Windows has a hidden power user menu that offers 18 shortcuts to tools and utilities that are truly useful when using Windows, but that ordinarily require a lot of clicking and typing. With a quick keyboard shortcut, you can bring up a special menu that can launch a variety of Windows tools and settings without you having to open Run or search the Start menu.
It all starts with Windows + X
If you like the efficiency of keyboard shortcuts as much as I do, you’ll love this panel of tools. All the following tools can be accessed with a special menu that comes up when you press Windows + X. From there, you can utilize the corresponding keyboard shortcut (indicated by whichever letter is underlined in the menu) to instantly bring up the tool or utility without having to click.
If you like the efficiency of keyboard shortcuts as much as I do, you’ll love this panel of tools.
The laptop control panel Windows buried years ago
Access Mobility Center in seconds
Pressing Windows + X + B will open the Windows Mobility Center, which is a handy tool especially if you have a laptop. You can access this by looking for it in the Start menu, or by initiating it through the Run tool, but by far the fastest way to access Mobility Center is from this power user menu.
From here you can easily rotate your screen (helpful if you have a convertible laptop where the display flips around), plus adjust volume, display brightness and adjust external display settings. It’s a fantastic all-in-one dashboard for road warriors.
This next shortcut will make it easier to kill a mishbehaving app.
Kill a frozen app in two keystrokes
A quicker way to launch Task Manager
If you press Windows + X + T, you’ll jump right into your Task Manager where you can look for apps that are not responding and use the End Task command to kill them. Of course, you can also access Task Manager in the usual ways, like Control + Shift + Escape, but bringing it up with this power user menu is quicker.
The next tool lets you quickly see your system information.
The fastest way to see what’s actually inside your PC
Without digging in Settings
Once in a while, you might need to bring up the About page in Settings to reference the hardware that’s inside your PC. Perhaps you are troubleshooting a hardware or software issue, or perhaps you’re sharing specs with a friend for bragging rights. There are multiple paths to bring up this panel (like by searching the Start menu for “system” or going to Run), but by far the most efficient way to bring up your About page is by pressing Windows + X + Y.
The following shortcut makes it easier to fix a device with a problematic driver.
One device stopped working after an update? Undo it in 30 seconds
Roll back a driver the fast way
It’s happened to all of us: you update a driver (usually a display driver) and it causes your PC to malfunction, necessitating a roll back to the previous driver. You can, of course, do this via Device Manager, opening the device in question, going to the Driver tab, then going to Roll Back Driver. If you press Windows + X + M, you can get to your Device Manager if you need to roll back a driver.
This menu is really a dream for the power user. As mentioned, it contains about 18 tools and shortcuts.
Here’s a compendium of some of my other useful favorites: Power Options (Windows + X + O) lets you change the power mode of your device and toggle energy saver (but you’re probably using the wrong power plan); Disk Management (Windows + X + K) is where you come to manage the partitions of your hard drive or change drive letters; Network Connections (Windows + X+ W) brings you to the hub of all things connectivity, where you can manage Wi-Fi, set up hotspot, or add a VPN (which can vastly improve the security of your PC); and of course Terminal (Admin) (Windows + X + A) brings you right into terminal with full admin permissions, and bringing it up through this menu is much faster than going through Run or searching the Start menu.
There are even more tools available in this menu, such as a quick link to File Explorer, Search and Run, plus a full array of shut down options (sign out, sleep, restart, shut down, etc), Event Viewer, Installed Apps, and more. So start using Windows + X today and get quick access to all of these handy tools.