Removing the Settings and Search shortcut from the start menu applications list

Solution 1:

Remove Settings from Windows 10 Start Menu

• Launch Settings
• Click Personalization
• Click Start on the left
• Scroll down and click Choose which folders appear on Start
• Toggle the Settings option to Off

To can still access Settings by pressing Win+I.

Remove Search from Windows 10 Start Menu

This is harder, since Search has become Cortana, and Microsoft loves Cortana. I have not tried the manipulation described below, but they might also break the general search in Windows 10. They are also not guaranteed to work in the latest version.

I suggest before starting to create a system restore point, just in case, since this might be destructive. I wouldn't blame you if you skipped this section.

In elevated PowerShell session run the command:

remove-appxpackage Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_1.10.7.17134_neutral_neutral_cw5n1h2txyewy

If this does not work, to totally disable search, enter in an elevated Command Prompt (cmd):

dism /online /disable-feature /featurename:SearchEngine-Client-Package

You might also be interested in the PowerShell script that does Remove Windows 10 Built-in Apps, which removes much Microsoft bloatware.

Another method for getting totally rid of Cortana is as follows:

• Go to %WINDIR%\SystemApps
• Take ownership of Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy
• Rename this folder. If successful then reboot, else continue.
• if Cortana is running, the dialog box Folder Access Denied will appear
• Click Continue.
• Leave the dialog box open, go to Task Manager, end the Cortana task, then very quickly click the Try Again button on the dialog box. Try again if not quick enough.
• Reboot.

For good measure, I add here the registry update for disabling Web search in the Start Menu for Windows 10 version 1803 :

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search]
"BingSearchEnabled"=dword:00000000
"AllowSearchToUseLocation"=dword:00000000
"CortanaConsent"=dword:00000000

If all this does not help, then this Search icon on the Start Menu might come from a third-party product. You could verify by booting in Safe mode and seeing if it's there.