Windows 11 customization and search troubleshooting

Users of Windows 11 can now manage and troubleshoot common interface and functionality issues through built-in settings and system tools.

To declutter the Start menu, users can disable the ‘Recommended’ section by navigating to Settings, selecting Personalization, and then Start. From there, toggling the switches to ‘Off’ removes the area displaying recently used files and apps. Alternatively, individual entries can be removed via a right-click.

For issues regarding the Windows 11 search function, several troubleshooting steps are available. If the search bar fails to respond or returns empty results, users can restart the search process and Windows Explorer, verify that the Windows Search service is running, or rebuild a corrupted search index. Other solutions include using the Windows Search and Indexing troubleshooter or checking for pending Windows updates.