Microsoft remains hell-bent on making Windows’s legacy Control Panel obsolete. Insiders who have downloaded Windows 10 Build 20161 have discovered (via Windows Latest) that the “System” section, which lets users view basic information about their computer and change advanced settings, no longer takes them to the traditional menu. Instead, it re-directs them to the modern Settings app.
“We’re continuing to work on bringing capabilities from Control Panel forward into Settings,” explained Microsoft in its Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20161 announcement. “As part of this ongoing effort, we are migrating information found in Control Panel’s System page into the Settings About page under Settings System About. Links that would open the System page in Control Panel will now direct you to About in Settings. We are also bringing new improvements like making your device information copyable and streamlining the security information shown. And don’t worry—if you’re looking for more advanced controls that lived in the System page in Control Panel, you can still get to them from the modern About page if you need them!”
Microsoft says that it’s “making Settings even better” with this change, but the modern Settings app arguably performs worse due its mobile-inspired design, which makes options more difficult to find. Take the new Sound page, for example – most of the original Sound Control Panel’s settings (e.g., enhancements, themes) aren’t even in the new one, which is really annoying, since you can’t get to the legacy panel anymore by right clicking on the speaker icon in the system tray.
“If you rely on settings that only exist in Control Panel today, please file feedback and let us know what those settings are,” said Microsoft.