These things annoy me in Windows 10

Martin Brinkmann
Aug 20, 2015
Updated • Jul 5, 2017
Windows, Windows 10
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39

This is a personal post as you can see when you read the title. Windows 10 shipped less than a month ago and was available as a preview version months before that.

A core difference to previous Microsoft operating systems is the modular nature of the operating system. It is a work in progress even after the release of the final version, and new features will get pushed out regularly to it.

If you spend time working with the operating system you may have noticed issues doing so. Some may have been minor, other cosmetic in nature but some probably also major.

I have to admit that I did not run into major issues so far. The operating system works well for the most part, and the issues that I have with it mostly slow down my workflow when using the system.

Lets get started.

I loved Aero Snap when it launched in Windows 7. It allowed me to snap two windows side by side easily without having to readjust them in any way. Since I do work with two windows side by side most of the time, it improved my workflow significantly.

pinning windows windows 10

The new Aero Snap in Windows 10 changes that for the worse. While it looks improved on first glance, you can now snap windows to quarters as well, it is not something that I need.

It happens though that windows that I want to snap to the left or right side end up being snapped to the upper left or right corner instead so that I have to readjust them again to make them take up half the screen space.

There is no option to block this from happening as you cannot disable the hot corner functionality in Windows 10 anymore.

This may also be an issue on multi-monitor systems when you drag windows from one to the other. If you are too slow, you may end up pinning them instead.

The one feature that I like about the new Aero Snap is that it is no longer always 50/50 when you pin windows to the side. If one of the windows takes up more space, lets say 60%, the other will automatically take up the remaining 40%.

The Start Menu is better than that of Windows 8 if you are a desktop user. While that is the case, it lacks left-side customization options.

windows 10 start menu

If you disable the "recently added" feature, which I have done, you end up with a block of empty space on the left that you cannot use for anything.

You cannot pin items there or do anything with it. This is a problem, especially since tiles don't support jumplists.

While you can pin any program you want as a tile, it would be useful if you could pin often used programs on the left side as well to make use of jumplists.

In addition, I'd like to see a text only option for tiles as I don't need those big rectangular boxes as I'm not using a touch monitor.

The System Tray area needs work as well. Why is it not possible to remove certain icons from it, and show others permanently on it anymore?

system tray

For instance, I do not need the Action Center there or the language selection menu. I'd like to see other icons there permanently however and not just when I click on the arrow to display them.

Unless I overlooked the option to hide and show icons, it is not there anymore.

Update: Found it. Microsoft added the option to the Settings. You find them under Settings > System > Notifications & actions > Select which icons appear on the taskbar now and Turn System Icons on or off.

All Settings should be accessible under one central location. Juggling between the new Settings application and the classic Control Panel is not comfortable and at times confusing, especially since you cannot search both at the same time.

Microsoft announced plans to move everything to Settings, and one suggestions that I have for that is to keep the old shortcuts and options when that happens.

Hitting Windows-Pause to open the System control panel applet is useful and fast for instance.

While we are at it, add a Settings layout for Desktop systems as well. What I mean by that is that Settings in its current form is optimized for touch. Big buttons, big fonts and few options and settings per page.

Add a desktop theme that displays more settings on a page, reduces the size of buttons and fonts, and streamlines it more for users who want fast access to settings.

Generally speaking, I'd like to see more customization options in the operating system. The forced white title bars that Microsoft addresses in the most recent Insider build are a good example of that.

Now You: Have you encountered issues while using Windows 10?

Summary
These things annoy me in Windows 10
Article Name
These things annoy me in Windows 10
Description
A list of Windows 10 annoyances; features that annoy me. It is a personal list of things that I dislike when it comes to Microsoft's operating system.
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Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. Dan Donx said on January 15, 2023 at 10:29 am
    Reply

    What mental age of reader are you targeting with the first sentence? 10?

    Why not write an article on how to *avoid* upgrading from W10 to W11. Analogous to those like me who avoided upgrading from 7 to 10 for as long as possible.

    If your paymaster Microsoft permits it, of course.

  2. Dexter said on January 15, 2023 at 11:14 am
    Reply

    5. Rufus
    6. Ventoy

    PS. I hate reading these “SEO optimized” articles.

    1. cdr said on January 15, 2023 at 3:32 pm
      Reply

      I used Rufus to create an installer for a 6th gen intel i5 that had MBR. It upgraded using Setup. No issues except for Win 11 always prompting me to replace my local account. Still using Win 10 Pro on all my other PCs to avoid the bullying.

  3. sv said on January 15, 2023 at 6:40 pm
    Reply

    bit pointless to upgrade for the sake of upgrading as you never know when you’ll get locked out because ms might suddenly not provide updates to unsupported systems.

    ps…. time travelling?
    written. Jan 15, 2023
    Updated • Jan 13, 2023

    1. Martin Brinkmann said on January 16, 2023 at 5:49 am
      Reply

      This happens when you schedule a post in WordPress and update it before setting the publication date.

  4. Anonymous said on January 16, 2023 at 8:24 am
    Reply

    Anyone willing to downgrade to this awful OS must like inflicting themselves with harm.

  5. basingstoke said on January 16, 2023 at 11:18 am
    Reply

    I have become convinced now that anybody who has no qualms with using Windows 11/10 must fit into one of the following brackets:

    1) Too young to remember a time before W10 and W11 (doesn’t know better)

    2) Wants to play the latest games on their PC above anything else (or deeply needs some software which already dropped W7 support)

    3) Doesn’t know too much about how computers work, worried that they’d be absolutely lost and in trouble without the “”latest security””

    4) Microsoft apologist that tries to justify that the latest “features” and “changes” are actually a good thing, that improve Windows

    5) Uses their computer to do a bare minimum of like 3 different things, browse web, check emails, etc, so really doesn’t fuss

    Obviously that doesn’t cover everyone, there’s also the category that:

    6) Actually liked W7 more than 10, and held out as long as possible before switching, begrudgingly uses 10 now

    Have I missed any group off this list?

    1. Heinz Strunk said on September 19, 2023 at 3:57 pm
      Reply

      You have missed in this group just about any professional user that uses business software like CAD programs or ERP Programs which are 99% of all professional users from this list.

      Linux doesn’t help anyone who is not a linux kid and apple is just a fancy facebook machine.

  6. ilev said on August 24, 2023 at 7:34 pm
    Reply

    Microsoft has removed KB5029351 update

    1. EP said on August 24, 2023 at 9:21 pm
      Reply

      only from windows update though
      KB5029351 is still available from the ms update catalog site

  7. Anonymous said on August 24, 2023 at 11:05 pm
    Reply

    1. This update is labaled as PREVIEW if it causes issues to unintelligent people, then they shouldn’t have allowed Preview updates ot install.

    2. I have installed it in a 11 years old computer, and no problems at all.

    3. Making a big drama over a bluescreen for an updated labeled as preview is ridiculous.

    This is probably another BS internet drama where people ran programs and scripts that modified the registry until they broke Windows, just for removing stuff that they weren’t even using just for the sake of it.
    Maybe people should stop playing geeks and actually either use Windows 10 or Windows 11, but don’t try to modify things just for the sake of it.

    Sometimes removing or stopping things (like defender is a perfect example) only need intelligence, not scripts or 3rd party programs that might mess with windows.

  8. john said on August 24, 2023 at 11:17 pm
    Reply

    Windows 11 was a pointless release, it was just created because some of the Windows team wanted to boost sales with some sort of new and improved Windows 10. Instead, Microsoft cannot support one version well let alone two.

    1. John G. said on August 25, 2023 at 12:08 pm
      Reply

      Windows 11 is the worst ugly shame by Microsoft ever. They should release with every new W11 version a complete free version of Starallback inside just to make this sh** OS functionally again.

  9. EP said on August 25, 2023 at 3:10 pm
    Reply

    motherboard maker MSI has recently released a statement regarding the “unsupported processor” blue screen error for their boards using Intel 600/700 series chipsets & to avoid the KB5029351 Win11 update:
    https://www.msi.com/news/detail/MSI-On–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–Error-Message-of-Windows-11-Update-KB5029351-Preview-142215

  10. EP said on August 29, 2023 at 7:32 pm
    Reply

    check out the following recent articles:

    Neowin – Microsoft puts little blame on its Windows update after UNSUPPORTED PROCESSOR BSOD bug:
    https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-puts-little-blame-on-its-windows-update-after-unsupported-processor-bsod-bug/

    BleepingComputer – Microsoft blames ‘unsupported processor’ blue screens on OEM vendors:
    https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-blames-unsupported-processor-blue-screens-on-oem-vendors/

  11. Leonard Britvolli said on August 30, 2023 at 10:33 pm
    Reply

    While there may be changes or updates to the Windows 10 Store for Business and Education in the future, it is premature to conclude that it will be discontinued based solely on rumors.

  12. sembrador said on September 5, 2023 at 9:32 pm
    Reply

    My advice, I left win 15 years ago. Now I’m a happy linux user (linuxmint) but there is Centos, Fedora, Ubuntu depending on your needs.

  13. EP said on September 6, 2023 at 11:55 am
    Reply

    motherboard maker MSI has recently released new BIOS/firmware updates for their Intel 600 & 700 series motherboards to fix the “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR” problem (Sept. 6):

    https://www.msi.com/news/detail/Updated-BIOS-fixes-Error-Message–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–caused-BSOD-on-MSI-s-Intel-700-and-600-Series-Motherboards-142277

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