Whenever I turn on my Windows PC for the first time or set it up after a reset, I remove a few apps instantly. Keeping them on my PC doesn’t make sense since there are better alternatives, or they serve no purpose for me. And this is the case with most of us.
However, there is an app from Microsoft that doesn’t come out of the box, which should be included. It’s the Microsoft PC Manager app. I accidentally stumbled upon it, and now I have made sure every friend who uses a Windows PC has it. It’s an underrated gem that Microsoft should ship with every Windows PC by default.
What is Microsoft PC Manager?
An all-in-one hub for managing Windows 10 and 11 PCs
Microsoft PC Manager is an all-in-one utility toolkit to maintain, optimize, and monitor various health aspects of your Windows PC in an organized dashboard-style interface. It allows you to manage and check your system health and storage, pop-up management, a handy toolbox, and so much more.
The app is loaded with a variety of features that enhance its functionality, making it a valuable tool for users. As an official Microsoft product, it is designed to integrate seamlessly with Windows 10 and 11, ensuring that it matches the overall look and feel of the operating system.
PC Manager operates without requiring any additional adjustments or configurations. This ease of use grants users a smooth onboarding experience right from the start, making it accessible for both new and experienced users alike. This app is packed with features and is an official Microsoft product, which means it works well with Windows 11.
How to install Microsoft PC Manager on a Windows PC
Easy to install, easier to use
Like any other good Windows tool app, it requires extensive web research, multiple website visits, and multiple downloads to find the correct version. If that’s what you thought, then you are in for a treat.
Installing Microsoft PC Manager is a breeze. With just a few clicks, you will have it running on your PC in under five minutes. Here’s how.
- Open the Microsoft Store on your Windows PC.
- Click on the search bar at the top and search for the term PC Manager.
- From the results, click on the one that says Microsoft PC Manager.
- Once the app page opens, click install.
Now we wait! Since it’s small, it won’t take long to get installed on your PC. Once you’re done, you will receive a notification from the system that the app is installed.
You can launch the PC Manager from the notification, the Desktop shortcut, or the Start menu.
What does Microsoft PC Manager have to offer?
Once you launch Microsoft PC Manager, you will find it intuitive as all the menus and options are laid out in nice, easy-to-understand sections that offer multiple utilities.
Home
PC Manager’s Home is a dashboard that provides all the necessary tools to optimize and maintain your system in one place. Here, the very first option is to boost your PC. It eliminates unnecessary background processes, freeing up RAM and making your PC faster.
It also offers options like Health Check, which allows you to monitor your PC’s overheating and adjust it with recommended settings. Other than health, on the dashboard, there are also options such as Processes that show the running processes, Deep cleanup, which helps you free up space on the drive your OS is installed on, and the Startup menu, where you can turn on or off the services that take a toll on your boot speeds.
Protection
Under the Protection tab, you will get all the system updates and protection-related options. Here, you can scan your PC for viruses and threats, check for drivers and Windows updates, restore and change browser settings, check your network health, and much more.
Within the Protection tab, you can even restore your default Taskbar settings and apps that shipped with your Windows. If you accidentally remove the wrong app and replace it with a useless one, this comes in handy.
Storage
Under the Storage tab, we get multiple storage optimization and organization menus. Here, you can perform a deep cleanup where the PC Manager, with the help of Windows’ storage manager, performs a deep scan of every file within the system and chooses which one to delete to free up the space.
We also have the option to delete downloaded, large, and duplicate files, with detailed analysis of the file location and the amount of storage it occupies. Here, you can set up and enable Storage Sense, which automatically cleans your Windows PC under specific conditions.
Note: Be careful with what file you choose for automatic deletion, as Storage Sense permanently deletes the file from the disks and drives.
Apps
Within the Apps tab, multiple options can affect the performance of our Windows computer. Here, you can turn on or off startup apps that automatically run upon boot. Alternatively, you can completely kill apps running in the background and prevent them from booting up again.
If you are running out of space or experiencing slow boot speeds, the Apps tab is the best place to start. You can deeply uninstall apps that affect your storage, PC boot times, and RAM.
Toolbox
And the last tab within Microsoft PC Manager is Toolbox. Here, you’ll find multiple quick tools that enable tasks like taking screenshots, toggling captions, recording audio, launching Notepad, and using a calculator.
Enabling toolbar shortcuts on the desktop makes it easier and quicker to perform these tasks. Once enabled, you get a floating toolbar on the desktop and on the edge of the screen that can be accessed from anywhere.
Make managing your Windows PC easy with PC Manager
Microsoft PC Manager improves upon many aspects of your PC that are either overlooked or that users don’t know where to start. For instance, once updates are downloaded, the residual files occupy space on your PC. The PC manager helps you get rid of them without needing to snoop in the depths of your computer. It’s an essential tool that makes managing a PC more organized and easier to use.
