This wikiHow teaches you how to disable Cortana, Microsoft’s voice search assistant, in Windows 10 Home, Pro, and Professional editions.
Steps
Method 1
Method 1 of 2:
Windows 10 Home Edition
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Press ⊞ Win + R . If you’re using the Home edition of Windows 10, this method will help you disable Cortana. This opens the ″Run″ dialog box.
- If you’re not sure which version of Windows 10 you’re using, open the Start menu, click Settings (or the gear icon), click System , and then click About at the bottom of the left column. The version appears under ″Windows specifications″ at the bottom of the right panel.
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Type regedit and click OK . A security window will appear.Advertisement
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Click Yes to open Regedit as an administrator. Depending on your settings, you may have to enter your administrator password.
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Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows . To do this, start by expanding HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE in the left panel, then expand the SOFTWARE folder, then Policies , then Microsoft , and finally Windows . The registry keys in the ″Windows″ folder now appear in the right panel.
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Find the ″Windows Search″ folder. It should be in the left panel (in the Windows folder). If you don’t see it, here’s how to create it now: [1] X Research source
- Right-click the Windows folder (the one you have open) in the left panel.
- Click New .
- Click Key .
- Type Windows Search and press ↵ Enter . A folder called Windows Search now appears in the left panel.
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Right-click Windows Search and select New . A menu will appear.
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Click DWORD (32-bit) Value . Now you’ll give it a name.
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Type AllowCortana and press ↵ Enter . The name is saved.
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Double-click AllowCortana . This opens the Edit dialog box.
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Set the ″Value data″ field to "0." If it’s already set to 0, there’s no need to change it.
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Click OK . The key is now saved.
- You can re-enable Cortana later by opening this key again and setting it to ″1.″
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Restart your computer. Once your computer comes back up, Cortana will no longer be running. Instead of seeing a circle icon in the taskbar next to the Start menu, you’ll see a magnifying glass.Advertisement
Method 2
Method 2 of 2:
Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise Editions
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Press ⊞ Win + R . If you’re using the Home edition of Windows 10, this method will help you disable Cortana. This opens the ″Run″ dialog box.
- If you’re not sure which version of Windows 10 you’re using, open the Start menu, click Settings (or the gear icon), click System , and then click About at the bottom of the left column. The version appears under ″Windows specifications″ at the bottom of the right panel.
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Type gpedit.msc and press ↵ Enter . This opens the Group Policy Editor.
- You may have to provide your admin password or click OK to open the editor.
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Navigate to Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Search . You can do this by double-clicking Computer Configuration in the left panel, and then Administrative Templates , then Windows Components , and then Search .
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Double-click Allow Cortana . It’s in the right panel. A dialog box will appear.
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Select Disabled . It’s at the top-left corner of the window.
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Click OK . It’s at the bottom of the window.
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Restart your computer. Once your computer comes back up, Cortana will no longer be running. Instead of seeing a circle icon in the taskbar next to the Start menu, you’ll see a magnifying glass.Advertisement
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