How to Open Control Panel in Windows 10?

Windows 10 includes a lot of features that were not available in its predecessors, including Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 7. Suppose you have recently upgraded from Windows 7/8 to Windows 10 or installed Windows 10 on your computer or laptop from scratch and missing the classic Control Panel. In that case, this growupwindows article will help you.

Those who recently changed their minds and updated their PC to Windows 10 are now wondering where the Control Panel is in Windows 10. How can I find and access Control Panel in Windows 10? How to get the shortcut for Control Panel in Windows 10? This post will solve all the questions that are arising in your mind.

The Windows Control Panel includes a set of application shortcuts to control, change, add or remove hardware and software functions.

With Windows 10, Microsoft has introduced a new app called Settings app. There are several ways to open the Settings app, and we prefer to use the hotkey Windows + I. Several customizations are possible using the modern Settings app. Microsoft pushes all the Control Panel items to the Settings app to phase out the Control Panel.

Fortunately, Control Panel is still part of Windows 10, and you can access it in various ways. These are the following:-

1. Using Search Menu/button
2. Through Command Prompt
3. From the Desktop Right-click Menu
4. By Adding the Control Panel icon to Windows 10 Desktop
5. Via Settings app
6. Using the Run dialog box
7. Through Windows PowerShell
8. From File Explorer

How to Open Control Panel in Windows 10 using the Search Menu/button?

Click on the Start button/menu of Windows 10 and type Control Panel. Then hit the Control Panel to open the same from the available top search results.

How to Run Control Panel using Command Prompt?

To open Control Panel on Windows 10 PC using Command Prompt, perform the following steps:-

Step 1. At first, click on the Startbutton. Then, type the following and hit Enter from the keyboard:-

Command Prompt

Step 2. In the available search results, click on the Command Prompt entry to open it.

Step  3. In the Command Prompt window that appears, type the following and hit Enter from the keyboard to open the Command Prompt:-

Control Panel

To access the Control Panel on the right-click menu, you need to modify the Windows Registry; hence, we recommend taking a complete backup of Windows Registry and creating a system restore point. You can revert your PC to a working state if something goes wrong.

Step 1. First, open the Run box by pressing the Windows logo + R keys on the keyboard.

Step 2. In the Run box, type the following command and hit Enter key on the keyboard:-

regedit

The above action will open the Registry Editor window.

Step 3. In the Registry Editor window that opens, navigate to the following key from the left side pane:-

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell

Step 4. Then, right-click on the shell folder in the left side pane, and select New > Key option.

Step 7. Rename the newly created key as command.

Step 8. Select the newly created command key, and on the right side, double click on the (Default) string to change its Value data.

Step 9. Copy and paste the following in the ‘Value data‘ box:-

rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL

Step 10. Finally, hit the OK button.

After completing the above steps, right-click on the free space on the desktop or any folder or drive to access the Control Panel in the context menu.

How to Add Control Panel icon to Windows 10 Desktop?

Perform the following steps to add the Control Panel icon to Windows 10 Desktop:-

Step 1. First, right-click the blank space on Desktop and select the Personalize option.

Step 3. On the pop-up window “Desktop Icon Settings,” check the checkbox Control Panel.

Step 4. Then, click Apply.

Step 5. After that, click OK.

The Control Panel icon will appear on your Windows 10 desktop when you’re done. Double-clicking that icon on the desktop, you can open Control Panel.

How to Launch Control Panel through the Settings app?

How to Open Control Panel from the Run dialog box?

How to Open Control Panel through Windows PowerShell?

It is also possible to open Control Panel through Windows PowerShell. It is helpful for those who prefer to use PowerShell. Open the PowerShell using any method.

How to Access Control Panel from Windows 10 File Explorer?

It is possible to add Control Panel to Windows File Explorer using a registry hack. These are the steps:-

Step 1. Press Windows + R keys to open the Run command box.

Step 2. Key in regedit in the Run box and hit Enter from the keyboard or press the OK button.

The above action will open the Registry Editor window.

Step 3. In the Registry Editor windows, navigate to the following registry key from the left side pane:-

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace

Step 4. Then, right-click the NameSpace key and select New > Key.

Step 5. Right-click on the newly-created key and name it as

{5399E694-6CE5-4D6C-8FCE-1D8870FDCBA0}

Step 6. Close the Registry Editor.

Step 7. Open File Explorer.

You can now see Control Panel under File Explorer. Double-click on it to open.

This post is written by keeping in mind Windows 10. However, most of above mentioned (except Settings app) methods also apply to Windows 11, 8.1, 8, and 7.

Good luck.