Windows 10: Cortana: do i have to stop using PCs to loes that nasty useless thing

Listen Cortana is a terrible nuisance and I've read the stupid advice that doesn't work to shut it down. What am I supposed to do, just give up on using PCs?

If that is what is necessary I'll get rid of the machine before Cortana drives me nuts.

:)

 

Cortana: do i have to stop using PCs to loes that nasty useless thing

Hi EdRude,

I'm sorry to hear about your issues with Cortana. After reading your description of the issue I looked for info and found this statement directly from Microsoft:

"Cortana is part of the Windows 10 experience in the locales where she is available. This means Cortana can't be entirely turned off. For Cortana to work well, she needs to be integrated into the operating system. If you don’t want this functionality available
to you follow these steps to hide Cortana from the taskbar:

Right-click (or press and hold) the search box, hover over Cortana, and then select Hidden from the side menu. This will also remove the search box from your taskbar. We don’t recommend hacking registry settings or similar measures as this can make your operating
system unstable or crash.

You can review and control exactly what personal information Cortana can access by clicking into the search box and selecting Settings  on the left pane. You can also search "Cortana settings" in the search box on the taskbar, and select Cortana & Search settings
from the results.

Note: Cortana is removed from the Windows 10 Education and Windows 10 Pro Education editions. See Windows 10 editions for education customers for more info."

I hope this helps to clarify things for you.

 

Cortana: do i have to stop using PCs to loes that nasty useless thing

Listen Cortana is a terrible nuisance and I've read the stupid advice that doesn't work to shut it down. What am I supposed to do, just give up on using PCs?

If that is what is necessary I'll get rid of the machine before Cortana drives me nuts.

 

Cortana: do i have to stop using PCs to loes that nasty useless thing

Hello, EdRude,

What steps have you taken so I do not repeat the procedure?

1) To hide Cortana:

Press and hold (or right-click) anywhere on the taskbar.

Select Cortana.

Select Hidden.

2) You can edit the registry - Ensure you create a Backup for the Registry before making the changes.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search.

Press Winkey + R to open Run box

Type Regedit then press Enter or Ok

Navigate to the following key.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search.

If you don’t see a “Windows Search” key (folder) below the Windows folder, right-click the Windows folder and select New > Key. Name it “Windows Search”.

Right-click the “Windows Search” key (folder) in the left pane and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Name the value “AllowCortana”. Double-click it and set the value to “0”.

Source:
https://www.howtogeek.com/265027/how-to-disable...

Close the Registry and Reboot the computer for changes to take effect.

If you decide you want to reenable Cortana in the future, go back to "AllowCortana" key and change the value to 1.