Windows 10: Silly Question(s) re: Control Panel & Settings

I have Control.exe (Control Panel) pinned to the taskbar, mainly because I often want to get to Network & Sharing, Administrative Tools, Programs & Features,&c. without going through slow-loading pages of Modern Settings first. Cut out the middleman as it were.

If I need to keep open a Modern Settings page, like Windows Update (because it is not on Control Panel any longer) the Control.exe button pinned to the taskbar only opens the Modern Settings page I have open, and I have to go elsewhere to open an instance of Control Panel. Fortunately, I know many alternative ways of doing this!

When a Modern Settings page is sitting in the background idle for some length of time, it often seems to become totally unresponsive, except for the red close button - thanks be to Redmond.

Finally, just occasionally I wonder why isn't there a button in Control Panel that opens the Modern Settings page?

:)

 

Audio issues with only the left side of headphones/earphones work.

This may sound silly but have you checked the balance setting in your audio control panel?

Just a thought,

-Richard

 

tablet mode

May sound like a silly question, but is your screen a touch screen . . .

If it is go to Control Panel - Device Manager - HID Devices and update any drivers that require it

I Hope this helps!

 

If you right click the start button you can open control panel there

 

Remember that Control Panel is just a bunch of shortcuts to the various tools that you see when Explorer opens. Microsoft copied off of Stardock Software's Modern Mix when they designed the GUI for 10. If you use Start 10 or Classic Shell, you can the just go to the shortcut as it was with Windows 7.

If there are issues with the GUI that are causing long stalls, check to make sure that it is not your Security Software if you have any loaded, so that it is not set to always scan when you are opening programs, explorer, etc.. That slows down the system, along with the OS having issues that got rolled over from updates that left breadcrumbs and Windows may be dealing with a messed up Page File.

Are you still only running 2GB of RAM on that system in your profile? I would personally bump it up to 12, since Windows 10 tends to breathe a little easier when it has enough reserved RAM. I have ran it with only 4 GB and it still runs slow as a dog.

 

Thanks for the replies, @bro67 and HRC.

Sadly, 2GB is the max for the MB on that old Pentium 4 machine - it runs fine - the processor never throttles, like more modern CPUs & it's used to running hot at about 80 Watts CPU power use, so I have to blast air at it. It only overheats during hot weather!

Mostly I run a (Compaq Presario CQ57-422SA 15.6 inch Laptop (AMD Dual-Core E-300 1.3GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Windows 7 Home Premium): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories) Laptop with 4GB which is actually slower in use, or currently writing this on a:


desktop which is almost my fastest (technician) machine!
However desktop apps don't have the delay that modern apps have on opening their pages on these ageing machines.
The Compaq is falling apart, at least the touchpad is nearly worn thru and shiny, and the left button is almost separating from the rest of the case, so I'll treat myself to something up to date soon.

As I said I have lots of alternatives - Desktop toolbar, *Start+X, GodMode, ncpa.cpl, &c. and so on, and I don't care for Start menu replacements - I know that Windows has a lousy set of built-in tools, but at least it is a (lowest) common denominator for all users. Once you go third party, only other 3rd party users know what the problem is.

I go back all the way to a GEM GUI before Windows 2, 3.11, 95, OS/2.1, 98, XP, 7, 8 and 10 - I think I can say I know what the Control Panel is and how to get to the applets by a multitude of different pathways.

I just got a little ranty when a pinned taskbar button to a desktop app gets taken over by non-multitasking modern GUI app window, removing access to the desktop app it was meant to open when I pinned it there in the first place.
What happened to the

which showed the settings on the taskbar before I pinned

to it?

I'm sure you are right on this - but it's not long stalls from a mucked up system that I am talking about, just the short delays on opening - I guess from UAC sandboxing modern GUI apps - that don't happen on Desktop apps, unless I invoke the UAC by elevating the app to admin.

Most of my installs are clean these days, upgrades in the Insider builds to get a setup ISO, WIM or ESD to install across the network.

 

If I open Control Panel the normal way, then right click its icon, and Pin to taskbar. I can click it and open Control panel, even with the settings screen open on my other monitor?

 

Its not working like that for me @alphanumeric.

Before screenshot, showing control panel shortcut toast on mouseover:





then after screenshot after opening settings and cursor on the what was control panel shortcut pinned to taskbar showing peek toast of settings with settings open:





no way to open the shortcut to Control Panel now, just toggles settings fullscreen or minimised. AARGH!

 

That's not happening for me, even when I switch to PC screen only I can switch views between the two. That's not the Control Panel I see though? Yours is some kind of custom version? How did you originally PIN control panel to your taskbar?

 

If i go to the settings button on the start menu most used list, right click it, then more, unpin from taskbar is there as a choice - but I did not pin settings to taskbar, I had pinned a Control.exe shortcut for Control Panel to open on the taskbar





If I open any settings page like Windows Update, even from a start menu shortcut:




it overrides the shortcut to control panel, even when minimised:





close the settings page and the shortcut to control.exe returns:




If control panel is open and I open windows update, alt tab to control panel, windows update overrides the control.exe shortcut, and a control panel button appears on the taskbar:






It's just annoying and inconsistent behaviour. If any other pinned button has more than one window open, the pinned button and peek views cluster around the button, not at the end of the taskbar away from the original pinned app.

 

The way I pinned it was I right clicked the Start Button, then clicked Control Panel from the list to launch it. Then I just go down to the Icon for it on my taskbar, right click that and select Pin to taskbar. Once you do that it will stay pined even if you close it. If I mouse over the Icon it says Control Panel, not Control.exe.

 

OK I'll try that - strange to think that it makes a difference how a shortcut to a desktop app is made.

I noticed that legacy links to things like control panel are disappearing from places like *Start+X, so I went straight to the executable in Windows\system32. I wouldn't want an orphaned shortcut because the next insider update removes the link and whatever {guid} was used to create the shortcut.is hidden in some obscure place.

 

I have had to unpin settings from taskbar, which removed my original control.exe icon but left behind the second button lower down the taskbar below MSPaint(XP ver) then I pinned settings to taskbar and its usual cogwheel icon appeared below the Control Panel, and both now behave properly.

Attachment 119538

 

Old habits I guess, for me anyway. All the icons I have pined to my taskbar get there that way. I launch the program, Outlook for example, then just right click and PIN. Another way to do it is type Control Panel in the search box, right click its Icon in the search results and Pin from there. Or Cortana I guess, I only have Search Windows.

 

I wonder if Settings is linked to Control Panel, or vise versa?