Windows 11: The current desktop operating system from Microsoft

Sun May 17 3:29 pm EDT 2026
xtmci@atomicmail.io

Table of Contents

• How to stop fan noise in Windows 11
• Removing the news feed and other widgets on the lock screen
• Turning off search highlights in the Start menu
• How to disable snap groups on the Taskbar
• How to find your Windows installation date
• How to check a motherboard model in Windows 11

How to stop fan noise in Windows 11

In the Start menu, select Settings. Go to System > Power & battery.

Click Power Mode to expand it.

Select Best Power Efficiency from the Plugged in drop down list. Do the same thing for the On battery drop down list.

Removing the news feed and other widgets on the lock screen

Search for Settings in the Start menu and open it. Navigate to Personalization > Lock screen. Select None from the Lock screen status drop-down list.

Turning off search highlights in the Start menu

Open the Settings app by pressing Windows + I. Go to Privacy & security > Search.

Toggle off the Show search highlights switch.

How to disable snap groups on the Taskbar

Open the Settings app. Go to System and select Multitasking. Expand Snap Windows.

You can see five checkboxes there. Uncheck the fourth one which says:

Show my snapped windows when I hover over taskbar apps, in Task View, and when I press Alt+Tab

How to find your Windows installation date

Use the systeminfo command with the find in the Command Prompt.

In the Start menu, search for Command Prompt and open it. Type the following command line and press Enter.

systeminfo | find /i "install"

• | (pipe) This operator directs data from one command to another.
• /i Ignores the case of characters when finding a string.

In the output of the previous command, you should see the Original Install Date line that looks like this:

Original Install Date:         4/28/2026, 6:48:48 AM
Processor(s):                  1 Processor(s) Installed.
Hotfix(s):                     7 Hotfix(s) Installed.
Network Card(s):               3 NIC(s) Installed.

It reveals the date and time when your Windows is installed.

How to check a motherboard model in Windows 11

• Use the System Information tool.
• Check BaseBoard Product for your motherboard model.

Search for System Information in the Start menu and open it.

The System Information window opens. Find the BaseBoard Product item in the right pane. The value for this item is your motherboard model name.

Alternatively, you can open the System Information tool in the Command Prompt. Open the Command Prompt and enter the following command:

msinfo32