Windows 11 hides one of its most useful menus right where your mouse already goes dozens of times a day. It’s called the Power User menu, also known as the WinX menu or hidden Start menu. It’s a simple menu that gives you access to almost every useful built-in tool there is on Windows.
This menu is all about speed and convenience. Instead of searching for tools or cluttering your desktop with shortcuts, you can access everything you need from one easy-to-use list.
One right-click is all it takes
The thing about the Power User menu is that it’s been around forever, yet it’s still easy to miss. In fact, most people discover it purely by accident.
To access this menu, you simply need to right-click the Start icon on the taskbar. If you prefer using keyboard shortcuts, press Win + X instead. Once you do, you’ll see a list of options that includes everything from Device Manager and File Explorer to Terminal and Disk Management tools. The idea behind this is simple. It saves you from digging through layered menus or searching for tools you use regularly.
And it gets better. When you press Win + X to open this menu, each option displays an underlined letter. Pressing that letter launches the corresponding tool. For example, pressing V brings up Event Viewer, while W opens Network Connections. Once you memorize the shortcut for your favorite tool, opening it will feel much faster.
One of my favorite things to do with this menu is shut down my PC. I can press Win + X, then U, then U again, and it initiates a shut down. You can just as easily restart, put the computer to sleep, hibernate it, or sign out of your account.
A hub for everyday power tools
The Power User menu includes a total 18 options, divided into three groups. The first group, which appears at the bottom, shows Desktop and Shut down and sign out. These are options all of us need daily. The group above covers essentials like Task Manager, Settings, File Explorer, Search, and Run. These are all nice to have, but Windows already offers dedicated keyboard shortcuts for each of them.
What really makes this Power User menu useful is the third group at the top. This is where you’ll find tools that otherwise you’d need to search for by name or dig through layered menus to find. For instance, the Installed apps option opens a list of your apps in the Settings menu. From there, you can manage, repair, or uninstall apps.
Device Manager is perfect for updating drivers and troubleshooting devices that aren’t working as expected. Disk Management is handy when you want to create, resize, format, and manage disk partitions on your PC. Terminal is useful for running useful Windows maintenance commands.
Similarly, you can open Event Viewer to check system logs, Power Options to fine-tune battery and energy settings, and Network Connections to manage Wi-Fi and Ethernet preferences. Even the old Windows Mobility Center still lives here, which is where you’ll find quick controls for brightness, volume, and projection settings.
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Flexible, but within Windows’ own rules
Windows lets you rearrange options that appear in the Power User menu and even create new groups. For that, press Win + R to open the Run dialog, paste the following path, and replace [UserName] with your Windows username.
C:\Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WinX
Hit OK, and it will open a File Explorer window where you’ll see three folders named Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3. Each folder contains options we discussed earlier. From here, you can move items between groups however you like. For instance, you can move the Disk Management or Terminal from Group 3 to Group 1 by cutting their shortcuts from one folder and pasting them into another.
You can also create a new group, such as Group 4, and move shortcuts you want in a different group. Once you’ve made your changes, you’ll need to sign out and sign back into your account for the changes to take effect.
The big catch, though, is that Windows doesn’t let you remove options you don’t use. Even if you delete shortcuts inside these Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3 folders, they’ll still appear in the WinX menu. Similarly, any new shortcuts you add here won’t appear in the Power User menu. Windows used to allow editing this menu with third-party tools, but it’s no longer possible in recent releases.
Windows 11 already has all the tools you might need. The Power User menu just brings them together in one efficient place. It can take some getting used to, but once you do, you’ll no longer reach for the search menu to access your favorite tools.
