Windows 11

Configuring Point-in-time restore in Windows

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This week is a follow-up on this post of earlier this year about getting started with point-in-time restore in Windows. At that moment, the early release of Point-in-time-restore became available and showed the concept in the Windows. Now that functionality is further developed in to a general available feature that also includes management capabilities via Microsoft Intune. Point-in-time-restore fits perfectly in the storyline of the many new (and still coming) features related to the backup, restore, and recovery of Windows. That storyline goes from Quick Machine Recovery, which is focused on recovering Windows devices when encountering critical errors that prevent the device from booting, to Windows settings backup and restore (previously known as Windows Backup for Organizations), which is focused on making it easier to switch …

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Collecting Windows registry data

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This week is all about the recently introduced capability to collect Windows registry data (or in other words, the ability to perform registry inventory). A lot has been written about that capability, but it is such an important enhancement that it deserves a place on this blog as well. Until this moment, IT administrators often used scripting solutions to collect specific Windows registry data. With the introduction of the collection of Windows registry data, the need for such solutions should decline. There will, however, always be scenarios in which it is better to still hold on to those scripting solutions. The capability to collect Windows registry data is part of the earlier introduced device inventory, using the Properties Catalog. That means that the collected information …

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Customizing the pinned folders in Start layout

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This week is all about customizing the pinned folders in the Start layout, and is a follow-up on this post about customizing the power options in Start layout. Again, it is important to start with that the fact that something is technically possible, does not mean that it should actually be done. In most cases, it should be up to the user to configure in the Start layout whatever they need to be productive. There are, however, cases in which an IT administrator might need to take a bit more control. That can be useful on shared devices, such as kiosk devices and Shared PCs. This post will be another part in the series to go through the different sections of the Start layout, this …

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Customizing the power options in Start layout

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This week is all about customizing the power options in the Start layout, and is the first follow-up on this post about customizing the account settings in Start layout. Again, it is important to start with that the fact that something is technically possible, does not mean that it should actually be done. In most cases, it should be up to the user to configure in the Start layout whatever they need to be productive. There are, however, cases in which an IT administrator might need to take a bit more control. That can be useful on shared devices, such as kiosk devices and Shared PCs. This post will be another part in the series to go through the different sections of the Start layout, …

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Customizing the account settings in Start layout

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This week is all about customizing the account settings in the Start layout. Customizing the Start menu layout has been the subject of discussion multiple times already on this blog. There is, however, a lot more that can be done. Of course, that something is possible, does not mean that it should be done. In most cases, it should be up to the user to configure in the Start layout whatever they need to be productive. There are, however, cases in which an IT administrator might need to take a bit more control. That can be useful on shared devices, such as kiosk devices and Shared PCs. This post will be part of a series to go through the different sections of the Start layout, …

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Turning off account notifications in Start and multi-app kiosk mode

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This week is also all about another relatively small, but nowadays essential, configuration to further enhance the Start layout experience. Especially when using multi-app kiosk mode with local accounts. That configuration is to turn off account notifications for Microsoft accounts (MSA) and local users in the user tile of Start. Turning off account notifications is especially relevant when using multi-app kiosk mode with local accounts, as that includes getting users to sign with a Microsoft account to backup their device, to manage cloud storage quotas, and more. Those account notifications might trigger users to perform actions that do not belong on managed devices and that are not available. Especially not on kiosk devices. It is actually pretty strange that those account notifications show on managed …

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Hiding the recommended section from the Start layout and multi-app kiosk mode

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This week is all about another relatively small, but essential, configuration to further enhance the Start layout experience. Especially when using multi-app kiosk mode. That configuration is to hide the recommended section from the Start layout. Hiding that section is especially relevant when using a multi-app kiosk mode, as that includes a link to the Settings app when there are no recommendations. Even though that might sound pretty small, it does take away another item that a user could potentially click on and hitting an unnecessary blockage. In those cases lesser is better. That means that there are definitely scenarios in which it can be really useful to prevent the Start layout from displaying recommended applications and files. This post will provide a closer look …

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Using Microsoft Edge secondary tiles in the Start layout and multi-app kiosk mode

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This week is all about Microsoft Edge secondary tiles. Microsoft Edge secondary tiles are website shortcuts that are pinned to the Start layout. Those pins provide quick access to specific websites directly from the Start layout. Basically, those pins function similar to any other app shortcuts that are pinned to the Start layout. Any user can create website shortcuts in the Start layout by simply navigating in Microsoft Edge to Settings > More tools > Pin to Start. There can scenarios in which it might be useful to already pre-pin specific websites for the user. The most common scenario is a multi-app kiosk mode configuration in which specific websites must be pinned for the users of those devices. That’s where Microsoft Edge secondary tiles become …

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Introducing enhanced app inventory for Windows devices

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This week is all about the new and enhanced app inventory for Windows devices. A lot has been written about that feature already, but it is such an important enhancement that it deserves it place on this blog as well. For many years the best thing for app inventory in Microsoft Intune was the Discovered apps report. That report provided some pretty limited insights abouts the apps that are installed on the devices and the totals for all devices in the environment. The sources used for those insights, however, were pretty limited, which was the main reason why the information was never really useful. That might all change now, with the enhancements to the app inventory for Windows devices. It now uses a new upload …

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Dynamically removing preinstalled Microsoft Store apps using native functionality

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This week is all about a really nice addition to the native functionality to remove preinstalled Microsoft Store apps. That nice addition is the ability to dynamically remove any preinstalled MSIX/APPX app, which builds on the functionality described earlier about removing preinstalled Microsoft Store apps using native functionality. The story around removing those apps is still the same. When working with Windows devices in an enterprise environment, a common request is to control the preinstalled Microsoft Store apps. These default apps, which ship as part of the Windows image, often include consumer-oriented or redundant functionality that does not align with corporate standards. That makes removing often desirable. Removing these apps often required custom scripting, or other creative solutions. Starting with Windows 11 version 24H2, however, …

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