A practical configuration guide for getting the most from Windows 12, organized by what matters for performance, privacy, and battery life.
AI & Copilot Settings
If you have a qualifying NPU, visit Settings → System → AI & Copilot first to selectively enable individual features. Recall requires Windows Hello enrollment first.
Power & Battery
"Balanced" remains the sensible default; switch to "Best Power Efficiency" only when needed, since it throttles background AI processing.
Privacy & Security Hardening
Review per-app camera, microphone, and location permissions, plus per-app AI Context Broker access.
Personalization for Performance
On older integrated graphics, consider disabling Transparency effects to reduce Living Mica's real-time color extraction overhead.
Storage Configuration
Enable Storage Sense immediately, and reserve 25GB+ free space if using AI Recall.
Windows Update Configuration
Set Active Hours to match your real usage pattern since live-patchable updates can apply silently during active hours.