Optimize Windows settings with Winaero Tweaker

The free tool Winaero Tweaker can be used to adjust many hidden Windows settings. For this purpose, the program shows the places in the system that are changed and also which changes are made. In this tool tip, we show the many possibilities of this practical free tool.

Optimize Windows settings with Winaero Tweaker

Winaero Tweaker can be downloaded for free. As part of the installation, there is also the possibility to install the tool portably. In this case, no system files are changed in Windows, or registry settings are added. After that, the clear interface of the tool can be opened.

The advantages of Winaero Tweaker are that the individual adjustments are documented, can be exported, and administrators can make many adjustments without the tool, directly in the registry. To do this, simply change the settings as shown by the tweaker.

Some of the settings that can be made in Winaero Tweaker can also be implemented via local policies or group policies. However, the tweaker can also implement these settings in Windows 10 Home.

In addition, settings can also be exported from the tweaker, so that administrators can create their own scripts to implement settings without having to install Winaero Tweaker on the PCs. Those who want to delve deeper into the tool should read the FAQ of Winaero Tweaker.

Making settings with Winaero Tweaker

After installing or extracting the archive, Winaero Tweaker is started via the tool’s icon. In the settings, the tool can be customized. New versions can also be downloaded here, which is quite useful for productive use. With every new Windows 10 version, more setting options are offered. The options are called up via “Tools\Preferences” or via the gear icon.

After launching, the tweaks that Winaero Tweaker can make can be seen on the left. These are divided into sections. On the right side, you can see details about the settings. By clicking “Home\Information”, the installed version of Windows 10, the CPU used, the RAM, and other data are displayed on the right.

In terms of security, the areas “Behavior”, “Boot and Logon”, “Desktop and Taskbar”, “Contect Menu”, “Settings and Control Panel”, “File Explorer”, “Network”, “User Accounts”, “Windows Defender”, “Windows Apps”, “Privacy”, “Shortcuts”, “Tools” and “Get Classic Apps” are particularly important.

The procedure is always the same: On the left side, a tweak is selected that needs to be implemented. An example is “Boot and Logon\Hide Last User Name”. After clicking, the settings available and what these options affect are displayed on the right.

For most tweaks, there is a link “See in detail how this tweaks works”. This opens a web page at Aero where the changes are described in detail. If the tweak can be set via a group policy, this will also be shown. By clicking on an option, it will be implemented. Before too many settings are made, the individual options should be tested first.

Reset settings

Winaero Tweaker saves the settings that were made with the tool. Thus, these can also be undone at any time. With the option “File\Reset to defaults” the settings are set to the default. With “File\Reset all tweaks” the tweaks can be reset. For this purpose, the tweaks are displayed in a separate window. Here you can select the tweaks that should be reset. This window can also be used to display which settings have been implemented with Winaero Tweaker.

Export and import tweaks

Winaero Tweaker also allows exporting tweaks to a file. This has the advantage that tweaks can be imported again quickly and easily in case of a new installation or a different computer. The export is done via “Tools\Import/Export Tweaks”. With a wizard, you can select which of the tweaks you want to import.

The export is done via a *.ini file, which can also be displayed in the editor. However, with the export, no registry keys can be created, but the *.ini file is only intended for use in the Winaero Tweaker. Tweaks could also be imported again via the same menu item. Also when importing, it can be selected which of the tweaks in the *.ini file should be imported into the Winaero Tweaker.