In this post, I am also sharing some of the important features that you should know and use when searching from the Start Menu. The Start menu has a few features which depend on the server, and if you arent seeing them right away, Microsoft is still turning them on for all computers. For your information, you should know that Windows 10 has a search box in the Taskbar as well, whereas Windows 11 does not.
How to use Windows Start Menu Search Box
When you click on the search box or use Win+S, you get the Enhanced search box, which offers two features upfront. Quick access to Top apps and quick searches. The latter include weather, news, market, and so on. Here is the list of features included:
Timeline IntegrationSpell CorrectionRelated Searches.
As of now, there is no direct option to hide or remove parts of the user interface. We will have to rely on Registry changes or Group Policy settings to remove them or change their behavior partly.
Timeline Integration
Right in the middle of the Start Menu Search, notice the listing of five recent activities from the TimeLine. You can also click on Manage in Timeline to review and remove any of the recent activities right away.
Spell Correction
Improved spell correction for Apps & Settings searches make sure typoes also return matching results. Available for English as of now. So if you type PINT instead of PAINT, it will still show Paint in the Taskbar search result.
Related Searches
How to Disable Bing Search results in Start Menu of Windows
If you want to completely disable Bing Search in Windows 11/10 Start Menu i.e. and remove the See web results section under the Search the web, it is possible, you can use the Group Policy or Registry Editor. Follow these steps on Windows 11 and Windows 10 v2004 and later. Do note that your User Account has to be a member of the Administrator group.
Using Registry Editor
Open Registry Editor Navigate to: Find or if you do not see it then create DisableSearchBoxSuggestions DWORD 32-bit Set the value to 1 Restart the computer.
Bing-related features like Weather, Stock prices, Currency conversion, and other one-click features will not be available anymore.File Explorer will not show suggestion pop-ups as users type into the Search Box.Recent searches will not show anymore as they will not be stored.
Using Group Policy Editor
If your version has the Group Policy, you can also follow this method. Open the Group Policy Editor Navigate to: Find the policy that says and double-click on it to open its Properties box:
Turn off display of recent search
Select Enabled > Apply > OK and restart the computer. The Turn off display of recent search policy states: This worked for me and I am sure that it will work for you too on Windows 11.
PS: Cortana is now a regular Store app. Here’s how you can enable or disable Cortana and prevent it from auto-starting with Windows at startup.