Whilst many of us are happy to let Microsoft do what it needs to let our machines run better, some of us are missing the under the hood tools we are used to having access to. One of them is the loss of the Control Panel.
What is the control panel?
In the good old days of IT, we used to be able to go right into the heart of the operating system and ‘tweak’ it to work how we wanted. The Control panel was one of those tools we could tinker with. It was the place we could set up new hardware, update drivers and add third-party applets. Today in Windows 10, or Win X, things are moving over to ‘settings’. The loss of the control panel means Microsoft is taking more control over our machines.
Control panel disappeared from the start menu
Just this last month or so, the control panel disappeared from the ‘right click on start’ menu. Those of us who know where to look, find that the ‘control panel’ link heads to ‘settings’, and it has not even been renamed!
What else is missing?
Also missing from the control panel on some machines is ‘add/remove programs’. Along with many of the applets we are used to seeing. They have moved to ‘settings’ and become more user friendly. The troubleshooters in the control panel were easier to use, therefore quicker to repair the problem.
You can still find it!
Click on start->all apps->windows system-> control panel. You could right-click to ‘pin to start’ That way you won’t lose it again.
So why does it matter?
For most of us, it matters not one jot, for your IT management team, they now are a little handcuffed in repairing your PC. Many feel like Microsoft is planning to do away with the control panel altogether. The problem comes as some settings in control panel divert to settings and others in settings divert back to control panel! This can leave you feeling like you are going round in circles! More calls to IT to fix it and IT are also having to run around looking for the right setting to use.
The future of the control panel?
It does look like Microsoft will dispel with the control panel, but not for a while yet. In the meantime, if you find yourself going round in circles, please do contact us for help.
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