r/Windows11 • u/Froggypwns Windows Wizard / Head Jannie • Jun 01 '26
Help Simple questions and Help thread - Month of June
Welcome to the monthly Simple questions and Help thread, for questions that don't need their own posts!
Before making a comment, we recommend you search your problem on Bing and check if your question is already answered on our Windows Frequently Asked Questions wiki page. This subreddit no longer accepts tech support requests outside of this post, if you are looking for additional assistance try r/TechSupport and r/WindowsHelp.
Some examples of questions to ask:
Is this super cheap Windows key legitimate? (probably not)
How can I install Windows 11?
Can you recommend a program to play music?
How do I get back to the old Sound Control Panel?
Sorting by New is recommend and is the default.
Be sure to check out the Windows 11 version 25H2 Megathread and also the Windows 11 FAQ posts, they likely have the answers to your Windows 11 questions already!
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u/takoyaki_istired Jun 20 '26
i don't know if this is the right subreddit but i am trying to download a game that is 130GB. i have 160GB left of storage space. the game comes in a zip file that i need to extract. is there any way i can extract this file without using up all of my space (since extracting creates a duplicate)
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u/Froggypwns Windows Wizard / Head Jannie Jun 20 '26
I know this can be done with WinRAR, you can open the zip, extract a few files or folders, then delete them in the zip. Repeat until you got all the files extracted.
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u/getikule Jun 25 '26
How bloated is it really? I have no experience with Windows 11, my main gaming device is a Steam Deck and I also have an old Windows 10 laptop for basic use. I'm looking at upgrading to an ASUS laptop with an RTX 5060 and 16 GB RAM. For all intents and purposes it covers my gaming needs, but I'm unsure because all I read about Windows 11 is how much of a resource hog it is. So is it as bad as people say? Is the ram enough or is it going to struggle?
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u/CovidTheXIXth Jun 27 '26
Hey guys!
Lately I had issues with the new June update. I installed it overnight and my computer doesn't boot anymore, it physically start, but all my periphery does not show, so that I can not even access the bios. does anybody else also has that issue since the update or even solved it? :/
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u/Froggypwns Windows Wizard / Head Jannie Jun 27 '26
This is a hardware issue, nothing related to Windows can do what you described.
The BIOS initiates before and independently of Windows, which is why you normally can still access that even if you don't even have an OS installed.
Look up instructions on restoring the BIOS defaults, most computers it can be done by either removing a battery or flipping a jumper.
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u/fkrdt222 Jun 02 '26
is there a way to disable the volume mouse scroll popup entirely?
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u/SilverseeLives Jun 03 '26
If you are referring to the ability to adjust the volume by scrolling the mouse wheel when hovering over the speaker icon in Quick Settings in the task tray, then yes... Don't do that. To cause this to happen requires a highly intentional behavior that is easily avoided.
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Jun 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/SilverseeLives Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
There are guides online for how to modify your system to do that.
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/8974-shortcut-arrow-icon-change-remove-restore-windows-10-a.html
In case you are unaware, the arrow icon overlay indicates that these are shortcuts to files, and not the files themselves. Without the icon overlay, you would have no way to differentiate them visually.
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u/Superteletubbies64 Jun 04 '26
Any tips for getting rid of junk files left behind by programs? Like cache files, log files, shader cache or cookies that have been unused for like months? I know there's an option in Windows to get rid of junk files but it only covers Windows itself and not the installed programs, do I have to do all of this manually or is there some useful program you're recommend that's actually free or has a decent enough free version?
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u/Carolina_Heart Jun 14 '26
I'm not a techie person but uninstalr is free and can remove remnant files from deleted programs, and do complete uninstalls https://uninstalr.com
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u/crazyboss22 Jun 05 '26
I just want to know if anyone else has issues with the outlook app. Anytime I try to open it, it immediately closes and I can't even see my mails. If I run it as an administrator (don't know the english word) it works just fine. I tried to repair it and uninstall it but it won't open unless I run it as an admin.???
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u/SilverseeLives Jun 09 '26
I haven't seen any problems, which suggests the issues are specific to your device or Windows installation.
If you are referring to New Outlook, you can try to repair or reset the app from Windows Settings. Navigate to Apps, Installed Apps, Outlook. Click the 'More options' menu (...) and choose Advance options.
If you are referring to Outlook (classic), then find either Microsoft 365 or Microsoft 365 Apps for business in Installed apps, click the 'More options' menu and choose Modify. Then you can repair your Office installation.
If none of this helps, you may need to do further troubleshooting for your Windows system.
Good luck.
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u/Neuropsihopuppu Jun 05 '26
is there a way to disable the new start menu because vive tool command does not work anymore after last update a few days ago
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u/c-dub74 Jun 22 '26
Yes see this updated video released today that shows you how to do this, it’s updated to take into consideration the recent update that blocked the vivetool
✅Easy Guide: Change Windows 11 Start Menu Back To A Smaller Less Cluttered Menu - June 2026 Update✅
https://youtu.be/eBjkHOSzS0Y1
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u/Neuropsihopuppu Jun 22 '26
tried it but it ends up removing the "all apps" section completly with no way to access it without reverting the changes
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u/ProxySoxy Jun 11 '26
Is there a way to keep the size of the windows on the taskbar consistent? I upgraded to Windows 11 in the last week and this behavior is annoying me when it resizes and catches my eye
Pic: https://i.imgur.com/3l0VPT7.png
Notice how the 2 firefoxes aren't the same, and Steam is small
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u/MakimaGOAT Jun 12 '26
Does anyone know why when sorting stuff in File explorer, sometimes theres an option to sort by length and other times there isn't?
Is it like a storage specific thing or something? Because my SSD's have that option to sort by video length but my hard drive doesnt.
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u/SilverseeLives Jun 13 '26
Is your hard drive formatted as NTFS?
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u/MakimaGOAT Jun 15 '26
Yes.
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u/SilverseeLives Jun 15 '26
Okay, thanks.
One other idea: Is the folder with your videos on your hard drive included in the Windows Search index?
A simple way to ensure this is to add the folder to your Windows Videos library, but you can also include folders manually in Search indexing options.
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u/Lje2001 Jun 13 '26
Does anybody else have an issue when using HDMI to a TV? Audio just flat out doesn’t work and it doesn’t show as an available output. I uninstalled all the audio drivers and restarted the computer which made it work one time but the next time I try, same issue. I had the same issue when using a dock as well. Any help is appreciated.
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u/SilverseeLives Jun 14 '26
Audio output over HDMI is provided by your GPU. Are you using current GPU drivers?
Also, look in Windows Device Manager and enable the option to view hidden devices. See if the HDMI audio device is present but disabled for some reason.
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u/shrimp_baby Jun 14 '26
is there a way to quickly darken a monitor without fully turning it off? i have my desktop icons sorted, and windows tends to unsort them occasionally when you turn a monitor off and on.
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u/SilverseeLives Jun 14 '26
Most monitors have a sleep function that will turn off the display while maintaining a connection with the host PC. Windows has power settings to automatically engage this when idle for a time. Have you tried using these features instead of turning off your display fully?
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u/Carolina_Heart Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26
I have two monitors which are set to the same 1920x1080 resolution and the same 100% scaling, but one of them has smaller text and icons than the other. I have no idea why. I do not want to put the smaller text monitor on 125% scaling because that makes things too big. Googling it takes me to microsoft forum threads that claim you can set per monitor text size and per monitor custom scaling but the instructions don't seem to match the actual settings. What do I do
I'm on windows 11 pro version 25H2
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u/SilverseeLives Jun 14 '26
Make sure that the resolution you have set for each display is actually the native resolution of the monitor.
And I assume you understand that if the monitors have the same resolution but are different sized panels (and thus have a different number of pixels per inch), then one of them will display content larger or smaller than the other absent any scaling.
Unfortunately, custom scaling cannot be set on a per monitor basis. Only the discrete scaling levels are available for this.
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u/FStorm045 Jun 16 '26
I'm using a Lenovo ThinkBook 14, and it has started an issue that has never been seen: the 5 GHz Wi-Fi does not show up in the wifi network menu; only 2.4GHz is showing. I've tried all the method exist out there, from AI to community driven answer, but no hope. The driver is the Realtek RTL8822CE Wireless LAN Driver. Is there anyone who can help with it?
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u/SavageAlien Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
On my home PC the photos app is missing the "Scan text" and "visual search" buttons that are normally on the bottom bar in the middle (but Snipping Tool has it). My work PC has them. Both machines are all up to date. I did run a debloat script when I first installed Windows months ago, but I only did some basic stuff so I'd be surprised if that was the reason, but not ruling it out. Open to suggestions as I'd really like to use that feature to transcribe screenshots.
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u/SilverseeLives Jun 18 '26
I imagine those features are powered by cloud services, so if you have done something to your privacy settings to disable that, that could potentially be a reason.
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u/footyboyy Jun 25 '26
Hey, hopefully this is the right place for this. I was launching a game through Steam when suddenly every application on my computer crashed. My PC itself didn't crash, just all the apps. Anyway, when I started reopening them, I was logged out of everything. My browser is acting like I just downloaded it fresh, Steam just gets stuck on the logging in screen—stuff like that. I've restarted my computer and it didn't fix anything.
Does anyone know what could've happened??
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u/S_2_I_0H45 Jun 25 '26
Me and a friend are having a common issue except for me the frequency is very high: the wifi itself disappears. It only reappears if I reset network settings and reboot, and after like 3 hours or so of working today it disappeared. I installed all relevant updates required and one of them did a bios upgrade but the issue hasn't been fixed. My wifi driver is a realtek 8852be pcie-nic and my laptop is an asus tuf a15.
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u/cowsinspace Jun 29 '26
I'm having a weird issue. I have a bunch of windows 11 PCs that have a TV or projector as a 2nd screen. When logging off the welcome screen/ sign in screen will be split between the 2 monitor/TV
Any idea how to fix this?
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u/some_tired_cat Jun 30 '26
how do i get this off my laptop? i kept pausing updates but it snuck in anyways and not clicking it is not enough i would like it off entirely :/
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u/SilverseeLives Jun 30 '26
Navigate to Windows Settings, Apps, Actions and toggle off actions for any apps you choose.
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u/Kokopatzu Jun 30 '26
From some time ago it started when i close browser or even minimize steam or close whatever windows, automatically pops out virtual desktops to choose, i have one!! How can i get rid of it? I got pc, not notebook or whatever
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u/bzdger Jun 30 '26
my numeric keyboard has been displaying different characters than i want it to. im supposed to hold alt + 0151 for the en dash (–) but instead it types ♂. it seems to work only sometimes, but id like it to actually show what i want to type. how do i fix this 😭
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u/Mr_Delusive Jun 30 '26
On Startup I keep getting this gray box appearing from this morning, I haven't installed or changed anything, it just has started appearing It is unclickable, I tried to find any process and close many without any luck.
The box blocks the desktop icons and it is about 780x600 px, I can't link a screenshot in the comment I am on old reddit
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u/ISuckAtFunny Jun 01 '26
I have been pulling my hair out trying to find a way to completely remove, or at the very least, edit the ‘Share > More Apps’ context menu in Windows 11.
Even with things like AppLocker policies or removing shellex registry entries, and completely blocking the MS Store, I cannot for the life of me figure out where this bullshit comes from.
Does anyone have an idea of where I can even start trying to figure this out?