adam's notes

Windows System Settings

The System Settings page in the Settings app presents options for configuring input and output devices, power, remote desktop, notifications, and clipboard (data copying).

  • About page lists key hardware and OS version info
  • Contains shortcuts to
    • configuration pages for BitLocker disk encryption
    • system protection
    • advanced system settings
      • performance options
        • visual effects
        • virtual memory (paging)
        • operation mode
        • favor performance for foreground vs background operations
          • always leave a PC optimized for foreground processes
      • Startup and recovery options
      • environment variables
      • user profiles

Update and Security Settings

The Update & Security settings provide a single interface to manage a secure and reliable computing environment:

  • Patch management is an important maintenance task to ensure that PCs operate reliably and securely.
  • A patch or update is a file containing replacement system or application code. The fix could be made to improve reliability, security, or performance.
  • Security apps detect and block threats to the computer system and data, such as viruses and other malware in files and unauthorized network traffic

Windows Update

Windows Update hosts critical updates and security patches plus optional software and
hardware device driver updates.

  • Update detection and scheduling can be configured via Settings > Update & Security
  • Windows Update can only be paused temporarily and cannot be completely disabled
  • You can use the page to:
    • Check for updates manually
    • Choose which optional updates to apply
    • Select a Feature Update (which introduces changes to OS features and tools)
    • Perform an in-place upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 if the hardware platform is compatible

Important

  • Update activity is recorded by Windows Event Viewer
  • The log file is located: Applications and Service Logs > Microsoft\Windows > WindowsUpdateClient > Operational log file
  • If an update fails to install, check the log to find the cause with the given error code

Windows Security

The Windows Security page contains shortcuts to the management pages for:

  • Windows Defender virus/threat protection
  • Firewall product

Activation

Microsoft Product Activation is an antipiracy technology that verifies that software products are legitimately purchased.

  • must activate Windows within given number of days after installation
  • after grace period, certain features will be disabled
  • shows current status

Device Settings

Most Windows-compatible hardware devices use Plug and Play.

  • automatically detects when a new device is connected, locates drivers, and installs and configures it
  • sometimes need to install diver before connecting device
  • device drivers are supplied via Windows Update
  • When using 64-bit Windows, you need 64-bit device drivers, 32-bit will not work

Ways to Configure Device Settings

  • System settings page
    • configure display and sound devices
  • Devices settings page
    • configure input devices, print/scan devices, bluetooth/USB devices
  • Phone settings
    • link smartphone to computer
  • Devices and Printers applet in Control Panel
    • add devices manually
    • shortcuts for configuration pages for connected devices
  • Device Manager
    • advanced management console interface for managing system and peripheral devices

Display and Sound Settings

  • Scale
    • makes the system use proportionally larger fonts
  • Color
    • monitor must be calibrated to ensure that colors match what the designer intends
  • Multiple displays
    • adjust screen positions
  • Resolution and refresh rate

Sound Applet

  • found in Settings or Control Panel
  • set an input and output device
  • set and test audio levels

Power Options

Power management allows Windows to selectively reduce or turn off the power supplied to hardware components.

  • can configure to enter power-saving mode automatically

The Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) specification is designed to ensure software and hardware compatibility for different power-saving modes.

  • several ACPI power modes:
    • S0 (powered on) to S5 (soft power off)
    • G3 (mechanically powered off)
    • Standby/Suspend to RAM
      • cuts power to most devices, but maintains power to memory
      • aka S1-S3
    • Hibernate/Suspend to Disk
      • Saves an open but unsaved file data in memory to disk
        • as hiberfil.sys in root of the boot volume
      • turns computer off
      • aka S4

In Windows, the ACPI modes are known as:

  • sleep
    • laptop goes to standby state as normal
    • if on battery power, switches from standby to hibernate before battery runs down
  • hybrid sleep
    • desktop create hibernation file and then goes to standby state
    • can be configured to switch to full hibernation state after defined period
  • modern standby
    • utilizes a device’s ability to function in an S0 low-power idle mode to maintain network connectivity without consuming too much energy

Can set sleep timers for individual components

  • display or hard drive

Control Panel Power Options Applet

  • define what behavior the power button press down and closing of lid should do
    • which state to enter
  • enable/disable fast startup
    • uses hibernation file to instantly restore the previous system RAM contents and make the computer ready for input more quickly
  • configure detailed power plan
    • configure CPU states, search and indexing behavior, display brightness, etc.

Apps, Programs, and Features

Types of Installable Software

  • Windows Features
    • components of the operating system that can be enabled or disabled
    • E.g., Hyper-V virtualization can be installed as optional feature
  • Microsoft Store Apps
    • installed via Microsoft Store
    • can be transferred between devices with Microsoft Account
    • run in a restrictive sandbox
      • designed to prevent a store app from making system-wide changes, crashing the OS, or interfering with other apps
    • Standard permission users are able to install Store apps
      • does not require confirmation with UAC or admin permissions
  • User-context apps
    • apps installed into a user’s AppData folder
    • Don’t need admin credentials to install
      • because they don’t install into System folders or Program Files folders
  • Desktop apps
    • installed by running a setup program or MSI installer
    • require admin privileges to install
  • Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)
    • allows the install of a Linux distribution and the use of Linux applications

App Settings

  • founding Settings App > Apps
  • used to view and remove installed apps and Windows Features
  • configure default apps
  • manage startup apps

Programs and Features

  • Programs and Features Control Panel applet is the legacy software management interface
  • use to install and modify desktop apps and Windows Features

Mail

  • Mail applet in Control Panel is added if the Microsoft Outlook client is installed
  • used to add email accounts/profiles and manage .OST and .PST data files used to cache and archive messages

Gaming

  • Gaming settings page is used to toggle game mode on/off
  • Game mode suspends Windows Update and dedicates resources to 3-D performance and frame rate of the active game
  • can manage captures, in-game chat/broadcast features, and networking with X-box console

Network Settings

  • Windows host can be configured with multiple types of network adapter
  • adapter types:
    • Ethernet
    • Wi-Fi
    • cellular radio
    • virtual private network (VPN)
  • each adapter must be configured with IP address info
  • each network an adapter connects to must be assigned a trust profile: public, private, domain
    • network profile type determines firewall settings
    • public is more restrictive than public and domain
  • network status and adapter info is managed via various configuration utilities:
    • Network and Internet
      • settings app used to view network status, change IP address properties of each adapter, and access other tools
    • Network Connections (ncpa.cpl)
      • Control Panel applet for managing adapter devices, including IP address info
    • Network and Sharing Center
      • Control Panel applet that shows status info
    • Advanced sharing settings
      • Control Panel applet that configures network discovery (detect other hosts on network) and enables/disables file and printer sharing

Windows Defender Firewall

Windows Defender Firewall determines which processes, protocols, and hosts are allowed to communicate with the local computer over the network.

  • apply complex firewall rules with Advanced Security management console

Windows Security settings app & the applet in Control Panel:

  • allows the firewall to be enabled or disabled

Internet Options

Internet Options Control Panel applet exposes the configuration settings for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) browser.

Security tab

  • restricts what types of potentially risky active content are allowed to run

Administrative Tools

  • Shortcut in Control Panel
  • links to multiple advanced configuration consoles
  • Microsoft Management Console (MMC) contains one or more snap-ins that are used to modify advanced settings for a subsystem, such as disks or users
    • Computer Management (compmgmt.msc)
      • default management console to schedule tasks and configure local users and groups, disks, services, devices, etc.
    • Defragment and Optimize Drives (dfrgui.exe)
      • maintain disk performance by optimizing file storage patterns
    • Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe)
      • regain disk capacity by deleting unwanted files
    • Event Viewer (evenvwr.exe)
      • review system, security, and application logs
    • Local Secuirty Policy (secpol.msc)
      • view and edit security settings
    • Resource Monitor (resmon.exe) and Performance Monitoring (perfmon.msc)
      • view and log performance stats
    • Registry Editor (regedit.exe)
      • make manual edits to the database of Windows configuration settings
    • Services Console (services.msc)
      • start, stop, pause processes running in the background
    • Task Scheduler (taskschd.msc)
      • run software and scripts to calendar or event triggers

Management Shortcuts

  • Press WINDOWS + X or right-clicking Windows button shows shortcut menu for main management utilities
  • Instant Search (press WINDOWS key)
  • Run Dialog (WINDOWS + R): execute a program with switches that modify the operation of the software
  • shortcuts menus for system objects and notification area icons
    • This PC > Properties opens System Settings app
    • This PC > Manage opens Computer Management Console

Graph View

Backlinks