Table of Contents
If you are someone who's constantly flicking through the options in the Windows Control Panel or just regularly use it to fix random problems on your computer. You'll be delighted to know you can actually bring it directly to your Windows context menu. (the right-click menu)
How to Make Windows Automatically Create a Restore Point When You Start Windows.
If you are quite new to the scene or have only really started using Windows in the newer versions the Control Panel is an important part of Microsoft Windows, it allows users to view and manipulate basic system settings and controls via lots of different submenus. Using the Control Panel, you can perform tasks such as adding hardware, adding and removing software, controlling user accounts and changing accessibility options, among a seemingly endless list of other choices.
Manually Adding the Control Panel Option to the Windows Context Menu. (right click menu)
Although the new settings feature from Windows 8 onwards has taken away most of the glory the Control Panel once had, it’s still a handy tool to have close by. As with all how-to guides and tutorials that delve into the Windows registry, it is important to remember that you can cause serious damage to your system, causing it to become unstable and sometimes inoperable, requiring a fresh install, if you deviate from the instructions.
If you stick to the guide, however, the process is simple and pain-free. Even if you have done this a million times it's important to create Restore Point, just in case you have to revert your system back to a previously working state. Below you will find a quick set of instructions you can follow to create a restore point.
- Search for Restore Point from the Windows search box, or start menu and select it from the list of results when it appears.
- On the System Protection tab near the bottom, select Create.
- Enter a description for the restore point, and then select Create & OK and you are done.
Alternatively, you can find the menu via Control Panel, then selecting Recovery.
To begin the main tutorial open the registry editor by hitting Start and typing regedit, when you see it in the menu, right-click the Registry Editor and open it as admin. Once you have the Registry Editor window open in front of you, use the sidebar on the left to navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell
When you have arrived at the above destination, create a New Key inside the shell key to do this, right-click the shell key and choose: New > Key Name the new key Control Panel. (the name of this key is the name that will show up on the context menu)
Next, make another New Key, this time inside the new Control Panel key created earlier. To do this, right-click the Control Panel key and choose: New > Key Name this new key command.
With the new command key selected in the left pane, double-click the (Default) value in the right pane to open its properties window. In the properties window, enter this text into the Value data box:
rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL
The change is basically instant, so you can immediately test it out, just right-click anywhere on your desktop or in File Explorer and you should see your brand new Control Panel command. If you have buyers remorse and no longer want to have the control panel on your right-click menu, just back-track your steps by deleting the keys you have created. This will completely reverse the changes you have made.
