Disable or delete the Recommended section from the Windows 11 Start Menu

 

Windows 11 came and Microsoft provided with it a completely modern look for the most important elements of the user interface such as the Start menu, taskbar, File Explorer, options menus, App Store, etc. In the event that we highlight the Start menu, we notice that the new format divides the menu frame into two parts: a section that displays shortcuts to installed applications, as in smartphones, and a section that displays newly opened files and folders. But the latter, which is called "Recommended" may seem useless to some Windows 11 users. Because it takes up an unnecessary amount of space, let's go through how to remove it or at least disable it.

 

The "Recommended" section of the Start menu contains a quick shortcut to any new application/program installed on the computer, as well as files and folders that the user visits frequently. Although it is a useful feature, you may prefer that the entire Start menu space be used to display only the shortcuts of installed applications.

 

Unfortunately, Microsoft did not add an option within the settings that achieve this desire to permanently remove this section from the menu, but the company is working on adding an option that relays the menu so that it expands or shrinks the "Recommended" space.

 

Currently, the only option to control the "Recommended" section on the Windows 11 Start menu is to disable it so that it never shows any items while still maintaining its position within the menu.

 

To use this option, open Settings from the Start menu or press the Win and I keys together, then go to the Personalization section from the side menu, then press "Start". Here you will disable the “Show recently opened items in Start” option to prevent displaying a shortcut to the folders and files you open, as well as disable “Show recently added apps” to prevent the appearance of new applications that are installed on the device.

 

Once done, the "Recommended" section will be completely clean and show no shortcuts. And in case that is not satisfactory, in the next paragraph, here is how to remove it completely.

 

Delete the Recommended section from the Start menu

 

Since Microsoft didn't add a setting that deletes this section from the Start menu, we'll have to use a third-party tool like Explorer Patcher. This tool is completely free and allows Windows 11 users to make many changes to the system, the most important of which is restoring the functions that were present in Windows 10, including the taskbar, the Start menu, and others. In addition to minor tweaks like removing the Recommended section entirely from the Windows 11 Start menu, here's how.

 

First, download the latest version of Explorer Patcher from GitHub, and after downloading the “ep_setup” file on your computer, right-click on it and select “Run as administrator”.

 

Note: A notification may appear from your antivirus about the ep_setup file, but this does not necessarily mean that the tool carries viruses or any security threats to your device, rather it is completely safe according to our own experience and testing, but some antivirus programs suspect the code of Explorer Patcher and block the tool Incorrectly. You can read this statement from the developer of the tool for clarity.

 

Once you run the tool for the first time, you will notice that the desktop disappears for several seconds before it reappears again, this time with a different taskbar. As shown in the attached image, the tool instantly replaces the Windows 11 taskbar with the old one used in Windows 10. That's okay! You can easily return to the default appearance with the Explorer Patcher's Properties window, which you can view by right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting "Properties".

 

In the Properties window, you can control the appearance of the Windows 11 desktop as you wish with clear and direct options. In principle, the first modification that you may want to make is to return the Windows 11 taskbar again instead of Windows 10, as this is not the purpose of using the Explorer Patcher tool. To do this, click on "Taskbar" from the side menu, then click on "Windows 10" in front of "Taskbar style" to choose from the "Windows 11 (default)" drop-down list.

 

Now go to the "Start menu" page from the left side menu and put a checkmark (✔) next to the option "Disable the "Recommended" section" as indicated in the image. After that, click on the "Restart File Explorer" button in the lower left corner to restart the desktop and apply the new changes.

 

Now the Windows 11 taskbar will return again, but when you open the Start menu, you will immediately notice that the Recommended section no longer exists in the list and only all installed applications are listed. You can add more app shortcuts to the list and fill in the space to take advantage of the recommended space.