Editorial team

Windows 11 Field Guide Editorial Team

The Windows 11 Field Guide team writes and updates independent Windows 11 guides and checks each step against Microsoft's documentation and the current Settings app.

A laptop resting on a lap while someone types

Graphics and display Adjust Screen Brightness in Windows 11: Every Method How to adjust screen brightness in Windows 11 with Quick Settings, the Settings app and keys, plus auto brightness, adaptive dimming and a missing slider. October 17, 2026

The inside of an opened hard disk drive showing the platters and read/write head arm

Troubleshooting Defragment a Hard Drive in Windows 11: Optimize Drives How to defragment a hard drive in Windows 11 with Optimize Drives: analyze, optimize, change the weekly schedule, and why SSDs get trimmed instead of defragged. October 17, 2026

Hands resting on a backlit keyboard in a dark room

Productivity Dev Drive in Windows 11: Set It Up for Faster Builds Set up a Dev Drive in Windows 11: requirements, VHD or partition, what to store on it, trusted drives, Defender performance mode and how to delete one. October 17, 2026

A person sitting on a bed working on a laptop by a window

Security Parental Controls in Windows 11: Family Safety Setup Set up parental controls in Windows 11 with Microsoft Family Safety: a child account, screen time limits, web filters in Edge, app limits and spending rules. October 17, 2026

A minimal desk with a monitor and keyboard against a white wall

Settings Schedule a Shutdown in Windows 11: Timer and Daily Task How to schedule a shutdown in Windows 11 with a timer command, cancel it, or shut down every night with Task Scheduler, plus the unsaved-work risk to know. October 17, 2026

A desk with a monitor showing a terminal, a keyboard and cables

Productivity Winget in Windows 11: Install and Update Apps by Command How to use winget in Windows 11: search, install, upgrade all apps, uninstall, export a list for a new PC, plus admin prompts and fixes when winget is missing. October 17, 2026

A compact keyboard on a dark wooden desk next to a pencil

Features and apps Windows 11 Emoji Panel: Shortcut, GIFs, Kaomoji, Symbols Open the Windows 11 emoji panel with Windows key + period, search emoji, add GIFs, kaomoji and symbols, use clipboard history and fix a panel that won't open. October 17, 2026

A laptop, notebook and coffee cup on a wooden desk

Settings Windows 11 Fonts Settings: Install, Preview and Remove Windows 11 fonts settings: install a TTF or OTF font, install for all users, get Store fonts, hide or uninstall fonts and fix a font that won't show up. October 17, 2026

Rows of monitors on adjustable arms in a control room

Graphics and display Windows 11 Graphics: Drivers, Display Settings and Fixes Windows 11 graphics explained: GPU drivers, resolution, scale, refresh rate, HDR, per-app GPU choice, GPU scheduling, black screens and multiple monitors. October 17, 2026

Someone holding a coffee mug next to an open laptop

Features and apps Windows 11 Live Captions: Turn On, Languages and Privacy Windows 11 live captions: turn them on with Windows + Ctrl + L, download languages, caption your microphone, move the caption bar and what stays on the PC. October 17, 2026

A black wired computer mouse on a pale wooden desk, seen from above

Tweaks Windows 11 Mouse Acceleration: Turn It Off, Set Speed Turn Windows 11 mouse acceleration (Enhance pointer precision) on or off, change pointer speed and scrolling, and pick the right setting for games or daily use. October 17, 2026

Productivity Windows 11 Productivity: Snap, Desktops, Focus and More Get more done with Windows 11 productivity tools: Snap layouts and groups, virtual desktops, Focus sessions, Do not disturb, clipboard history and PowerToys. October 17, 2026

A person working at a white desk by a bright window

Settings Windows 11 Settings: A Practical Tour of Every Section A plain-English tour of Windows 11 Settings: what lives in each section, how to search it, Win+I, and which old Control Panel tools you still need. October 17, 2026

Security Windows 11 Security: Every Built-in Protection Explained Windows 11 security explained: the Windows Security app, Defender, firewall, Smart App Control, memory integrity, Windows Hello, encryption and SmartScreen. October 17, 2026

Someone writing notes on paper next to a laptop

Settings Windows 11 Language Settings: Display Language, Time Zone Windows 11 language settings explained: add a language, change the display language, fix the time zone and daylight saving, and why some PCs allow one language. October 17, 2026

A frustrated person holding their head in front of a laptop

Troubleshooting Windows 11 Troubleshooting: A Step-by-Step Repair Ladder Windows 11 troubleshooting in the right order: restart, updates, troubleshooters, SFC and DISM, safe mode, clean boot, System Restore, then Reset this PC. October 17, 2026

A woman typing on a laptop at a wooden kitchen table

Features and apps Windows 11 Voice Access: Set It Up and Control Your PC Set up Windows 11 voice access: turn it on, download the speech model, wake and sleep commands, dictation, number and grid overlays, and starting at sign-in. October 17, 2026

Windows 11 Pro Windows 11 Windows Sandbox: Enable It and Test Safely Turn on Windows Sandbox in Windows 11 Pro: requirements, enabling it, testing a file safely, turning off networking with a .wsb file and why Home lacks it. October 17, 2026

site Site Map: Every Windows 11 Guide on Windows 11 Field Guide The full list of Windows 11 guides on this site, grouped by topic: download and install, upgrade, activation, settings, troubleshooting, security and more. October 17, 2026

Settings How to Enable Sudo in Windows 11 and Pick the Safest Mode How to enable sudo in Windows 11 24H2 and later, what the three modes do, which one Microsoft recommends, and how sudo differs from runas and an admin terminal. October 16, 2026

An unbranded black USB flash drive lying next to its cap

Settings How to Format a USB Drive in Windows 11: FAT32, exFAT, NTFS How to format a USB drive in Windows 11 with File Explorer, Disk Management or the format command, which file system to pick, and what to do when it fails. October 16, 2026

Settings Partition a Hard Drive in Windows 11: Create, Shrink, Extend How to partition a hard drive in Windows 11 with Disk Management: create a new volume, shrink or extend one, fix a greyed-out Extend Volume and avoid data loss. October 16, 2026

Troubleshooting How to Run CHKDSK in Windows 11 and Read the Results Run CHKDSK in Windows 11 to find and fix drive errors: the Error checking button, chkdsk /scan, /f and /r, checks at restart, and where to read the log. October 16, 2026

Troubleshooting Task Manager in Windows 11: Open It, End Tasks, Read It How to open Task Manager in Windows 11, close a frozen app safely with End task, read the CPU, memory and disk columns, and use each page without causing harm. October 16, 2026

Close-up of hands typing on a laptop keyboard

Productivity Voice Typing in Windows 11: Dictate Text With Win + H How to use voice typing in Windows 11: start it with Windows key + H, the commands and punctuation it understands, language and privacy settings, and mic fixes. October 16, 2026

Old monitors, a keyboard and network cables piled on a desk

Troubleshooting Windows 11 BIOS UEFI Settings: How to Open Them Safely How to open Windows 11 BIOS UEFI settings from Windows or at startup, what is safe to change (boot order, Secure Boot, TPM) and why the UEFI option is missing. October 16, 2026

Features and apps Windows 11 Copilot: Open, Set Up, Control or Remove It How the Windows 11 Copilot app works: open it with the Copilot key or Windows key + C, which account to use, privacy and file settings, and how to remove it. October 16, 2026

Download and install Windows 11 Media Creation Tool: Make a USB or ISO Safely How to use the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool: what you need, each step from download to USB or ISO, which edition to pick, and fixes for common errors. October 16, 2026

Features and apps Windows 11 Microsoft Store: Install, Update and Fix Apps How to use the Windows 11 Microsoft Store: sign in, install and reinstall apps from Library, get updates, manage automatic updates and fix apps that fail. October 16, 2026

Features and apps Windows 11 Terminal: Tabs, Profiles, Admin and Shortcuts How to use Windows 11 Terminal: open it as admin, switch between PowerShell, Command Prompt and WSL profiles, set the default terminal and use tabs and panes. October 16, 2026