How to Turn Windows Features On or Off in Windows 10

Some programs and features included with Windows, such as Internet Information Services, must be turned on before you can use them. Certain other features are turned on by default, but you can turn them off if you don’t use them.

Turning off a feature doesn't uninstall it from your PC or reduce the amount of hard drive space used by it. After you turn off a feature, you can turn it back on at any time.

This tutorial will show you how to turn Windows features on or off for all users in Windows 10.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to turn Windows features on or off.

If Windows Features is empty or blank, then double check to make sure that the Windows Modules Installer service is enabled and set to Automatic.

Contents

• Option One: To Turn On or Off Windows Features from Windows Features
• Option Two: To Turn On Windows Features in PowerShell
• Option Three: To Turn Off Windows Features in PowerShell
• Option Four: To Turn On Windows Features in Command Prompt
• Option Five: To Turn Off Windows Features in Command Prompt

OPTION ONE

To Turn On or Off Windows Features from Windows Features

1 Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click/tap on the Programs and Features icon.

2 Click/tap on the Turn Windows features on or off link on the left side. (see screenshot below)

This will open the C:\Windows\System32\OptionalFeatures.exe file.

3 If prompted by UAC, click/tap on Yes.

4 Turn on (check) or off (uncheck) the Windows features you want, and click/tap on OK when finished. (see screenshot below)

Some Windows features are grouped together in folders, and some folders contain subfolders with additional features.
= Indicates that you have the feature for the main folder turned on, but not all of the features in it's subfolders are turned on.
= Indicates that a feature, or features for a main folder and all subfolders, are turned on.

5 You may be prompted by Windows to restart the computer to finish turning a feature on or off.

OPTION TWO

To Turn On Windows Features in PowerShell

For more Get-WindowsOptionalFeature command usage details, see: Get-WindowsOptionalFeature | Microsoft Docs

For more Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature command usage details, see: Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature | Microsoft Docs

1 Open an elevated PowerShell.

2 Copy and paste the command below you want to use into the elevated PowerShell, and press Enter. Make note of the FeatureName (ex: "Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64") for the disabled Windows Feature you want to enable. (see screenshot below)

(without full details)
Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online | Where-Object {$_.State -eq "Disabled"}

OR

(with full details)
Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -FeatureName * -Online | Where-Object {$_.State -eq "Disabled"}

OR

(output to grid view)
Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -OnLine | Where-Object {$_.State -eq "Disabled"} | Out-GridView

3 Type the command below into the elevated PowerShell, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -FeatureName "FeatureName" -All -Online

Substitute FeatureName in the command above with the actual FeatureName (ex: "Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64") from step 2 above you want to enable.

For example: Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -FeatureName "Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64" -All -Online

4 If prompted to restart the computer, type Y, and press Enter when ready to do so. (see screenshot below)

OPTION THREE

To Turn Off Windows Features in PowerShell

For more Get-WindowsOptionalFeature command usage details, see: Get-WindowsOptionalFeature | Microsoft Docs

For more Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature command usage details, see: Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature | Microsoft Docs

1 Open an elevated PowerShell.

2 Copy and paste the command below you want to use into the elevated PowerShell, and press Enter. Make note of the FeatureName (ex: "Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64") for the enabled Windows Feature you want to disable. (see screenshot below)

(without full details)
Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online | Where-Object {$_.State -eq "Enabled"}

OR

(with full details)
Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -FeatureName * -Online | Where-Object {$_.State -eq "Enabled"}

OR

(output to grid view)
Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -OnLine | Where-Object {$_.State -eq "Enabled"} | Out-GridView

3 Type the command below into the elevated PowerShell, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -FeatureName "FeatureName" -Online

Substitute FeatureName in the command above with the actual FeatureName (ex: "Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64") from step 2 above you want to disable.

For example: Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -FeatureName "Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64" -Online

4 If prompted to restart the computer, type Y, and press Enter when ready to do so. (see screenshot below)

OPTION FOUR

To Turn On Windows Features in Command Prompt

To see more usage options for the DISM command, see: Enable or Disable Windows Features Using DISM - Microsoft

1 Open an elevated Command Prompt.

2 Type the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. Make note of the FeatureName (ex: "Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64") for the disabled Windows Feature you want to enable. (see screenshot below)

DISM /online /get-features /format:table | find "Disabled"

3 Type the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

Dism /online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:"FeatureName" -All

Substitute FeatureName in the command above with the actual FeatureName (ex: "Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64") from step 2 above you want to enable.

For example: Dism /online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:"Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64" -All

4 If prompted to restart the computer, type Y when ready to do so. (see screenshot below)

OPTION FIVE

To Turn Off Windows Features in Command Prompt

To see more usage options for the DISM command, see: Enable or Disable Windows Features Using DISM - Microsoft

1 Open an elevated Command Prompt.

2 Type the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. Make note of the FeatureName (ex: "Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64") for the enabled Windows Feature you want to disable. (see screenshot below)

DISM /online /get-features /format:table | find "Enabled"

3 Type the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

Dism /online /Disable-Feature /FeatureName:"FeatureName"

Substitute FeatureName in the command above with the actual FeatureName (ex: "Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64") from step 2 above you want to disable.

For example: Dism /online /Disable-Feature /FeatureName:"Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64"

4 If prompted to restart the computer, type Y when ready to do so. (see screenshot below)

That's it,
Shawn

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