Because every action within the operating system, every word entered subsequently turns into advertising. Thus, Microsoft is trying to get maximum benefit from the owners of the conditional free Windows 10.

It’s quite easy to remove everything unnecessary that can track your actions and analyze them. Moreover, this can be done absolutely at any time. Don't worry if you didn't immediately turn off unnecessary components.

During system installation

To use this method, during the installation of Windows 10, you should abandon the default settings and click on the barely visible “Customize Settings” sign. It is located at the very bottom of the existing text.

In this section, you will see all the components that may interfere with your future Windows work 10. To prevent this, you need to disable them all by moving the slider to the appropriate position on the left. In total, you will have to disable two pages of functions.

It is also undesirable to enter your username and password registered on the Microsoft website during the installation process. You can simply skip this step; it does not affect anything. To do this, there is a small inscription at the bottom “Skip this step”.

If these minimum requirements are met, then the new operating system will practically not indicate any information about the user. It simply will not have special functions for this. Because all the necessary components for this are simply disabled. Therefore, you can use it easily and fearlessly.

If the operating system is already installed

On an existing operating system, disabling all unnecessary components that may interfere with a quiet and anonymous life is not very difficult. Only some will have to be disabled Windows features 10 that are particularly disturbing. Namely:

• Windows Defender.
• Contextual search.
• Advertising ID.
• Cloud services.

Each of them has its own way of turning off.

Windows Defender

To get rid of this tool, you need to go to Settings, and then go to the “Update and Security” section. There is a tab called “Windows Defender” in which we need to work. You should disable the functions responsible for sending data and protecting the cloud, as in the screenshot.

By the way, if you don’t want to mess around with the settings, just install any other antivirus. This will turn off Defender automatically.

Contextual Search and Cortana

These two tools are disabled together. Of course, in Russian Windows 10 the latter does not work by default, since Russification was not invented for it. However, it's better to be safe than sorry.

You should click on search in the bottom line of the desktop, and then click on the bottom-most icon in the left column, which displays Settings. And there you need to disable both Cortana and Internet Search.

Advertising ID

To disable this functionality, you need to go to the Settings we already know, and from there go to the Privacy section. IN general settings, located at the very top of the left column, you will have to remove the “on” state. for the first three components.

The next tab we need is “Speech, Handwriting and Text Input”. Here you need to prevent Windows 10 from forwarding your speech in order to study the functionality of Cortana. We've already turned it off anyway.

After completing these steps, do not close Confidentiality - it will come in handy later.

Telemetry

To get rid of passing these parameters, you will have to do a little programming. This is done using a built-in tool called PowerShell. To use it, you need to put your PC into console mode using the Windows + X key combination.

will appear command line, into which you need to fill in the combinations written in the screenshot.

In short, these commands delete already collected telemetry data, disable the service, and completely disable the ability to record any new data.

After that, open Confidentiality again, and from there go to “Reviews and Diagnostics”. You need to completely disable the generation of reviews (select the appropriate item in the drop-down menu), and then in the “Diagnostics and Usage Data” select the “Basic Information” item.

Clouds

To prevent cloud storage from working, it is enough not to use your account when working with Windows 10. To do this, you need to find the section in Settings that allows you to manage accounts, and then from there go to the “Your Account” section.

You can refuse to use an entry on the Microsoft website if you log in as local account. To do this, just click on the corresponding inscription and enter the data. This way, you can keep only those components of the 10th generation system that are required.

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