Leave S Mode from Settings → System → Activation, show hidden files with Ctrl + Shift + Period, force a local account at setup with start ms-cxh:localonly, and sleep the machine with Win + X, U, S. Four things people look up constantly on a new Windows 11 machine, and the answers aren’t where you’d expect them to be.

Getting out of S Mode

If you bought a cheaper laptop and it refuses to install anything that didn’t come from the Microsoft Store, you’re in S Mode.

What S Mode is: a locked-down version of Windows that only runs Store apps and only uses Edge as the browser. It’s genuinely more secure and it runs well on low-end hardware, that’s why manufacturers ship it on budget machines. It’s also why you can’t install Chrome, Steam, or most desktop software.

How to check: Settings → System → About → look at Edition. If it says “Windows 11 Home in S mode,” you’re in it.

How to leave:

  1. Settings → System → Activation
  2. Find the S mode section
  3. Click Open Store under “Switch to Windows 11 Home”
  4. On the Store page, click Get
  5. Wait for the confirmation

It takes under a minute, and Microsoft confirms there is no charge to switch.

The catch: this is one-way. There’s no supported route back into S Mode short of a full factory reset. Before you switch, ask whether you actually need it, if the machine is for a child or an elderly relative, S Mode’s restriction to Store apps is a real security benefit and worth keeping.

Switching out does not affect your files, your Windows licence, or your warranty.

If the Store page won’t load: make sure Windows is fully updated, sign in with a Microsoft account, and check the date and time are correct. Store errors here are usually one of those three.

Showing hidden files and folders

Windows hides system files by default. Three ways to see them, depending on how permanent you want it. The first is the View menu toggle Microsoft documents for File Explorer.

The quick way (Windows 11):

  1. Open File Explorer
  2. Click View in the toolbar
  3. Hover over Show
  4. Tick Hidden items

The keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + Period, hidden items toggle instantly. Faster than the menu once you know it.

The thorough way — also show protected system files:

  1. In File Explorer, click the … (See more) button → Options
  2. Go to the View tab
  3. Select Show hidden files, folders and drives
  4. Untick Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)
  5. Confirm the warning, click Apply

The second option reveals things like pagefile.sys, hiberfil.sys and System Volume Information. Turn it back on when you’re done, those files are hidden because deleting them breaks Windows.

Also useful: on the same View tab, untick Hide extensions for known file types. Seeing that invoice.pdf is really invoice.pdf.exe is one of the simplest malware defences there is.

To hide a file yourself: right-click → Properties → tick Hidden → OK.

Setting up Windows 11 without a Microsoft account

Windows 11 Home pushes hard for a Microsoft account during setup. Here’s where it stands.

On Windows 11 Pro: at the “How would you like to set up this device?” screen, choose Set up for work or school, then Sign-in options → Domain join instead. That gives you a local account.

On Windows 11 Home: Microsoft has closed most of the workarounds, including the old oobe\bypassnro command, which was removed in 2025 builds. What still tends to work:

  • Disconnect from the internet before setup. Don’t connect to wifi, or unplug the ethernet cable. With no connection, setup eventually offers a local account. On some builds you need Shift+F10 → ipconfig /release first
  • Shift+F10 at the network screen, then type start ms-cxh:localonly — this opens the local account dialogue directly and works on current builds

Microsoft closes these periodically, so what works this month may not next month.

The easier route: create the Microsoft account during setup, then convert to local afterwards. Settings → Accounts → Your info → Sign in with a local account instead. This works reliably and takes two minutes.

Worth knowing before you avoid it: without a Microsoft account you lose automatic BitLocker recovery-key backup. Microsoft’s guide to finding a BitLocker recovery key lists the Microsoft account as one of the places that key gets stored, and warns that support staff cannot retrieve or recreate a lost one. Device encryption is on by default on plenty of new machines, because it leans on the same TPM and Secure Boot hardware that the Windows 11 system requirements already mandate. No saved key plus a firmware change equals a drive you cannot open. If you go local, go to Settings → Privacy & security → Device encryption and save your recovery key somewhere safe.

Sleep, shutdown and restart shortcuts

The built-in one: press Win + X, then U, then:

  • U again — shut down
  • R — restart
  • S — sleep
  • H — hibernate (if enabled)
  • I — sign out

Win + X, U, S becomes muscle memory quickly. The same menu opens by right-clicking the Start button, which is a useful fallback when the Start menu stops responding and clicking your way to the power icon is off the table.

From the desktop: click any empty desktop space, press Alt + F4, choose from the dropdown. This only works with the desktop focused, with an app in front, Alt+F4 closes the app.

Make your own shortcut:

  1. Right-click the desktop → New → Shortcut
  2. For the location, enter: – Sleep: rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0 – Shut down: shutdown /s /t 0 – Restart: shutdown /r /t 0 – Hibernate: shutdown /h – Lock: rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation
  3. Name it, click Finish
  4. Right-click the shortcut → Properties → Shortcut key → press your key combination

One catch with the sleep command: if hibernation is enabled, SetSuspendState 0,1,0 hibernates instead of sleeping. To force actual sleep, disable hibernation with powercfg -h off in an administrator Command Prompt. That switch is one of many in Microsoft’s powercfg command-line reference. Note that it also disables Fast Startup.

If Sleep is missing from the power menu: Control Panel → Power Options → Choose what the power buttons do → Change settings that are currently unavailable → tick Sleep under shutdown settings.

Other shortcuts worth knowing:

  • Win + L — lock immediately
  • Win + Ctrl + D — new virtual desktop
  • Win + Shift + S — screenshot a selected area
  • Win + V — clipboard history (turn it on the first time)
  • Win + . — emoji and symbol picker

Common questions

Does leaving S Mode cost anything?

No. Switching out of S Mode in Windows 11 is free and takes about a minute, through Settings → System → Activation and the Microsoft Store page it opens. The switch is permanent, though: getting back into S Mode needs a full factory reset of the machine.

Will leaving S Mode delete my files?

No. Leaving S Mode in Windows 11 does not touch your files, settings or installed apps, and it does not affect your Windows licence or your warranty. All it changes is which software you are allowed to install, opening the machine up beyond Microsoft Store apps.

Why can’t I see hidden files even after enabling the setting?

Some files are marked as protected operating system files, which Windows hides under a second, separate setting. Open File Explorer Options → View, untick Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) and confirm the warning. That reveals pagefile.sys, hiberfil.sys and similar. Turn it back on afterwards.

Is a local account less secure than a Microsoft account?

Neither a local account nor a Microsoft account is inherently safer in Windows 11. The practical difference is recovery: a Microsoft account backs up your BitLocker key and lets you reset a forgotten password online. With a local account, a forgotten password or lost BitLocker key is often unrecoverable.

Why does my PC wake up from sleep on its own?

A network adapter or a scheduled task is the usual cause of a Windows PC waking itself from sleep. Open an administrator Command Prompt and run powercfg -lastwake to see what did it, then powercfg -devicequery wake_armed to list everything allowed to wake the machine. Disable the culprit in Device Manager under Power Management.

The one to think about before acting is S Mode — it’s the only change here you can’t undo without wiping the machine. Everything else is reversible in seconds.