On Windows 11 build 25309, you can enable an early preview of the new option to add or remove recommendations in the Start menu.
In the latest preview of the operating system in the Dev Channel, Microsoft is experimenting with a new “Show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps, and more” option in the Start menu to enable or disable the “Recommended” section.
In the stable version of Windows 11, you can disable recommendations by turning off the “Show recently added apps” and “Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer” options. However, this action will continue to show the “Recommended” section without any items.
Since the new option still doesn’t work, it’s unclear whether users will have an entire page to show pins, or if the “Recommended” section will continue to be available but without items when disabling the new feature.
In addition, Microsoft is also experimenting with a new option to remind users to back up their data to OneDrive from the profile user menu in the Start menu. On build 25309, the company is testing three variants of the messages, and this guide will also show you how to enable this feature.
If you want to get hands-on with the new feature, you can use a third-party tool called “ViveTool” created by Rafael Rivera and Lucas on GitHub, to enable the option on your computer.
This guide will teach you the steps to turn on this new feature on Windows 11.
Enable new Start recommendations option on Windows 11
To enable the new Start menu option to turn on or off recommendations on Windows 11, use these steps:
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Download the ViveTool-vx.x.x.zip file to enable the new recommendations option.
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Double-click the zip folder to open it with File Explorer.
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Click the Extract all button.
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Click the Extract button.
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Copy the path to the folder.
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Open Start.
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Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
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Type the following command to navigate to the ViveTool folder and press Enter:
cd c:\folder\path\ViveTool-v0.x.x
In the command, remember to change the path to the folder with your path.
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Type the following command to enable the new Start menu recommendations setting and press Enter:
vivetool /enable /id:42916428
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(Optional) Type ONE of the following commands to enable one of the variants of the new backup option in the Start menu power settings and press Enter:
vivetool /enable /id:36435151 /variant:1 /variantpayloadkind:1 /variantpayload:737 vivetool /enable /id:36435151 /variant:1 /variantpayloadkind:1 /variantpayload:993 vivetool /enable /id:36435151 /variant:1 /variantpayloadkind:1 /variantpayload:1121
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Restart the computer.
Once you complete the steps, on the Start settings page, you will see a new “Show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps, and more” option to control the “Recommended” section.
If you turned on one of the variants of the new backup option, you can view this option by opening Start and clicking the user profile button.
If you change your mind, you can revert the changes with the same instructions, but on step 10, make sure to run the same commands but use the /disable switch instead of /enable.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].