Microsoft is gradually and continually changing all the things that people know about Windows operating system. One of the things that they are working on is switching from the classic control panel to the new settings window. Microsoft has confirmed multiple times that in the future versions of Windows, they will bring all the possible settings from the control panel to the new settings window. Even in the current stable release version, many things lead directly to the new settings panel instead of the classic control panel. For example, when you right-click on the clock in the system tray to change the date and time settings, it takes you to the new settings panel which does not have all the options as the classic control panel.
For this or any other reason, if you want to access the classic control panel then you can use a number of methods:
- Launch Control Panel Using Run Dialog: The run dialog allows you to run any command or launch programs right from the start menu. In order to open the control panel, all you have to do is press Win+R to open the run dialog, type control and press Enter.
- Using the Administrator Menu: Windows 10 has a special menu called administrator menu, power menu or the WinX menu that can be accessed using the hotkey Win+X. You can open this administrator menu and choose Control Panel from this menu to launch classic control panel.
- Using the Settings Panel: Microsoft’s new settings panel will eventually replace the classic control panel, but until then you can use the new settings panel to launch the control panel. For this, you simply have to type in “control panel” in the search box of the settings panel. After a few seconds, you will see the search results from which you can select “Control Panel” to launch it.
So these are a few ways to launch the classic control panel in Windows 10. Perhaps some of these methods will become obsolete in the following years, but till then you can modify Windows 10 settings using the classic control panel.