Add Control Panel To This PC in Windows 10

In Windows 10, the ability to quickly open the Control Panel from the Ribbon user interface has been eliminated. The button to open it was replaced with Settings. While many options in the classic Control Panel are currently available in Settings, the Control Panel still has dozens of exclusive applets which have not been not ported yet to the modern Settings app. You might want to add back the Control Panel to This PC. Here is how.

Settings is a Universal app bundled with Windows 10. It is created to replace the classic Control Panel for both touch screen users and mouse and keyboard Desktop users. It consists of several pages which bring new options to configure Windows 10 along with some older options inherited from the classic Control Panel. In every release, Windows 10 is getting more and more classic options converted to a modern page in the Settings app.

As of this writing, the classic Control Panel still comes with a number of options and tools which are not available in Settings. It has a familiar user interface which many users prefer over the Settings app. They would like to have an option to launch it from the This PC folder like in previous releases of the operating system. Here is a solution.

To add Control Panel to This PC in Windows 10, do the following.

It is possible to add the Control Panel with a Registry tweak. The required key is protected by the TrustedInstaller ownership, but this is not a big problem. Follow the instructions below.

1. Download the portable app ExecTI and unpack it to any folder you like: Download ExecTI.
2. Unblock the downloaded file.
3. Using ExecTI, run the "regedit.exe" app. See the screenshot below. This will open a new instance of the Registry app running with TrustedInstaller permissions, so it will allow you to modify the required Registry key.
4. Go to the following Registry key:

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

   

5. On the right, create a new 32-bit DWORD value named DescriptionID. Even if you are running a 64-bit Windows 10 version, you need to use a 32-bit DWORD value type.
6. Set the value data to 3.
7. If you are running a 64-bit Windows 10 version, go to the following key:

   HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{5399E694-6CE5-4D6C-8FCE-1D8870FDCBA0}

8. There, create the same DescriptionID value and set its value data to 3.
9. Now, go to the following key:

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

   

10. Here, create a new subkey named {5399E694-6CE5-4D6C-8FCE-1D8870FDCBA0}.
11. If you are running a 64-bit Windows 10 version, create the same subkey under the key

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace

    

Now, open This PC. You'll see a new item under the "Folders" group called Control Panel.

Here is how it works. The DescriptionID value you created tells Windows 10 to display the Control Panel virtual folder in the "Folders" category of the This PC folder. But it won't be visible in This PC until you explicitly specify its CLSID under the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace.

This way you can add any Control Panel applet or virtual folder to This PC. You can get the full list of available CLSIDs in the following article:

CLSID (GUID) shell location list in Windows 10.

You can save your time and avoid complicated Registry editing. Instead, use Winaero Tweaker, my freeware app which comes with a huge number of options to customize Windows 10. One of its options is the ability to customize folders in This PC. You can add any custom folder, any Control Panel applet, a library or a shell location to the This PC folder with just two clicks.

You can also remove any of the default folders. You can download Winaero Tweaker here:

Download Winaero Tweaker

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