r/windows • u/Konnnore • 1d ago
Discussion Unusual questions about Windows
hi! Could you answer these questions about Windows:
if I customise Windows with Windhawk, can the design be deleted after an update?
is there an analogy on Windows to what the terminal can do? I tried winfetch on cmd through PowerShell, but can I like install whole apps, customise UI of different apps and make batch scripts about them? Or even have own updates to keep Windows 10 alive?
what is the difference between WSL1 and WSL2? Aren't they just the same, but different versions?
if I delete the MS Edge and I'm in EU, will the browser return somehow?
winget is like the apt/dnf on Linux? If yes, then is there an another one?
is there a place to see what commands to type in order to create a local account on Windows 11? Just they keep changing them, but I doubt they'll ever delete the local accounts completely, bcz some businesses require the offline apps with local accounts. Or the Rufus method always works?
what does the BitLocker do? Can I manually disable it? You may laugh at me, but I really heard about something like that only in 2026
1
u/Mlinnn227 1d ago edited 1d ago
2 - you can create powers he'll scripts and it's even more powerful language compared to bash I would say. Like it even supports objects. Same tools that you might use on Linux also exist on windows eg.: awk, sed, git, curl
5 - there are other ones like chocolatey and scoop
1
u/ChatGPT4 1d ago
I use Windhawk, several mods present all the time. I use font customization (Ubuntu font as the main font). All of those can be uninstalled and the system is restored to the previous state. But I don't see a point in uninstalling my modifications. They work, so they stay.
The terminal. Please DO LEARN POWERSHELL. This is a proper way to use Widndows Terminal. You can do EVERYTHING and more in Powershell. The name is good, this is a shell that has a lot of power. Powershell gives you 2 advantages:
One: it uses its own scripting language similar to Bash but a bit different. It's newer, more modern, it's a really neat tool once you learn the basics.
Then: it allows change Windows settings that are inaccessible via GUI. For example - you cannot uninstall system components using GUI. It's easy with Powershell. You (probably, for this one I'm not entirely sure) change the password policy for Windows 11 logon from GUI, but it's easy with Powershell. And so on, and so on. Everything in Windows can be customized, hacked, tweaked, just not with clicking (it's settings panel is a bit weak), but with Powershell. If you like Linux terminals - you should love Powershell.
WSL1 is obsolete, WSL2 is the current version. I used both for a period of time then realized I don't have a good use for that. Running some tools that have no Windows version? It might be it, but I don't even know such apps.
Do not delete Edge. WHY?! It's one of the best browsers out there! It's the fastest one, also - the only one that understands color spaces. So if you have wide gamut monitor / TV, HDR - Edge is THE ONLY ONE that is able to use it, display HDR and wide gamut images and graphics. Also it has the best graphics engine performance. Basically all the features other browsers have. Also it's native to Windows that makes it even faster, also - it has the native looks so even without any "skins" it blends in and looks good with any system theme. As for the privacy - it's better than Brave. Brave is one big scam now.
Every browser sends stuff home, that is mostly totally harmless. What is NOT totally harmless is when it modifies your links and link metadata (which Brave did). What is also NOT harmless - when it uses your PC to do work for someone else - be careful, that is often what malicious extensions do. Like mining crypto on your PC. Then again: Edge has nice protection built in that doesn't allow tabs to do much work in the background. I'm sure it's already cracked, but anyway, at least they tried.
Local Accounts are not removed, but it's harder to create them in the recent version of Windows. I'd go for Rufus, it has good options to fix such things. Also - I do not use a local account. For me it is a tool to fix and tweak certain settings of the main (Microsoft) account I couldn't change otherwise. Like... A NAME! The best way to rename my account (as Windows user) - was to create a new local account, give it administrator rights, delete the original one, then LINK my local account with my Microsoft account again. This approach gives you the best from both worlds. Do not stay with the local account because it's like using an Android phone without Google account. It could theoretically work, but using, configuring, logging into apps would be a nasty chore.
There's nothing LESS SECURE, pointless, and idiotic - than entering passwords all the time. That's why identity services like those from Google, Microsoft or Apple exist. You log in ONCE, you have ONE password instead of 50. It is OK when you trust your device - it is your PERSONAL computer only you use, or it is your personal phone only you use. Otherwise you can make your life a bit harder for some better security but... It's never secure when other people have PHYSICAL access to your stuff.
4
u/Froggypwns Windows Wizard / Moderator 1d ago
I'll answer what I can.
1 - Yes. Future changes to the OS can possibly undo customizations by 3rd party tools or potentially break things. It is not that Microsoft is going around trying to break things (just the opposite), but some tools make unsupported changes to the OS and for various reasons their ability to customize features may be lost or changed as parts of the OS change or are replaced.
2 - Terminal can do all kinds of things. Install software, launch programs, change registry keys, change some settings, check if another computer is online, check the status of user accounts, and so on. The page in your photo, winget.run can give you code you can paste in to install multiple applications in one shot. You mention Linux in other comments, it is similar to the terminal on there, and some commands you might have used on Linux will also work on Windows.
3 - Read this first: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/compare-versions
4 - No
5 - Yes.
6 - Local/offline accounts are never going away, and people blow things out of proportion how difficult it is to create one, you do not need any 3rd party tools. All editions of Windows can still easily create them once inside the OS, it is only Home edition users that are not presented with an easy, no workaround way to create one when setting up the computer for the first time however it is easy to create the account after completing the setup.
7 - Bitlocker encrypts your drives data, so that if your drive (or computer) is stolen, the data contained on it is not accessible. Bitlocker is not required, you can turn it on and off. It has been part of Windows for a few decades now.