Start Menu
The latest Start Menu coverage — news, analysis, and updates from the WindowsNews.AI desk.
Windows 11 KB5062660: Self-Healing Recovery, Recall Export, and On-Device AI Arrive
Microsoft’s latest optional preview update for Windows 11 version 24H2 isn’t just another collection of bug fixes. The July 22, 2025, KB5062660 (OS Build 26100.4770) release lays the groundwork...
Windows 11 25H2: You Can Finally Kill the Recommended Feed, and File Explorer Gets an AI Brain
After years of user requests, Microsoft is finally letting Windows 11 users eliminate the much-maligned Recommended feed from the Start menu, all while packing the operating system with AI-powered...
Windows 11 Dev Build 26200.5742 Migrates Legacy Settings, Adds Start Menu Phone Companion
Microsoft dropped Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200.5742 (KB5064075) to the Dev Channel on August 8, 2025, packing a faster File Explorer, a reimagined mobile device companion inside Start, and...
Microsoft Shifts Dozens of Control Panel Settings to Windows 11's Modern Settings in Beta Build 26120.5742
Microsoft dropped Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.5742 (KB5064075) into the Beta Channel on August 8, 2025, packing one of the most significant settings migrations yet. The build relocates...
New Dev Channel Build Overhauls Phone Companion, Migrates Time Settings, and Polishes UI
Microsoft’s latest Dev Channel flight, Build 26200.5742 (KB5064075), lands with a trio of enhancements that push the Windows 11 experience forward while quietly continuing one of the operating...
Windows 11 Build 26120.5742 Moves More Settings Out of Control Panel
Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.5742 (KB5064075) for the Beta Channel continues the long, slow migration of legacy Control Panel functions into the modern Settings app....
Windows 11 Build 26200.5742 Adds Phone Companion to Start, Migrates More Settings
Microsoft has shipped Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200.5742 (KB5064075) to the Dev Channel, packing a new mobile device companion right inside the Start menu and quietly moving another batch of...
Microsoft Fixes One Windows 11 Nag, Introduces a Harder-to-Ignore OneDrive Prompt in Start Menu
Windows 11 testers are confronting a classic good-news-bad-news scenario. In the latest Dev channel build 26200.5722, Microsoft has finally streamlined the persistent “second-chance out-of-box...
Unblockable and Unwanted: Windows 11’s Start Menu Pop-Ups Steer Users Into Microsoft 365 Subscriptions
Windows 11’s Start menu has morphed into an advertising billboard, and users are fuming. A freshly discovered pop-up urging Microsoft 365 sign-ups through cloud backup — now appearing with a...
Windows 11 Start Menu OneDrive Backup Prompts: Balancing User Experience, Privacy, and Corporate Ambitions
The emergence of persistent oneDrive backup prompts in the Windows 11 Start Menu has ignited a new wave of debate among users, industry observers, and privacy advocates. On the surface, these prompts...
Windows 11 25H2 Changes Shortcut Management: Implications for Power Users and IT
Windows 11 version 25H2 is poised to quietly reshape one of the cornerstone elements of the Windows desktop experience: the humble shortcut. For decades, shortcuts have empowered users to bend the...
How to Transform Windows 11 into a Windows 7 Lookalike: A Complete Customization Guide
For millions of PC users worldwide, Windows 7 remains the benchmark of Microsoft’s operating system evolution—a perfect intersection of clean design, stability, and user-centric features that...