Good afternoon, dear readers, not so long ago we upgraded to windows 10 creators update version 1703 and surprisingly it turned out to be much more stable than its predecessors, it no longer has so many blue screens and other glitches, but there is still a fly in the ointment and is called Control Panel. Surely many have already noticed that now missing control panel in windows 10 Creators Update, it is now hidden so far away that you will spend more time to find it. I will show you how to fix this and return the control panel to the context menu of the start button.
What is Control Panel
In simple terms, this is a snap-in application, the task of which is to systematize snap-ins by scope, so that it is convenient for the user to configure the operating system and administer it from a single panel. It includes the following groups:
- Windows To Go
- Administration
- Windows Firewall
- date and time
- storage spaces
- Device Manager
- Credential Manager
- home group
- infrared communication
- File history
- Keyboard
- Taskbar and Navigation
- Indexing Options
- Explorer options
- Remote Desktop Connections
- Programs and Features
- Default programs
- Working folders
- Speech recognition
- Regional standards
- Windows Backup and Restore
- Browser Properties
- System
- Phone and modem
- Color Management
- Troubleshooting
- Devices and printers
- user accounts
- Security and Service Center
- Sync Center
- Ease of Access Center
- Network and Sharing Center
- Bitlocker Drive Encryption
- Fonts
Where did the control panel go in windows 10
Although the new version of the operating system has become more stable and there are no problems in it that the OS gives an error msvcp140.dll, Microsoft is trying to get rid of classic applications in Windows 10 and in version 1703 the Control Panel fell under the knife. According to Microsoft, this is done in order to make it easier for the user to study dozens, so that all actions are the same on:
- Phones
- Tablets
- computers
This seems to be good, but for people who use Windows starting from XP and above, they really don’t like it, because they got used to it over the years of use. Previously, in Windows 10, you could easily right-click on the start button and see the item in the context menu
now it’s simply not here, you must admit that it used to be more convenient, but don’t worry, in minutes we can return the control panel to the Windows 10 start context menu (Win + X menu).
How to open control panel in windows 10 Creators Update
So how to enter the windows 10 control panel after update 1703, there are three methods to get into the Control Panel, below we will return the old method through the Start context menu.
- through the start menu structure
- Execute through the window
- Through the command line
- Through search
- Via label
Open Control Panel via Start Menu
You can access the Windows 10 control panel, the old classic method, through the menu structure of the Start button. We find the item "Utilities - Window" and in it the item "Control Panel"
Opening the Control Panel via the "Run" menu
And so we press the key combination WIN + R and in the Run window that opens, write control panel and press Enter, as a result of which the classic control panel will open.
In the command line, you can also type control panel and press Enter, the effect will be the same.
Open control panel via search and shortcut
You can go to the control panel using the search, for this we click the magnifying glass icon, to the right of the "Start" button. In the search field, enter the control panel and at the top you will see the desired shortcut in the search results.
And the last method, through a shortcut. Since the snap itself lies along the path:
C:\Windows\System32\Control
Then by running it or creating a desktop shortcut from it, you can turn on the Windows 10 control panel.
We learned how to find the control panel in windows 10 Creators Update, now we will return everything as it was and add an item to the start context menu.
How to get control panel back in windows 10
In order to return everything as it was, there are two ways:
- Creating a shortcut and placing it in the right place
- Using the Win+X Menu Editor utility
Win + X Menu Editor is a free utility, you can download it from the link and you need it in order to customize the context menu of the puk button, which is called using the WIN + X hotkey combination.
- Launch Win+X Menu Editor
- Select Group 2, this area allows you to return the control panel to the desired location. Please note that the already existing "Control Panel" item has a gear icon and will open the "Settings" item, but we need to click the Add a program > Add a Control Panel item item at the top, it will return the old control panel to windows 10.
In the resulting list, find the item "All Control Panel Items" and press Select.
Now you need to restart Windows Explorer, to do this, click the Restart Explore button.
We check everything, your Win + X Menu Editor utility should add a control panel to Windows 10, I have the "All Control Panel Items" item, I don't like it and I want to rename it.
Go to the Win + X Menu Editor utility and press the F2 key on the desired item to rename the menu item.
Set the name of the element.
We check the context menu of the Start button and see the restored Control Panel item we need! As you can see, restoring the Control Panel is very simple with this method, but there is also an alternative.
Restore by adding a shortcut
In order to return the control panel to the Win + X menu, you will need to copy the control panel shortcut (you won’t be able to create your own, they will not be displayed in the menu) of the context menu from the previous version of Windows 10 (before 1703) or 8.1, you can download from me or go on an older version along the way
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\WinX\Group2
Copy it to a USB flash drive or something else and transfer it to the desired computer. Then we again follow the path, but on a new computer
I hope this instruction helped you and you were able to find and return the control panel in the new operating system Windows 10 Creators Update,
The control panel is the holy of holies of any device from a smartphone to a spaceship. With it, you can configure and manage the device, change parameters and characteristics. Each Windows operating system also has its own control environment, although in Windows 10, developers want to phase out the "Control Panel".
What is the "Control Panel" and why is it needed
"Control Panel" - a special environment for managing the operating system. Its main function is to change OS settings. All Control Panel utilities are divided into eight categories:
- "System and safety";
- "Network and Internet";
- "Equipment and sound";
- "Programs";
- "User accounts";
- "Design and personalization";
- "Clock and region";
- "Special abilities".
Depending on the assembly, the number of categories may vary.
Control Panel applets divided into categories
By the name of the category, it is easy to determine for which section of the computer it is responsible. You can also change the display of categories to icons to find a setting or utility without navigating through groups. To do this, click on "View" and change the filter from "Category" to "Small Icons".
Select "Large Icons" if you find large text easier to work with After that, more categories will appear in the "Control Panel", arranged by columns.
Showing icons in Control Panel makes categories more fragmented For me personally, the "Control Panel" is a very important tool in working with a computer. Immediately after reinstalling the system, for about half an hour I delve into the power settings, personalization and other Windows settings to make the OS as comfortable as possible. If the factory settings do not suit you, I change them in the "Control Panel".
How to open the "Control Panel" on Windows 10
There are enough opportunities: executing utilities, search, shortcuts and even hot keys.
Through search
Windows Search will associatively find any file or application on the computer.
To open the search box, click on the magnifying glass icon in the lower left corner next to the Start button. In the input field, enter "Control Panel" and click on the program.
Enter the query "Control Panel" and select the program Via Run command or command line terminal
The control command in the executing program or command line console will also open the "Control Panel".
Press the Win + R keys, in the dialog box type control and run.
Enter the control command and run with the OK button or the Enter key Through the terminal "Command line" you can run any application and process, including the "Control Panel". Here's how to do it:
Through the Windows menu
The Windows menu is an element for launching the most commonly used system applets.
There are two ways to open the menu:
- Win + X keys;
- by right-clicking on the Windows icon (otherwise, the Start button).
Call the Windows context menu and select "Control Panel" Since Windows 10 version 1703, the “Control Panel” in the OS menu has been replaced with the “Settings” environment, and now this method is not possible on new versions.
Via system settings
The built-in Settings environment has its own system search that you can use to open the Control Panel.
Through the "Explorer"
"Explorer" is a universal Windows file manager, with its help it is very easy to open the "Control Panel".
Via the Start Menu (Start Screen)
The easiest way to open the "Control Panel" is through the "Start" menu.
Click on the Windows button, scroll through the list of programs to the "System Tools" folder, click on "Control Panel" in it.
The Control Panel shortcut is located in the System Tools folder How to create a shortcut to enter the "Control Panel" on Windows 10
In order not to look for the service over and over again, you can add a tool shortcut to the desktop.
- Right-click on an empty spot on the desktop, select "New" - "Shortcut".
Select "Create" - "Shortcut" from the context menu - In the Create Shortcut Wizard window, write control, click "Next".
Control - already familiar command to call the "Control Panel" - Next, give the shortcut a name: you can choose any, but it’s more correct to call it “Control Panel”. Then click Done. Now on the desktop there is a quick access to the "Control Panel".
Fill in the "Enter a label name" field and click "Finish"
How to set hotkeys to open the control panel on Windows 10
In Windows, you can set hotkeys (global) keys to call a shortcut. With their help, the shortcut is launched in any application without using the mouse. Here's how to create them:
After that, pressing the hot keys will be accompanied by the opening of the "Control Panel".
Video: how to open the "Control Panel"
Opening a command prompt is very easy. Use any way you like: hotkeys, shortcuts or command line calls.
In Windows 8, Microsoft introduced a new feature - Windows + X a menu that can be opened by pressing the Win + X keyboard shortcuts. In the Windows 10 operating system, you can simply right-click on the button "Start" to open it. The Win + X menu contains shortcuts to useful administrative tools and system functions. Unfortunately, Microsoft removed the classic Control Panel applet from the Win + X menu and replaced it with the application Windows Settings.
In the latest builds of Windows 10, Microsoft has updated the pages that can be opened with Win+X.
The following menu items now open in the app Windows Settings:
- Applications and features
- System
- Power Management
- System
- Network connections
- Options
The target shortcuts for the items mentioned will only change when you install Windows 10 from scratch. For users who have upgraded from previous builds, the Win + X menu items may remain the same.
There is a little trick to return K Classic Control Panel on the menu Windows + X.
Return the Classic Control Panel to the Win + X menu.
- Open File Explorer and navigate to the following path:
Copy and paste into the address bar of File Explorer and click Enter :
Of course, you can also go the traditional way by going to: C:\Users\yourname\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WinX\Group2Note: folder AppData is hidden, enable the option "Show hidden files, folders and drives".
- Now to add the Classic Control Panel Link to the Win-X menu, you need to download the old Control Panel Link here - Control panel X Menu .
- Unzip and copy the shortcut to a folder C:\Users\Your name\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WinX\Group2 - overwriting the original.
Note: You can simply rename the original shortcut instead of replacing it.
- Then restart Windows Explorer or restart your PC.
However, it is likely that the classic control panel will soon be completely removed soon.
Some developers of popular computer components, such as audio cards or video cards, began to transfer part of the driver - for example, the control panel - to the Windows 10 Store. For example, Realtek did this this summer, and the new panel looks quite nice and in the Modern UI style:
In practice, this is quite convenient, since now the control panels will be located and updated in one place and separately from the driver. Of course, this is only available for Windows 10 users, because there is no app store in Windows 7.
Now the new Nvidia Control Panel is still being tested, so it is not available by default, but you can enable it if you wish, on most video cards there should be no problems. There are only two requirements: firstly, there must be a fresh video driver, everything works on the latest 416.34 at the moment. Secondly, the system must be 64-bit.
If the requirements are met, then follow this link, agree to open the App Store and install the Panel: 
But do not rush to click on the "Run" button - since the Panel is not officially available yet, some changes in the registry are needed, namely, you need to go along the path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\nvlddmkm\FTS and create parameter DWORD with the title EnableRID69527 and meaning 1 :
That's it, now the new Panel can be launched. So far, it looks the same as the old one, the only change is a new taskbar icon:
But, it is quite possible that Nvidia, like Realtek, will rewrite it for Modern UI in the future.
You write in the instructions: “open the control panel, select the Programs and Features item”, after which it turns out that not all users know how to open the control panel, and this item is not always present. Let's fill in the gap.
In this guide - 5 ways to enter the control panel in Windows 10 and Windows 8.1, some of which work in Windows 7. And at the same time, a video demonstrating these methods at the end.
Update 2017: In Windows 10 1703 Creators Update, the Control Panel item has disappeared from the Win+X menu, but it can be returned: .
In Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, you can get to the control panel in just one or two clicks. For this:
However, in Windows 7 this can be done no less quickly - the desired item is present in the regular Start menu by default.
Using search
One of the smartest ways to launch something you don't know how to open in Windows is to use the built-in search functionality.
In Windows 10, the search field is placed on the taskbar by default. In Windows 8.1, you can press the Win+S keys or just start typing while on the Start screen (with app tiles). And in Windows 7, such a field is present at the bottom of the Start menu.
If you just start typing "Control Panel", then in the search results you will quickly see the desired item and you can launch it with a simple click.
Additionally, when using this method in Windows 8.1 and 10, you can right-click on the found control panel and select "Pin to taskbar" to quickly launch it in the future.
I note that in some preliminary assemblies of Windows, as well as in some other cases (for example, after installing a language pack on your own), the control panel is found only by entering “Control Panel”.
Create a launch shortcut
If you often need to access the control panel, then you can simply create a shortcut to launch it manually. To do this, right-click on the desktop (or in any folder), select "Create" - "Shortcut".
After that, in the "Specify the location of the object" field, enter one of the following options:
- control
- explorer shell:ControlPanelFolder
Hot keys to open the Control Panel
By default, Windows does not provide a hotkey combination to open the control panel, but you can create it, including without using additional programs.
To do this, follow these steps:
Done, now by pressing the combination you have chosen, the control panel will be launched (just do not delete the shortcut).
Video - how to open the control panel
And finally, a video tutorial on how to launch the control panel, which shows all the methods listed above.
I hope this information was useful for novice users, and at the same time helped to see that almost everything in Windows can be done in more than one way.