The Cluttered Start Menu
Windows 11 integrates Microsoft’s Bing search engine directly into the Start menu. By default, when you press the Windows key and start typing the name of a local file or application, Windows simultaneously sends your keystrokes to Bing and returns web search results alongside your local files. While this can be a fast way to look up a quick fact, it often leads to a highly cluttered interface. More importantly, if you misspell a local application name, Windows might automatically launch an Edge browser window displaying Bing search results for that typo, rather than simply telling you the app wasn’t found.
Severing the Web Connection
To ensure your Start menu searches remain strictly local and stop Windows 11 from automatically searching the web via Bing, you must modify the system registry, as Microsoft removed the simple graphical toggle for this feature.
Press the Windows Key, type regedit, and press Enter (allow admin privileges). Navigate through the left-hand folders to this exact path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows. Right-click the “Windows” folder, select New > Key, and name it Explorer. Now, click on your new “Explorer” key. In the empty right-hand pane, right-click, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name this new entry exactly DisableSearchBoxSuggestions. Double-click your new entry and change the “Value data” from 0 to 1. Click OK. You must restart your computer (or restart the Windows Explorer process in Task Manager) for this change to take effect. Your Start menu will now only search your local hard drive.