Windows Features

Updated: 12/26/2023 by Computer Hope

Windows Features is an area within Microsoft Windows that allows user to add or remove features from their computer that they may not want or use. Below is an example of this window when it is first opened.

Windows Features in Windows 11.

How do I open the Windows Features window?

Press the Windows key or click Start, type Windows Features, and press Enter.

What's available in the Windows Features window?

The following section lists Windows features found in Windows 11 that can be added or removed from Windows by checking or unchecked boxes. None of these features are required by Windows, but some may help perform specific tasks.

Tip

Clicking on any of the links in the following text gives further information about that feature. Hovering your mouse over any of the items in the Windows Features gives you additional details about each feature.

  • .NET Framework 3.5 (includes .NET 2.0 and 3.0)
    • Windows Communication Foundation HTTP Activation
    • Windows Communication Foundation Non-HTTP Activation
  • .NET Framework 4.8 Advanced Services
    • ASP.NET 4.8
    • WCF Services
      • HTTP Activation
      • Message Queuing (MSMQ) Activation)
      • Named Pipe Activation
      • TCP Activation
      • TCP Port Sharing
  • Internet Information Services
    • FTP Server
      • FTP Extensibility
      • FTP Service
    • Web Management Tools
      • IIS 6 Management Compatibility
        • II6 Management Console
        • IIS 6 Scripting Tools
        • IIS 6 WMI Compatibility
        • IIS Metabase and IIS 6 configuration compatibility
      • IIS Management Console
      • IIS Management Scripts and Tools
      • IIS Management Service
    • World Wide Web Services
      • Application Development Features
      • Common HTTP Features
        • Default Document
        • Directory Browsing
        • HTTP Errors
        • HTTP Redirection
        • Static Content
        • WebDAV Publishing
      • Health and Diagnostics
        • Custom Logging
        • HTTP Logging
        • Logging Tools
        • Request Monitor
        • Tracing
      • Performance Features
        • Dynamic Content Compression
        • Static Content Compression
      • Security
  • Internet Information Services Hostable Web Core
  • Legacy Components
    • DirectPlay
  • Media Features
  • Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ) Server
    • Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ) Server Core
      • MSMQ HTTP Support
      • MSMQ Triggers
      • Multicasting Support
    • MSMQ DCOM Proxy
  • Microsoft Print to PDF
  • Microsoft XPS Document Writer
  • Print and Document Services
    • Internet Printing Client
    • LPD Print Service
    • LPR Port Monitor
  • Remote Desktop Connection
  • Remote Differential Compression API Support
  • Simple TCPIP services (i.e., echo, daytime, etc.)
  • SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support
    • SMB 1.0/CIFS Automatic Removal
    • SMB 1.0/CIFS Client
    • SMB 1.0/CIFS Server
  • Telnet Client
  • TFTP Client
  • Virtual Machine Platform
  • Windows Hypervisor Platform
  • Windows Identity Foundation 3.5
  • Windows PowerShell 2.0
    • Windows PowerShell 2.0 Engine
  • Windows Process Activation Service
    • .NET Environment
    • Configuration APIs
    • Process Model
  • Windows Projected File System
  • Windows Subsystem for Linux
  • Windows TIFF IFilter
  • Work Folders Client

Windows 10 Windows Features

Below are Windows Features found in Windows 10 that are not mentioned above. Each of these features are no longer available in Windows 11 or were renamed.

  • Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services
  • Containers
  • Data Center Bridging
  • Device Lockdown
    • Custom Logon
    • Keyboard Filter
    • Shell Launcher
    • Unbranded Boot
    • Unified Write Filter
  • Guarded Host
  • Hyper-V
  • Internet Explorer 11
  • Microsoft Defender Application Guard
  • MultiPoint Connector
    • MultiPoint Connector Services
    • MultiPoint Manager and MultiPoint Dashboard
  • Services for NFS
  • SMB Direct
  • Windows Sandbox

Install, Operating system terms, Uninstall, Windows Accessories