How to Disable Dragging of Maximized Windows in Windows 11

You can disable dragging of maximized Windows in Windows 11, so it won't accidentally restore down or move to another desktop or screen. By default, you can drag any maximized window down from the title bar, and it will restore its original size.

This feature is part of window snapping options. It was first implemented in Windows 7. While you can disable window snapping completely, it is not a convenient solution. Along with the 'umaximize with the drag' option, it will turn off snapping to grid, snapping to edges, and grouping.

Luckily, there is a better solution. You can turn off only the dragging option for maximized apps. Windows 11 includes a special registry tweak for that.

To disable dragging of maximized windows in Windows 11, do the following.

Disable Dragging of Maximized Windows in Windows 11

1. Press Win + R and type regedit in the Run dialog to open the Registry Editor.
2. On the left, navigate to the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop.
3. On the right, double-click the DragFromMaximize value to edit it.
4. Change its value data from 1 to 0.
5. Now, sign out and sign in from your user account, or restart Windows 11 to apply.

You are done.

Now, if you drag a maximized window, it will not restore its size and won't change its position. You can still drag a non-maximized window to the top edge to maximize it or to the left and right edges to snap it!

To restore the default behavior, set the mentioned DragFromMaximize value back to 1 and sign out/sign in to your user account to apply.

Ready-to-use Registry files

To avoid manual editing of the registry, you can go with the following ready-to-use REG files.

1. Download the following ZIP archive.
2. Extract the two REG files to any folder of your choice.
3. Double-click the Disable_drag_maximized_windows.reg file to disable the feature.
4. To undo the change and re-enable the dragging of maximized windows, open the Enable_drag_maximized_windows.reg file.
5. Now, log out of your user acount and log in back.

Finally, if you prefer a GUI method of disabling the reviewed window management option, you can use Winaero Tweaker.

Turn Off Drag of Maximized Windows with Winaero Tweaker

With Winaero Tweaker, you can avoid editing the Registry entirely. Here's how.

1. Download Winaero Tweaker, install and run it.
2. Go to Behavior \ Disable Aero Snap.
3. Turn on the option Disable dragging of maximized windows on the right.
4. Click on the Sign out button when prompted.

That's it.

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