I am fed up with Windows arbitrarily changing my settings

Question

I am fed up with Windows arbitrarily changing my settings

Paul Camp 20

So far this week, Windows has changed my screen magnification and my lock screen. When the lock screen times out, it is supposed to go blank. Now it teems with Bing pictures.

All of these problems are trivial to fix but I shouldn't have to fix them at all. I would like to make it stop.

Windows is rapidly becoming just a bundle of annoyances.

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Answer 1

Hi Paul Camp,

Thank you for updating on this issue. You’ve done everything right, the behavior you're describing occurs because Windows Spotlight can still apply cached content to the sign-in screen, even when your lock screen is set to your own pictures.

Please follow these steps to keep your slideshow and stop Bing images from appearing:

1 - Turn off Spotlight at sign-in

Go to Settings → Personalization → Lock screen
Confirm Personalize your lock screen = Slideshow
Turn OFF: “Show the lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen”

2 - Disable Spotlight extras

In the same menu, turn off “Get fun facts, tips, tricks, and more”
Go to Settings → System → Notifications → turn off tips
Go to Settings → Privacy & security → Diagnostics & feedback → turn off tailored experiences

3 - Clear Spotlight cache

Press Win + R, paste: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\Assets
Delete all files in Assets (safe to remove)
Restart your PC

This last adjustment ensures your sign-in screen matches your preferences. Once you clear the cache and disable the toggle, Bing images should disappear for good.

If you have any further questions or updates regarding this issue, please feel free to let me know in the Comments section. I'd be happy to assist you. If you found my response helpful, kindly consider accepting it so others with similar concerns can benefit from the information as well.

Answer 2

Hendrix-V 13,185 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Paul Camp,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A Forum! I understand your concern on the changes to your screen magnification and lock screen. These unexpected adjustments can feel intrusive, especially when you’ve already set things up the way you like. While these are designed to enhance accessibility and personalization, they can feel disruptive if you prefer a simpler setup.

Here are the steps that you can try to stop these changes and keep your settings stable:

1 - Turn off Magnifier and lock your display scale

Go to Settings → Accessibility → Magnifier
- Switch Magnifier to Off
- Disable Start Magnifier after sign-in and before sign-in
Check Settings → System → Display → Scale
- Set a fixed value (e.g., 100%) so it doesn’t change unexpectedly.

2 - Remove Bing images from your lock screen

Go to Settings → Personalization → Lock screen
- Change Personalize your lock screen to Picture (not Windows Spotlight)
- Turn off “Get fun facts, tips, tricks, and more”

3 - Make the screen go blank when idle

You can adjust Power & battery → Screen and sleep so the display turns off after a short time.

4 - Stop suggestions and tips

Settings → System → Notifications → Turn off tips and suggestions
Settings → Privacy & security → Diagnostics & feedback → Turn off tailored experiences

If you're using a company-managed PC, your IT team can enforce these settings permanently using Intune or Group Policy.

I look forward to receiving your update. Let me know if your problem persists and you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment". Thanks for your effort.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have additional questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Paul Camp 20 Reputation points

2025-11-02T03:43:30.7066667+00:00

Here's the weird thing. I did all of these things on my own, but when I got to changing the lock screen, it was already set to the slideshow I wanted. But when I was at the lock screen logging in, there was a Bing slideshow instead.
Paul Camp 20 Reputation points

2025-11-02T03:46:31.3633333+00:00

But thanks! This may help other people when they come here.
Paul Camp 20 Reputation points

2025-11-02T20:15:52.27+00:00

That seems to have been it. Thank you!

I'm supposed to be able to accept up to 3 answers but I don't see an accept button. This answer should be added on to the previous one.
Hendrix-V 13,185 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-05T02:04:53.0633333+00:00

Hi Paul Camp,

This is Hendrix from Q&A Community Support team.

It is my pleasure to hear that you have resolved the issue! The credit also goes to you - your technical expertise and quick action in following the guidance made all the difference in achieving a great result.

In addition, if you found the answer helpful, we’d really appreciate it if you could click "Accept Answer" and kindly give it an upvote. Your feedback helps others in the community too!
Sin-D 9,105 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-11T07:04:08.3466667+00:00

Hi Paul Camp,

If you're using the same account that created this thread, you can check the bottom of Hendrix’s original answer. There will be a section like in the image where you can find the Accept Answer button. This will help others facing a similar issue find this post more easily. Thank you so much.

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I am fed up with Windows arbitrarily changing my settings

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