Why Windows Still Has The Old Control Panel
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- čas přidán 4. 06. 2024
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Why are there so many old icons and user interface (UI) elements in Windows 10 and 11 - some of them even from the days of Windows 95?
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I prefer using the older control panels. The new system hides too many things in an effort to "look pretty"
I hate that the old control panel is losing features, only for them to be integrated into Settings under some weird sub category. Either you keep it, or you remove it entirely, don't reduce it.
Simple enough solution - have a simple option and an advanced option. That way us power users can jump to advanced every time.
My only problem with the old Control Panel is that it doesn't support dark mode, just like all the other old features. Getting flashbanged every time you want to go into those options is not fun.
I personally find it hides too many things in an effort to "protect the dumb user from breaking things"
Unsurprisingly I find the idea both offensive and condescending, much the same as the "you're installing uNsAfE pRoGrAm!!!!" warning which I hate with intense passion.
It's my PC and *no I don't trust you Microsoft* so stop acting like your store is any safer than Github, cause even if it were I still wouldn't trust it.
I would like there to be one place for all settings. Without losing features and not hidden to look. As you put it, "pretty."
As an IT professional dealing with many different versions of Windows and Windows Server, the control panel being a commonality between all Windows versions makes things so much easier to manage.
And being able to run OpenShell to bring back a usable start menu is a godsend!
@@406Steven I absolutely agree. I never touch the new start menu.
Agree
This. And the new settings app just looks messy ang confusing most of the time if you are looking anything else tha the most basic "set and forget" -type stuff. If they phase out the old Control Panel entirely I might need to resort to regedit for all the settings. A lot of stuff in the registry seems a lot more stable between versions than in the GUI. (No wonder really. If they change those they will really start breaking compatibility.)
white theme is blinding tho
One of the main problems with Settings is that you can't open two windows of it. For example, if you want to personalize your system while updating Windows, you will have to navigate away from Windows Update to configure your personalization settings.
This is definitely the biggest disadvantage. Everything else it's just fine for me. Both are good enough
Windows Update runs in the background anyway, it's not like you need to keep the Update settings page always visible for it to work so why would you need to keep it open?
Windows 8 used to have Windows Update both in Settings app and Control Panel until Windows 10 ditch the old one to the Settings app.
Imho not the worst problem of Settings, but so annoying anyway...
That's the sort of crap I'd expect from a phone
The thing is that when moving settings from Control Panel to the new shiny interface, some functionality gets lost or split in strange ways between control elements and links to other panels... Whatever guides MS are using, they need to be revised too :)
Half of the settings isn't available in the newer UI and those settings which are available is hidden behind 400 clicks in random and non intuitive places.
THIS
That is my main gripe with the new control panel. I can go through 500 menus or I can click the 1 option that is in the center of my screen with the old control panel.
And then it STILL takes you to some 95-era settings window.
and each fken update they changes thoses setting location !!!
And when you drill down to the actual useful settings, they're just the old design they've had since Windows 3.1 or 95. I love how the Screen Saver popup says Screen Saver twice and has a CRT, where they literally just took it away from the tabbed interface it used to live in with desktop wallpaper etc.
I love the old control panel, because everything is where it’s expected to be. The settings app hides to many important options and is just not intuitive in my opinion.
Preach it brother
Yep get rid of the stupid settings app!
Yup I agree I hate the new settings one for finding things
yeah i always use search because of how all over the place these settings are
Also the settings app, is ironically not able to run in "windows" (only one window at the same time)
I think an advantage of having the control panel look older is that it scares people off from changing more critical things if they don't know what they're doing. For example, messing with sound inputs and outputs in the old school sound menu is discouraged for the average user who might accidentally change something they didn't want and be unable to change it back
As someone who grew up on XP/Vista I always prefer Control Panel because I feel like it has way more control over the weird settings menu that feels like it was designed for tablets still.
Rather than tablets, it feels like it's designed for children who only ever used a smartphone up to that point. Which is fine, if they actually provided more detailed settings to experienced users.
I like the classic control panel, I deliberately go into it when I want to uninstall programs because it's more intuitive then the settings app.
In this case more apps are shown on one screen in old control panel and if I am not wrong, it is also showing some additional info, while new settings dont show them.
I couldn't find it in the new settings app , and i don't want to , i just use the old one for everything not just uninstalling ,let's not talk about changing your local ip address.
@@chocolateimage Nice. I can't believe I never thought of that. Thanks.
@@mouhamedzarzi6693 you couldn't find it? There literally is a tab called "apps" where you can view apps and uninstall them. You are just lazy or stuck in the past, sorry.
@@maelc9206 And there is another problem, it's called a Program not App. And the App tab is terrible, with the regular uninstall programs control panel you can see all kinds of info on the programs and sort it by that info. Plus there is more functionality than just that. The Apps tab is just a list of the programs and that is it. Screw that limited worthless piece of junk script.
The old control panel is much easier to navigate and use than the settings application for me at least. It hides very little features and is much easier on the eyes than a ‘pretty’ looking interface. The options in the control panel also seem to be much more modifiable overall
same here
you can also open more then one thing at the same time in the control panel.
@@Robemcla And that can be required in some situations.
function over looks
Goes for pretty much everything in newer Windows version. Just give me a list god dammit.
The old control panel is easier to use. Sometimes I find difficult to locate a setting based on someone else's idea of where the settings should be grouped. If the new ui had the option to ungroup the features like the original control panel and quit redirecting you to yet another screen for other settings for the same thing and "advanced" options maybe it would be easier to navigate. Maybe there is a way to ungroup. If so, I can't find it. Since windows 10 they've been adding more and more clicks to get to simple things. Windows has always had a mildly convoluted interface, but they're making it extremely worse with each "upgrade".
I prefer the old Control Panel over the Setting App. I like having the Large Icon view with everything in alphabetical order, rather than having them in groups and categories. That frame of mind has been with me since Microsoft introduced categories in Control Panel since the Windows ME and XP days. While yes Control Panel is old, but it works. I even had WinAero Tweeker add the old Personalization and Windows Update icons into Control Panel on my Windows 11 machine so I have easier access to them.
As an IT support professional I use as much of Control Panel as possible. If they just reorganized it into Settings and gave it a new design to the current OS I wouldn’t mind.
But most of the time they reduce functionality or bury it under 4-5 additional menu clicks. I’m looking at YOU printers and keyboard language settings.
i lost my self trying to get to change the list separator and decimal change in windows eleven.
What I hate most is when you use search for devices and printers it fookin doesn't find it! So you have to find control panel first and then go to printers (settings printer tab is a POS). That's why I have OpenShell on every computer.
Create a new shortcut on the desktop and when asked for the target, enter "control printers" (no quotes), then next and give it a name "Printers" and finish.
Now you have a shortcut to the printers and devices on the desktop. And if you want a direct "link" to a printer, just drag and drop the printer from the control panel to the desktop.
@@marcellipovsky8222 yes, you can also right-click any option in Control Panel and select “Create Shortcut” and it puts it on your desktop.
Infinitely more control than the printers area in Settings
This.
I don't mind if the old control panel hangs around, it's just an issue when a setting you need to change is missing from the new one. I can't believe how long it took them to move changing the monitor refresh rate into the new design from the old windows 95 style dialogue
I always laugh that when you need to add a new driver, the default folder to search is A:
They actually remove some settings. In Windows 11 you can't change your power plan from the settings app, only by using control panel's Power Options. You could do it in W10, but not in W11.
@@svcross-do Ah yes, I too keep my drivers on a floppy disc.
@@MADba111 everyone was using old ui to do that anyway.
@@nicholasneyhart396 modern gpu drivers would probably take up thousands of these lol
I prefer the older control panel. The new settings are too big and there is too much blank space. I’d rather everything be visible where I need it instead of having to scroll endlessly or clicking multiple times to get to a certain menu
I still use the old add/remove hardware and other elements of the old control panel. It's simple, familiar and has a real "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" vibe at this point. Even when I can get at it through the settings app, I prefer the old control panel for the relative ease and familiarity.
Sometimes the Add/Remove Hardware is more useful than in the Settings app.
The thing that blows me away the most, is when they 'introduce' new features, that have already been in windows, but they make them harder to get to. Absolute genius method! Changing old code that was simple and easy to use to something that is more complicated or convoluted to get to/use is what we have to deal with now.
I've been saying this for a while now. Windows was perfectly fine 20 years ago, and so was Office for most users. But the devs have to keep changing it up so they can keep their jobs.
And it does my head in that the new settings menu is designed so you can only do one thing at a time. Which becomes more and more of a pain as they incorporate more of windows features into it.
@@hjf3022 and I hate the lack of a 'Save'' button.
I guess it was perfect in windows xp days, then it went downhill. Windows 10 is the last barely useable os microsoft made, when they leave legacy to go full arm i have no reason to keep using it, as i do just for games. Heck, AI will f up games from now on, so idk what the future will look like but i will be happy to remember my days playng cs 1.6
when you say 'make them harder to get to', do you mean that you have to memorize a new flow and that's what's hard about it? as in, people don't like change and whine and complain when things are different? or do you mean it actually takes more clicks to get to where you need to go to make a certain change? 'cause i have a feeling you're just whining about change more than anything. the start menu search function allows you to access pretty much any setting you want with just a few keypresses and a single click or two
control panel is superior! everything is where i expect it to be, not hidden behind hyperlink text at the bottom of some page after 3 tabs changes. all options are pretty much where it was back in win XP
they want to make windows harder to use by power users or regular people
And the setting I inevitably need in the 'settings' menu can inevitably only be found by clicking through to the legacy settings app. eg. managing audio devices SUCKS in the 'Sounds' app.
Windows XP was the best at having settings easily accessable. I hate how they are pushing us away from this concept so much.
I kinda like the older UI, makes it feel like you’re getting deeper into the parts of windows you “shouldn’t” be on. The older it looks the more of a vigilante I feel, even though deep down I know that these will eventually just be added to settings.
This is a fun feeling I had back when I was 8/9 years old.
Probably some things are do basic that it makes no sense to refurbish it. Why wast the money just too make something shiny where only .001% of the users go into.
I would love to see a longer, LTT video about the decision making and reasoning for making Windows 11, since originally W10 was supposed to be the last windows. It mostly depends on Microsoft since they would need to give a longer interview, but still it's worth a shot IMO.
i like the idea!
the reason is
money
That was just marketing hype to make people "upgrade." Using the same hype as OSX no less, which btw is on version 13 now... Both W10 and OSX added major features which made the user experience objectively worse for the company's benefit. Hence why a marketing campaign was needed.
It's always the same
XP - Good
Vista - Bad
7 - Good
8 - Bad
10 - Good
11 - Bad
?? - Good
Depending on how you look at it. Win10 is still there. Win7, Win10, and Win11 are still fundamentally the same OS under the hood. Sure there have been some tweaks and improvements, but the core framework is still the same. Just a UI change. Like another poster said, this is more about marketing then any actual REAL version change.
@@MavendowOSX was more like Vista but better received and if Microsoft bite the bullet and focus solely on Vista. I mean it took them 4 iteration to be good and credit where it's due, 9 to OSX change everything down to it's kernel while Microsoft hasn't really change anything much ever since 8.1
I started with Windows 3.11 and I still find myself using Control Panel way more often than Settings in W10/11 - I thought it was simply familiarity - but I actually think Control Panel still gives better and more logical access to Windows functions.
Windows 3.1 was a very clean, well laid out OS
Same, well I started with Windows 95. I recently installed Win11 and still found myself opening up old control panel numerous times.
Me: *looks at network and wifi settings*
...yeah
Same here. I use the control panel much more often than settings.
Unless I know that I won't find it in the Control Panel, then the first place I check is the Control Panel. The Settings App is a pain in the ass to use and it doesn't let you look at multiple things at once. You're looking at one thing, and you try to open a different set of settings, and instead of opening a second instance of the Settings App to this other thing you also want to look at, it just tells the current instance of the Settings App to stop showing you the thing you were looking at and actively using so that it can show you the other thing instead.
At least with the Control Panel, I can have 3 different windows open to three different items at once. This way, I can look at one set of settings and the settings of a child item at the same time. Who would have thought that something that's design for an OS that was built with a single-core processor in mind does a better job at allowing a User to multi-task and explore settings for their PC.
The old control panel is simple and straight forward, where as the new settings tab complicates and adds additional clicks and web searches where there shouldn't be
I'd be completely fine with the settings app IF IT ACTUALLY CONTAINED ALL THE SETTINGS!!!
I often like the old control panel more. It is way easier to find the specific setting you want in that, than it is in the new settings panel. And getting to advanced settings is also easier in the old control panel. And when you open advanced settings in the new settings panel, it often opens the old settings panel anyway.
I like the older control panel. It's really easy to navigate where you want to go. The modern version of doing it is very confusing and makes it hard to find things. They had a good thing going with Windows 7 and just had to keep making improvements on top of that instead of radically changing the whole thing to try and crossbreed with smartphones/tablets.
Exactly. W7 was the peak of NT.
The old control panel functions via an extensible framework called CPLApplet. Each item in the control panel is a .dll module which floats on top of that framework. A power user can write their own .cpl module if they know how. The reason MS hasn't completely updated the control panel isn't what they claimed to LTT; it's actually that these modules are extremely powerful and expertly coded, so reproducing them in a less structured form is difficult. Ofc, the fact the new settings don't work with scripting should tip off a suspicious listener... The reason for making the settings less structured and compact is not to make it "look nice," but to take away features and controls so users can't do things MS doesn't want to allow.
windows 7 the best... though windows 10 is better than what it was i still think 7 is better. 11 is still shit.
are you 70yo or what?
@@FlagerMiszcz Is a computer with Windows 10 your first computer or what? Though I started off with MSDOS.
I love the old control panel I find that I can solve most of my problems a lot faster using it over the new settings app so I am one of the ones who hope that it never goes away unless Microsoft can figure out how to make the new settings less convoluted and confusing
M$, and their metro$éxüäI interface won't be missed.
I genuinely hope they keep the control panel, it's good feature I know how to use between all windows
I actually think it’s really cool they still have the control panel. It’s like taking a step back in time. What’s nice is that the settings app exists. So if you don’t like the control panel, you simply don’t need to interact with it. And vice versa if you like the control panel better then the settings app.
Thing is some features are only in the settings and some in the control panel. That's often really annoying especially if you are looking for a specific setting. So i would really welcome it to only have one place where I can find all settings.
Thing is the new settings app has literally nothing on it so you’re forced to click “more options” to bring up control panel anyway
@@JenByteThey took the region and languages option away so adding a second language to your keyboard becomes a pain in the ass
I really like that they keep the old control panel. It makes a lot of setting up and troubleshooting easier that way. And since it's not a feature most regular users happen upon I hope they won't change or get rid of it.
THIS! Same here.
Yeah, its almost unusable.
If they simply kept both around, one that they keep modernising in whatever way and the old one, that would be perfect.
Not ALL incremental versions, literally just a feature complete old school panel and whatever modern thing they wanna make.
Microphone setting suck balls compared to the old panel
For managing installed apps, the control panel Programs view is so much better than the new settings one. I have about 300 programs installed and the Settings app can barely load the view, and it's way too expanded and bloated. Control panel version is very fast and has more information displayed in an easier to read way.
I'm one of the regular users and I like the old control panel and use it for most modifications that I make to the settings.
Control panel is better than settings. Easy to find what you are looking for, all the settings are easily accessible. In settings app, you have to go through a lot of sub menus to find the toggle you were looking for but didnt know the name of it.
This is one of my biggest problems. I'm a network engineer and MSP. It support calls in Windows 11 vs Windows 7 have increased by 2-3x. Not good when it makes the client believe our teams are getting more and more inefficient rather than newer devices on newer OS installs becoming more problematic.
@@kaitlu That's an extremely interesting stastistic!
It's easy to dismiss all the people that say 'it was easier with the old panel' as just being more familiar with the old stuff, but IT calls going up by such a massive margin would seem to indicate there's actually some truth to what people say.
Maybe if they kept the old panel but gave it new looks (just changing colors and icons, without messing with the layout) it would be much better.
@@amargasaurus5337 or maybe support calls are going up just because people need to learn the new layout, not because it's bad... Hard to tell in my opinion
@@maelc9206 The new layout is objectively worse.
@@Mavendow You comment is objectively wrong.
The fact that as users we have to mod win10/11 to have the classic start up menu(classicShell), that said a lot about the current UI.
I agree but also the new menu is miles quicker. How often do you actually navigate the start bar in 2023 anyway? Just type what you are looking for and it's instant.
I used to be like you, but then I realised I really hate going through all the menu to find things when an SSD backed system with a good cpu will allow instant search!
So many improvements in Windows 11 but I still miss tags for everyfile or folder.
Tags are one of the more interesting ways to search for your files and folder and groud them.
Now people are also more familiar with tags, even mac os has a very good tagging system since decades but Windows still has that old way of tagging specific files, which sucks.
I like the fact that the control panel is still around. Ironically enough, I keep my control panel view to show all the options instead of showing the categories. I remember being in elementary school and us using the control panel to debug a mouse or keyboard on windows 98. That set up was how I first started to learn to troubleshoot and to fix things which I continue to use to this day. And having a legacy way to fix problems is, in my opinion, a good thing. You know where everything is at already without having to look for a particular thing all over again which could take up a pretty good chunk of your time. I'm all for control panel staying the way it's at till windows is no more. If they want, they can always "modernize" it by giving it a new skin.
the damn win 7 control panel ALWAYS resets my small icons back to categories. even from before the release when we all used RC
win9x control panel was even superior
That's the kind of mentality that lead to older folk not being able to open their email on their own.
@@polarpenguin3 interfaces are tools not arts and crafts
adding goth spikes into your hammer's handle will not make it better just because it's 2006
the modern hammer has the same interface as preistoric stone hammers but under the hood the materials are better
adding razor blades into screwdriver's handle because you like grunge is not an improvement
I retro game a lot on a Win 98 system - it's not THAT different from modern OSes - I think if you can use Win 10, you can use all the way down to Win 95. 3.1 to Win 11, that's a leap though.
I will not read this....
The old control panel doesn't have loading bars and is just faster and has at most 3 levels of depth for categories, making it easier to find what you're looking for
Well, it's faster because Control Panel uses folders and Settings app uses the internet, look it up.
@Thawne For example first level would be "Hardware and Sound" then you click it to enter it's second level and may select "Power Options" which takes you to the third level.
Personally, I'm stunned that over a *decade* after the introduction of a newer "Settings" interface, there are _still_ Control Panel functions that haven't been properly integrated. I thought it was incredibly hacky and confusing that they were mixed before (definitely something I felt should have been cleaned up before launch day), but I figured within an update or two everything would be sorted. Yet here we are on our _third_ version of Windows OS that has a mix of the two...
It's fine to have the Control Panel there for legacy stuff (just like IE is still quietly floating around in the background), but the new Settings should have had _all_ settings incorporated into it _years_ ago.
For me, I prefer to have the control panel available on new Windows versions since don’t make sense to invent again the wheel with some fancy setup.
The old system control panel is an absolute godsend when working at my IT support job. Be it for joining a domain, or even something simple as changing the startup screen language. The new MetroUI settings app makes it way harder for me to change these settings.
It also might be a bit of personal bias because I have worked with the Control Panel for about ten or eleven years now.
Interesting video as always. It's cool to see how Microsoft deals with these sort of issues, and honestly, good on them for not removing my beloved control panel.
I don't think it's bias, because often the setting you're after just outright doesn't exist in the new settings app!
My biggest gripe is that the Settings app's audio settings are so lackluster. Microsoft has tried to hide away the old Sound Device manager, but it's still the most intuitive, easy to use, and contains all the features. The Settings app isn't as easy to use and doesn't give access to everything the old one does (particularly with default devices vs default communication devices). Sure the new one is good with regard to setting input and output devices for each individual application, but setting defaults, updating levels, changing the audio format is so much easier in the old one.
Dude, so true, i literally today tried to fix a problem with my Inspiron ignoring inserted 3.5 AUX, and haven't found any useful settings; eventually i had to install some weird proprietary Dell-audio-thingie and configure aux there instead...
@@stryhuns So you had a driver issue lol
@@LtShifty maybe, I'm not sure
It's called MaxxAudioPro, it comes from Windows updates every time i install a fresh win10, and i always just delete it, and aux works perfectly fine. In this case i accidentally changed some setting in it before deleting, so i had to install it back to reset inputs
@@flizzycat I just use both TBH. I've tried EarTrumpet in the past. It's a good application, but it doesn't work for my use-case.
I just search for "Sounds" and select "Change system sounds". That gets me into the menu. And the Settings app works fine for changing application-specific devices, but I really wish that we could just have it all in one place... And not sacrifice ease of use or ability to change advanced settings.
I help people troubleshoot headset problems everyday and i use the old audio settings everytime.
The settings app looks so much nicer and lays things out better, if only it had all the options AND if all the options it did have worked reliably. Case in point, I use my gaming desktop with a home theater system plugged into a TV. Before Windows 11 I always had to use the audio part of the control panel and sound devices to change the HDMI output to 7.1 . The new settings app has an option to change my output format to 7.1 but when I click it , the option doesn't stay and goes back immediately to 2 channel stereo. I still have to click advanced audio and go back to the sound devices and click my TV click configure and choose 7.1. Thankfully sometimes over the last 6 months or more, the option just stays as 7.1 so I almost never have to change it manually, either way it would still be nice if the audio option worked as intended.
Old control panel is just easier to navigate and understand.
Everything is more intuitive.
Being an IT technician I still rely on the old control panel. I find it much easier to navigate than the settings app but that could just be down to the familiarity I have with it seeing as I have been using it for the last 25 years (almost). Not to mention there being a variety of different versions of windows I am still supporting, XP still being one of them 😡 I do find it useful that it doesn't matter what version of OS I would be working on knowing they all have the control panel makes it easier to manage 🙂
Also, yo have an effin cancel button in the control panel. If you accidentaly hit something in the stupid settings, good luck reverting it. I hate the settings menu and barely use it, it's a computer, not a freaking tablet why we have to "stupidify" the settings of it?
Nah it's not really up to preference. The settings app is just... convoluted. There are way too many things which have been modeled to be "pretty". Large icons, large buttons, lots of scrolling to find things. I simply cannot be bothered. The control panel on the other hand has that old school no-nonsense approach to things. Literally everything you need in order to configure the OS is there and the more important part, it's not hidden into some extremely obscure place, or if it is, there is a very good reason for that. Even with that said, the control panel is rather intuitive. Meanwhile the settings app is all over the place and I just can't get my head around why. Opening the devices sub menu should get me the devices... intead I get something that is... well... idiot proof? For example, in order to find the usb ports and install a modified driver in order to interface with a controller, you can't go to devices where you'd assume the device manager's new iteration would live, you have to go to system and summon it from there. The app is simply half assed, therefore pretty much useless. Same goes for the rest of the new interface sets. Yes, it's new, yes, it's modern, yes, it's fancy. From utility perspective however, it just looks like the work of an intern who was being tasked with looking busy, so they basically did a whole lot of work that achieved nothing but confuse people.
Same bro! So much simpler and faster to get around when troubleshooting!
Settings make you click to many buttons to find crap. It's not purely personal preference. Settings, as it currently is, is simply inferior.
Idc if it looks like absolute garbage. As long as I have access to all my settings and options. The new settings panel is a pain to find and do anything with.
I have not met anyone who prefers the new settings menu over the old control panel,
I get wanting to redesign the look of it, but the layout is both space efficient and easy to describe how to navigate.
In the control panel you are rarely more than 3 clicks away from what you want to reach, whereas in the settings menu, only the devil knows how many layers deep you need to go to reach the setting you seek.
The new settings is fooling you by being prettier and looking more in line with minimalism, but i assure you, it is anything but streamlined.
This is funny, as it's true. Even non-tech savvy users don't understand most of the options in the simple settings, in my experience.
It's really not though. The only reason people like yourself think that is because you've been using it forever. The settings menu is far superior in both visual design and functionality.
@@PkmnGymLeader if that were the case, why do i get phonecalls for tech support still, from the less savvy as they're sat looking at the "settings" app open?
@@zigzagtoes because people are stupid. they don't like change and they resist it as if it was threatening their lives. the new settings is super easy, but just not as familiar yet
@@zaphenath6756 these people have never known how to use their pcs. The settings app is meant to make it easy, its not working. People dont ring me unless theyre spending money. Nothing tondo with change for those customers, they just lack tech know how, always have.
in my experience, any setting that can be changed/adjusted in the new settings app gives you less control and less options. Networking being a big one. I hate having to use the settings app to change settings and will always try and use control panel where possible
On one of my Win 10 boxes, there was a problem with a Bluetooth device, which was impossible to fix from Settings, but was trivial from Control Panel. Settings seems to be aimed at minor tweaks even now.
I love how in Windows 11 they try to trick you into using the new settings, but you can right click and open links in the control panel to prevent the edge-like redirection.
Linus: if you don't give us your secret, i'm gonna shame you in public
Microsoft: please be gentle, don't hurt me, here is our secret
I actually like the classic Control Panel. It displays everything without me having to scroll, so I can quickly find what I'm looking for. The Settings app, on the other hand, wastes a ton of horizontal space just to look neat. I don't need my settings to look neat, I need them to be functional and accessible!
Amen!
Honestly, rather use the old one than the new ones. Much easier to understand, see and find things.
The issue is some settings are only in control panel still. For example, screensavers. Other settings seem buried with the new UI. They need to perfect the settings app before removing control panel.
They forgot about it
I hope they keep it that way
My favourite bit of win11 is how they changed the right click menu and made so much worse (the cut /copy /paste icons just confuse me more than anything else), and they know that`s the case, because the last option in the menu just brings up the old right click menu
In general it feels like there's too much attempt to remove text commands and make them into icons, maybe to save money on localization. They don't have to translate the word cut into 50 languages. I guess at some point icons do become more instantly recognizable, like video controls having a square for stop and Arrow for play. But for some reason I just don't instantly recognize the copy and paste icons as readily as those.
@@creedolala6918 I see it moreso as an attempt to make the UI more touch friendly, but I struggle alot to identify the icons, and their placement feels unnatural to me, as someone who is used to my cut/copy/paste being laid out the way they have been, for the last nearly 20 years I`ve been using windows...
@@andreanastacio9548 definitely a big factor in design is simply putting things where people expect them. That's one of my big complaints with windows 11, moving the start button to the center. Logically, it doesn't make much difference. Not much advantage one way or the other. I do like that I don't have to "aim" the mouse to the lower left corner, just drag in that direction far enough that you definitely are at the edge of the screen, and you are in the spot you need to be. But that's minor.
So, if it doesn't make much difference, then just keep it where everyone is looking for it.
@@creedolala6918 my thoughts exactly, which is part of the reason why I immediately put the taskbar icons back on the left, where they belong (and it just looks awkward to have the start buttons and opened apps in the center, the notifications and status icons on the right, and nothing on the left). I really like just flicking the mouse in that general direction and clicking, and having the start menu open as god intended...
I also learned to ignore the new right click menu options altogether, and just click the show more options button of the menu, and use the old menu through there instead...
You can get it to act like the old right click. I too hated the new way.
28 years done the line, I still use the old “Windows Logo + R” > “Control” > Enter to access the Control Panel. Easiest way to create mail user accounts and user profiles
I much prefer the old control panel cuz it's the same across all the previous windows since windows XP, so making it very easy to help diagnose issues for the less tech savvy relatives and friends of mine, save me so much explaining as well.
Plus it doesn't hide so many settings within layers of menus unlike the new settings
This is my biggest gripe with Windows 11, Microsoft wants so bad to simplify everything for the end user but the visual inconsistency and options being hidden under a menu that sends you to an older menu kills this idea completely. The UI needs to be cleaned up so badly it's insane.
yes, I want a true revamp...A cataclysme expansion ala world of warcraft. But to much legacy support. Windows 11 is disappointing. I see no difference vs win10. TPM 2.0 and shit meant only modern pcs will run it so they should had gone wild.
But they should keep the old UI accessible via a setting or something kind of like metro UI in Windows 8.1. If they revamp the UI and completely delete the old one, many people including myself would hate it.
Showing hidden files takes 4 more steps than it normally would
I agree, but you know if they revamp the UI, it'll be locked down to the point where you can't get to video or audio settings.
From Windows 3.1 up to XP you could specify the color of each UI control element. We've really gone backwards in terms of customization options built into the OS.
I prefer the way the config dialogs from the Control Panel work. The Settings interface lacks Cancel, OK, and Apply buttons, which makes it harder to explore available options, then cancel if you change your mind or decide the available option combos won't work. They really need to bring that back.
I like having both. One is good for some things (easy to find 90% of the settings I need way faster then ever before) and one is good for finding those weird niche settings that are otherwise hidden or not intuitively placed in the new settings app. So yea I like both and I hope both stick around
the old control panel is the best, I hate when core windows features that were just a slider that appears after clicking something are keep into the new configuration menu for "full control"
The worst part of the change is when they take away settings within the control panel before it becomes fully available in settings.
They need to have both options available at all times until settings have caught up with what the control panel is capable of.
It's at least workable if you have pro and can use the local policy editor. But with home they make you resort to registry changes and powershell commands.
@@clubley2 Well, everyone knows that Windows Home is for professionals and geeks, while Windows Pro is used mostly by the average Joe.
More importantly, they need to make sure that whatever they're adding to the settings app actually works the way it's supposed to. Too many things in the app still don't work right or at all.
I don't understand why they can't both exist. It's probably easier for a lot of users to change basic things. I even use it to change a wallpaper. But for anything other than that I want full uncutdown control panel to actually be able to do things.
Also, I prefer the possibility that is available with the old control panel: having multiple windows open at the same time. It's not a phone, I don't want to have to folllow the labyrinth again to go back to a setting when I looked temporary somewhere else for another setting...
I don't mind modernization, what I dislike is when they change the layout or options available. If they just made a "control panel 2" that had the same or more options, with a nicer skin, that'd be fine. The issue is they move and even remove options that I want to change on a regular basis, and menus or settings I access on a regular basis for troubleshooting. If you modernize it must have parity with old systems or it's a downgrade for your power users and the IT folks who use those older options all the time. (Like the new right click menu on 11 hiding multiple options I use constantly behind another "oh fine, click here for the actual menu" button). If they just rounded the right click menu and changed the font I'd be completely happy, instead I resort to editing the registry to fix their bullshit...
I hate that smaller right click menu so much
@@RemizZ Same... I dislike it very much
There is a reg edit hack to have the old right click menu back out there
Another point that is worth mentioning: There are dialogs in control panel where drivers can (and do) add their own pages and/or option groups. By literally drawing over the window. Mouse options and display options are the most prominent ones.
When your driver does this, there will always remain a link back to the control panel option inside the Settings app, as Microsoft cannot be sure that these settings are not needed.
Therefore, as long as there is no hard cut that drops support for old drivers (which I think is unlikely, however I also considered it unlikely that Windows would ever require a TPM), old control panel will never go 100% away.
I put the old Control Panel icon on the taskbar of the hundreds of windows 10 and 11 installations I’ve done over the years. Administration is so much easier. End users also appreciate having familiar desktop shortcuts so they don’t have to dig around throughr different versions of the Start Menu. Finally, you can align the Start button in Windows 11 on the left end of the task bar, as opposed to the middle , without hacking. Makes the entire taskbar usable for active programs.
Every time they redesign a feature for the new UI, they remove some kind of feature or make it harder to use than before, and it always seems to be a feature I cared about
We have goose as lawnmower, they're busy eating whole day 😅
The control panel is fundamentally better. But I do use categories not just an alphabetical list.
And others have mentioned they still haven't transferred a whole trove of basic settings over to the new settings app since the release of win10.
Thank god the old menus exists!! The windows 10/11 settings lack alot of options and advanced settings 🥺
The control panel also feels powerful with tools ranging from managing your disk to the drivers for each component and etc
4:03 LINUS SAYING *AMONGUS*
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I just hope the network settings in control panel don't go away. I can't imagine how they'd fit all the seldom used items that IT professionals need to get access to in the new settings app.
same here
we already have major problems with that. things that were simple to do , like changing gateways, requires many more clicks than should be needed. i'd use CLI but the issues of flakiness and inconsistency taught me not to.
The old control panel being there is great for when you google a solution to a problem you are having.
I noticed that whenever a guide tells me to open settings i never find exactly what it is telling me to click. But if it tells me to open the control panel its always there as written.
That's fine, I'm already used to open both when looking for a sneaky setting. But do I really need to program a task to set a shutdown time in the schedule thing? Is it really that hard to just put a button to enable it and set a time to auto power on and off? 😬
What sucks about Windows (well, there's _a lot_ of other things that suck, too, but I mean specifically when it comes to configuring stuff) is that depending on what you want to configure you might need to use the settings app or the control panel... or edit the registry, or use some obscure command line incantation (some of which only work on the old command prompt or on powershell), or edit some group policy, or find some obscure option in file explorer's, task manager's or some other system program's settings, or open the file explorer specifically to My Computer because for some reason you can't map network drives from anywhere else, or use some administrative tool like the services manager, disk manager, task scheduler, or many others which you can only find by digging through the Windows or System32 folders, or load one of seemingly infinite management console snap-ins, or rename a folder to some seemingly random alphanumeric code to gain access to tools that'd be almost impossible to find otherwise, or use msconfig (another tool that's been there probably since the days of Windows 3.x), or edit random system files like the hosts file, or boot in safe or recovery mode... and I'm probably missing another dozen options... which keep increasing and becoming more labyrinthine and obfuscated with every single minor version of the OS... 🙄😤
I cracked it when Windows wouldn't let me delete a folder that was related to the store but had nothing in it. I spent hours trying to work that out, playing with permissions, and all sorts of other things. Worst of all you can't google windows problems, there's just a bunch of unrelated rubbish that turns up.
I ended up reformatting, putting windows on my smaller drive for when I need it and installed linux mint as my daily driver
I've been using various operating systems for many years now (my very first experience was with telex rolls on a teletype!) I was extremely impressed when Apple first showed the Lisa and was heavily interested in its GUI, so when Microsoft brought its first versions of Windows out, I was also interested there. Without going into too much detail, I observed the different environments and designs and although the Lisa GUI and later the Mac GUI had their charms, I was almost taken by Windows.
Almost. My favourite GUI back then was Acorn's RISC OS, but I'll leave that for now!
The thing was that I followed Windows from its earliest squeaks right up to modern day, observing the ups and downs of the design. W95 was really the first up and when NT followed it showed real promise but one thing they shared was the Control Panel. There was little reason to change this over the years that followed, even though they tried to slim things down into Categories in XP which I always found to be pointless.
The point is that the Control Panel was rarely needed by the ordinary user but at least it was all in one place. The "Settings" introduced in Windows 8 and slowly pushed through 10 and 11 changed all that by over-complicating the various controls and obscuring them in pointless piles of pages, all just to satisfy the whim of those that believe in change for change's sake. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't change things but it does mean that altering looks because the old version looks old is counter-productive and inefficient. Just like the version that originally spawned it.
I use the old control panel as the new one doesn't have the settings i need and i have to go through a lot of hidden links to the tools that are required.
For network adapters for example there is no linear path to get to them and restart them.
For the Bluetooth for example that on/off button in the settings on certain machines does not restart the adapter, so you have to click 2-3 more times just to get the the level that you require.
I love that in Windows 11 I can still get a command prompt. Took me 10 seconds to change the time and date, something I didn't feel like googling or messing around with in the settings.
that's why in good operating systems, the graphical interface options are just switches for the actual settings under the hood, instead of being the only way to interact with those functions. that way which kind of interface you want to use is entirely up to you.
Kinda like a BCM in cars then: The switches just send a signal to the BCM, which then turns on headlights/ locks doors/ whatever, instead of the switches being directly connected to the body related functions
This is what Linux is basically doing. The UI of let's say Gnome or KDE is basically just changing some values in a config file in Linux. It's ridiculous how people wouldn't understand that modularity is an important thing to implement in a massive system such as an OS.
technically every single version of windows is just MS DOS with better GUI every version (Until 10 rolled around and stole all the settings from control panel to its IOS settings app copy)
@@ZaHandle no, it's actually ridiculous that some company blindly assumes that GUI will stay the same and just rely on it to automate tasks. It's even more ridiculous for Microsoft to only allow changing settings via GUI instead of allowing cmd scripts. Being modular like Linux is a huge benefit for that exact reason.
@@ZaHandle sorry but this is just wrong, windows stopped running on DOS a long ass time ago and was in fact one of the primary selling points of the NT kernel
I love the oldschool control panel! It's familiar and easy to use, besides if you look up some tutorial online on how to do something, it will most likely tell you "the old ways" like going to control panel.
The control panel just makes sense. It uses intuitive, recognisable icons whereas the settings window is just a long list of identical toggle switches that you have to identify by reading the long-winded text next to them. And if you want anything more advanced than "ON-OFF", all the links open the legacy options anyway.
Somehow I'm 24 and STILL prefer control panel. It may be my old familiarity of growing up mainly using windows 7, but I simply find the settings I'm looking for MUCH faster in control panel. Everytime I need to use the windows settings app, tasks take drastically longer than I expect.
My favorite part of getting a new windows PC id disabling mouse acceleration, which requires opening up mouse settings, which opens up a menu from windows 95 and unchecking a box that says "increase pointer precission." Redesigning the most used features is the worst way to handle things, since the same features that everyone loves using every day get changed repeatedly despite the fact they work just fine and look fine already, meanwhile tons of menus that desperately need an overhaul get ignored.
Classic Control Panel > Whatever garbage is in right now
It's only garbage because they did a poor job with modernizing settings"
I actually prefer control panel to settings. Control panel everything is there Infront of you. And settings everything is always within other options so you have to click 3 or 4 things to find what your looking for
As an old IT guy, I much appreciate that these older settings are there. Sometimes, I just want to "add or remove a program" and Sometimes I want "change adapter settings" without digging though thr new skin. When setting up for streaming, microphone options are very vague in "settings", whereas in 'mixer', I can usually find all my inputs.
I honestly like working with the old control panel way more. Tweaking very nieche settings is just easier with it, because it has been around for so long, that i remember basically every setting in there. It's ugly, not gonna lie, but also useful that it stays the same. You don't have to throw all your knowledge about settings over board when a new windows version releases...
So it's better because you used it before what about the new people learning it you're going to prevent it from potentially being better
@@profosist Nah. Strawman. It's better simply because it's all in one place, compact, accessible with a few clicks. Sure you have to dive in a bit to know what's what, but that's simply the nature of such powerful configuration tools. The new settings app just 'seems' easier because it's so goddamn limited it borders on uselessness. And even that it doesn't cash in on, as with all the extra clicks for the few things it CAN do and the large empty surfaces the cursor has to cross (11 at least alleviates that somewhat) it feels even clunkier to use than something we got in the 90s. More than two decades (!) ago. Surely that can't be the right answer to a problem we didn't even have in the first place, can it.
@@mito-pb8qg simple settings and everyday user might need to be the top layer without any of the additional more in-depth settings and then you should go deeper to get those having too many settings smack the end-user in the face is a bad recipe also how do you propose they keep control panel the same as it is and work it into modern design those two things are literally mutually exclusive
Actually those icons in shell32 are from XP's Luna design. And I can't believe you didn't even mention there's a third settings layer: MMC. Which the start menu does occasionally link to, for instance into disk manager (which still is supposedly licensed from veritas)
MMC is old school
not to mention the cmd settiungs like diskpart, dsim and wmic
@@HShango still absolutely necessary and used everyday in IT environments
it is crazy, I remember it being really noticable on Windows 8, where they tried to present metro gui, box here there everywhere, only for a good 99% of apps would kick you back to the classic desktop. I dont get why they dont just have more options for the end user where if they want to see/use legacy modes / setting that should be always be a option, but by default new gui /guideline are used.
In all fairness you can search for the specific setting you want within the new settings, and it includes everything from the control panel (incl subsettings)
Control Panel is dope
I'm still wondering why Microsoft made the decision to force application grouping and forced icons only in the taskbar in Windows 11. Kinda wanna know what user feedback in 10 led to that.
I think non when I read the complaints. Probably thought it's great an clean.
I find the old control panel far better and easier to use. More things available to change and tweak.
I am constantly setting static IP addresses on my laptop to interface with airgapped AV equipment. I have always done this through control panel. I have no clue if this is possible through the settings app, and really don't wanna bother trying to find out
I like using the old control panel... it feels like I have more control and don't have to search tons of places for things.
hence the term "control panel" 😉
learn how to use the 'search' box and you'll be way faster than you used to be
There are a lot of things you can't do in the new settings menu that you still have to use the control panel and other old menus for. Most people I'm sure will never need a lot of it, but I do all the time.
I can relate. I work on some software that has been in continuous development for about 20 years. We've gone through a couple of UI refreshes, and there's still loads of things using the original system. Pretty much for the same reasons as mentioned in the video.
Rushing to switch everything over to the new style isn't a good idea, because you have to take the time to ensure that the new one actually works at least as well as the old one. Sometimes users get annoyed if something changes for no real benefit from their point of view.
Everytime i do something it always goes as follows:
Me wanting to change something like let's say dns server for current network > go to settings > click arround trying to find anything > google it > try again > give up and open control panel, where everything is as i remember it.
Control Panel is so much more intuitive and faster to use, I tend to avoid new settings altogether, I think that they should just leave it available, add new settings to it that come with new version of windows and maybe update the look of it, but leave the layout and feel of it intact.
1:05 Microsoft casually chilling with an IMAC XD
It is messy but I appreciate all the old stuff being in pretty much the same place in every version of Windows NT. It does change slightly with each major release but you can generally find what you're looking for and given I've been using NT since 1996 this is appreciated and I do a lot of things the old fashioned way, rarely dipping into any modern 'Settings' menus unless there's no other choice.
MS probably want to unify everything but that would break a lot, as you say. I think if you just consider every Windows release from 4.0 onwards as a new version of NT then it begins to make more sense though.
As a regular user I find old Control Panel MUCH MORE convenient than the new settings app. The new thing seems so unnesseserily convoluted that I just ditched it and created a Control Panel shortcut on a task bar.
The thing that annoys me the most is the way that you have to adjust the old style windows every time you open them. Like Event Viewer, Task Scheduler, etc. You have to drag the columns to make them wide enough to see everything.
And the same with File Explorer, it's just not smart enough to automatically resize columns to fit the information.
I wish they'd just redesign the whole OS from the ground up.
They won’t out of lazinesss. I wish it was like the good days when Microsoft would redesign everything from the ground up for the os to “modernize” it like with windows vista.
Yup they are lazy. Every small company could build a better OS.
Or maybe you would need billions.
@@beaniesnipes Yea, it'd be nice if they built a version of Windows just for average users, without all the need for the stuff mentioned in the video. And kept all the other old stuff in the Professional or Enterprise versions where it's needed, or just had it as downloadable extras.
I'm guessing the source code has probably become a huge mess over the last few decades, and most of the programmers today have no idea what all the old code is about, so they just leave it as it is in case something breaks, and the people who originally wrote it have left, or gotten old and died.
If they ever redesign the os from the ground up intuitive UI for desktops are definitely not gonna be in mind
I hope they never get rid of the old control panel, I prefer using it as it has more options and information.
I am not an IT professional or technician, and I still prefer the control panel to the settings. I makes it so easy to check or change what I need to change, while settings seem to be a maze of options that hide what I really need to check or modify.
i wish ms should go back to the easy comprehensive straightforward w2k controls. i hate to have to read a page of settings to find an option. i m now 99% of my home and worktime on linux.