Windows 10 Settings is an important app on your Windows 10 computer. You can use multiple methods to open Windows 10 Settings and use the options in it to modify the settings in the operating system. In this post, MiniTool Software will show you all the methods it knows.

About Windows 10 Settings

Windows 10 Settings and Windows 8 Settings have some differences. Here are the categories in Settings:

The Categories in Windows 10:

  • System
  • Devices
  • Phone (introduced in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update)
  • Network & Internet
  • Personalization
  • Apps (introduced in Windows 10 Creators Update)
  • Accounts
  • Time & Language
  • Gaming (introduced in Windows 10 Anniversary Update)
  • Ease of Access
  • Search
  • *Cortana (introduced in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update; removed in Windows 10 May 2020 Update)
  • Privacy
  • Update & Security
  • *Mixed Reality (introduced in Windows 10 Creators Update; appears only if a device meeting minimum HoloLens requirements is connected to the PC.)

Windows 10 Settings

The Categories in Windows 8:

  • PC & devices
  • Accounts
  • OneDrive/SkyDrive
  • Search & apps
  • Privacy
  • Network
  • Time and language
  • Ease of Access
  • Update & recovery
  • *Activate Windows/Activate Windows8.1 (if your Windows is not activated)

Windows 8 Settings

Method 1: Open Windows 10 Settings Using Windows 10 Settings Keyboard Shortcut

You can press Win+I on your keyboard to directly open Windows 10 Settings. This is the easiest method.

press Windows key and I key to open Settings

Method 2: Open Windows 10 Settings via Start

There is access to Windows 10 Settings in Start. You can click the Start menu (on the bottom-left side of the screen/the left side on the taskbar) and then select the Gear icon to open Windows 10 Settings.

open Windows 10 Settings via Start

On the other hand, you can also scroll down the Start menu to find Settings in S categories and then click it to open it.

open Windows 10 Settings via Start menu

Method 3: Open Windows 10 Settings Use Command Prompt (CMD) or PowerShell

If you are a professional user, you can also use Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell to open Windows 10 Settings. How to open Windows 10 Settings using this method? Here is a simple guide:

  1. Run Command Prompt as administrator.
  2. Type start ms-settings:.
  3. Press Enter.

open Windows 10 Settings using CMD

You can also type the above command line in Windows PowerShell to open Windows 10 Settings.

Method 4: Open Windows 10 Settings via the WinX Menu

Press Win+X on your keyboard and you can find Settings in the WinX menu. Then, you can click it to open it.

Settings in WinX menu

Method 5: Open Windows 10 Settings Use Windows Search

You can use Windows search to search for files and programs on your computer. So, you can also use it to search for Settings and then open it.

open Windows Settings using Windows search

Method 6: Open Windows 10 Settings Use Cortana

You can also click Cortana and then tell Cortana to open Windows 10 Settings.

open Windows 10 Settings using Cortana

Method 7: Open Windows 10 Settings via Run

Run is another utility that can help you open an application on your Windows computer. You can follow these steps to open Windows 10 Settings:

  1. Press Win+R to open Run.
  2. Type ms-settings:.
  3. Press Enter.

open Windows Settings using Run

Method 8: Create a Windows 10 Settings Desktop Shortcut

You can also create a Windows 10 Settings desktop shortcut. Whenever you want to use it, you can just click that Windows 10 Settings shortcut to directly open it.

1. Right-click the desktop and then go to New > Shortcut.

2. Type ms-settings: when you see the following interface.

3. Click Next.

type ms-settings:

4. Type a name for the shortcut.

5. Click Finish.

type a name for the shortcut

6. Then, you can see the Settings shortcut on the desktop. You can click it to open Windows 10 Settings.

Windows 10 Settings shortcut

Method 9: Open Windows 10 Settings Using File Explorer

It is very easy to use File Explorer to open Settings in Windows 10:

  1. Click This PC.
  2. Select the Computer tab from the top menu.
  3. Click Open Settings to open it.

open Windows 10 Settings using File Explorer

Method 10: Open Windows 10 Settings via the Action Center

How to open Settings in Windows 10 using the Action Center? You can follow this guide:

  1. Click the Notification icon on the right side of the taskbar.
  2. Select All Settings to open Settings in Windows 10.

open Settings using Action Center

Method 11: Pin Settings to the Taskbar or Start Menu

  1. Click Start.
  2. Right-click the Gear icon and then select Pin to Start. You can also go to More > Pin to taskbar to pin Settings to the taskbar.

pin Settings to the taskbar or the Start menu

The following image is the result:

pin Settings

Method 12: Open Windows 10 Settings via Task Manager

1. Right-click the taskbar and then select Task Manager.

2. Go to File > Run new task.

run new task

3. Type ms-settings:.

4. Click OK.

run Settings

Method 13: Open Windows 10 Settings from the Desktop

You can also open Settings from the desktop. Here is how to do this:

1. Right-click your desktop and then select Display settings or Personalise.

right-click desktop

2. Click the Home button when you see the Display or Background interface to open Windows 10 Settings.

click Home

Method 14: Open Windows 10 Settings from the Taskbar

  1. Right-click the taskbar and then select Taskbar settings.
  2. Click the Home button on the pop-out interface to open Windows 10 Settings.

click Home

Method 15: Open Windows 10 Settings from Control Panel

  1. Open Control Panel.
  2. Go to User Accounts > Make changes to my account in PC Settings.
  3. On the pop-out interface, click Home to go to Windows Settings.

click Home

Those are the methods to open Windows 10 Settings on your computer. You can just select your preferred method to use.

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