Five common problems with Windows 11 and how to solve them

Windows 11 is a new generation operating system that still has many details to be polished. It is true that, over the months, it has received patches and updates that have corrected some errors and important problems, and that little by little we have less and less reasons not to install itbut this does not mean that we are already at the best time to take the step. Personally, I’m going to wait a little longer, at least on my personal PC.

As of today I have tested Windows 11 on different computers, but all of them have been last generation systems with more than acceptable hardware configurations, so it is understandable that the experience I have had has been, in general, quite good. However, this is not to say that I have had no problems, in fact the opposite has been true.

For example, recently a Windows 11 update knocked out the test equipment’s Wi-Fi connection i wasted several hours getting the connection back up and running. Yes, it was a disaster, and the culprit was Windows 11 and its update system, which generated a serious conflict and forced me to fiddle around for quite a while. A normal user would not have been able to solve the problem, and would have had to resort to technical support at considerable expense.

Based on all the experiences I have accumulated with Windows 11, I thought it would be a good idea to compile five common problems that I have experienced with Windows 11 can give you more than a headache with this system, and show you directly the solution so that you do not have to waste time looking for “the way out”, as it happened to me at the time. As always, if you have any doubt you can leave it in the comments and I will help you to solve it.

1.-Internet connection problems with Windows 11

Five common problems with Windows 11 and how to solve them

Unfortunately I am having with Windows 11 all the connection problems I didn’t have with Windows 10. I think that, in some cases, it may be a driver issue, since I was unable to solve a problem of loss of Internet connection with a family member’s laptop that used a Realtek adapter to connect via Wi-Fi. I tried using a USB drive with a built-in antenna and voila, the connection worked again without any problems.

I wanted to start by saying this because I want you to be clear that some wireless networking solutions can give you problems that are “impossible” to solvein quotation marks because just because I have not been able to fix them does not mean that someone else cannot. When I have encountered these cases, using an external USB adapter has been the simplest, fastest and cheapest solution. Before resorting to this, which should be your last option, you can try these steps:

  • Restart your PC and your router.
  • Use the Windows 11 troubleshooter, although it may not seem like it can get you out of more than one trouble. You can right-click on the icon of your Internet connection, located in the system tray, and directly choose the “troubleshoot” option.
  • Update your network adapter drivers and operating system.
  • If none of the above works try resetting your network settings.

Please note that Microsoft itself confirmed that some network adapters, such as those based on Intel Killer, ewere giving problems internet connection problems, so it is important to keep your operating system up to date to make sure you have the latest patches that usually resolve these types of problems.

2.-Problems with RAM memory

Five common problems with Windows 11 and how to solve them

Windows 11 is a more demanding operating system than Windows 10, and in every way, although RAM is one of the most important. To move Windows 10 in a more than acceptable way 4 GB of RAM was enoughbut to do the same with Windows 11 we need at least 8 GB of RAM, that is, twice as much. If we have 4 GB of RAM the experience with this operating system is not going to be really good, so keep this in mind before upgrading.

If you have nevertheless made the leap to Windows 11 you can improve performance by closing background applications and limiting those that load at startup. We have also seen problems of excessive consumption of RAM associated with programs and applications that even though they have been closed they are still active, which generates an increasing RAM consumption that in some cases can cause problems.

To solve this problem we can force the closing of the program or application through the “Task Manager”, provided that it is listed in it, or if this is not possible we can restart the “Windows Explorer”. To do this we just need to access the  “Task Manager”, right click on  “Windows Explorer” and choose the  “restart” option. The reboot process will not take more than a few seconds, and do not worry, it is completely safe and does not cause any problems.

3.-The taskbar and start menu do not work

Five common problems with Windows 11 and how to solve them

This is a problem that I have also suffered with Windows 10, and the truth is that I was surprised to experience it again in Windows 11. It can be very annoying and complicated to solve if we do not know where we have to pull, so I will give you three possible solutions. The first is the simplest, reboot the computer. We can do this by pressing “Alt + F4” and choosing the restart option. You can also press “Control + Alt + Delete” to access the power off and power on options.

If this does not work, we can repeat the step of restart “Windows Explorer” that we have given you in point two. Normally, this step will work correctly, that is to say, it will solve the problem, but if this does not happen we have a third option, more complicated, that I am going to detail below:

  • Press the Windows key and type  “cmd” to launch the console. It is not necessary to do the previous step of “Run”. Right click on the corresponding result and choose the option to run as administrator.
  • Once inside, paste this command (without quotation marks)  “DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth”. With this command we are fixing problems resulting from corrupted files.
  • When the above process has finished we must use the command  “sfc /scannow”, also without quotes. There, everything should work correctly.

4.-Performance problems with AMD CPUs and SSDs

Five common problems with Windows 11 and how to solve them

In this case, the solution is quite simple, although both problems still affect a considerable number of users who have not properly updated their equipment. The performance problem with AMD processors under Windows 11 was solved in October 2021, thanks to the release of two updates that are obviously essential and must be installed.

The first comes from Microsoft and is identified as KB5006746, an update that resolves issues associated with the L3 cache, while the second comes from AMD and is a fine-tuning of its chipets. It can be found on the Sunnyvale company�s official website dedicated to driver downloads. Just select the motherboard model you have and the chipset type. It is also important to that you update the BIOS of your motherboard, as AMD confirmed some problems linked to the use of fTPM.

Regarding the performance issues with SSD drives in Windows 11 I have also a good news for you, as this was resolved with the KB5007262 updatealthough this update was not released as mandatory, so we have to proceed to its manual installation to solve the problems we have discussed. If you do not know where to locate the Windows 11 updates to proceed to its manual installation do not worry, just enter this link and you will access the official search engine.

5.-Problems with widgets in Windows 11

Five common problems with Windows 11 and how to solve them

One of the most important new features that Microsoft introduced with Windows 11 was the widget panel on the left side of the screen. Thanks to this widget panel we can access more quickly to certain applications, events and information which can be of greater or lesser utility, although this obviously entails a considerable consumption of resources and, in the end, has been another of the changes that has caused the most problems.

If you are having problems with widgets, such as the panel is completely empty or does not work, do not worry, this has a very simple solution, you just have to close the session by clicking the button in the upper right corner of the widget panel. If you cannot open the widget panel with the mouse, press the “Windows + W” keys.

Once you have completed this step, log back in and everything should be back to normal Restart “Windows Explorer” can also help us to solve this problem if we see that the previous step had no effect. Make sure that you have the widgets enabled, it may seem a truism but you know, in the end a mistake can happen.

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