How to use ViveTool to force enable new features in Windows 11

File Explorer tabs are finally available to everyone with the first feature drop for Windows 11 version 22H2, the 2022 Update. To be precise, Microsoft added the tabbed interface feature to the Windows codebase a while ago, but actual availability to users has been based on several factors such as update channels and server-side A/B testing. In fact, just like Tabbed File Explorer, most experimental features are now pushed to Windows through a core operating system component called the Windows Feature Store, which controls the gradual rollout.

Because the Windows Feature Store is strictly protected by the Windows kernel, you cannot use typical binary patching techniques to force such features to be enabled. This is where ViVeTool comes into play. Even if you're not a developer and you're reading this, there's a good chance you've used ViVeTool once or twice to get some functionality before its public release. But that's not all Windows Features Store can fiddle with. Here's how to activate ViveTool.

What is Windows Feature Store?

In Microsoft nomenclature, a "feature" in a modern Windows operating system is a UI and/or UX change - from an improved Open with menu to a Task Manager entry in the taskbar context menu. As mentioned earlier, A/B feature experimentation in Windows 10 and later is controlled by the Windows Feature Store. This store (referred to internally as "Velocity") is part of the mostly undocumented Windows Notification Facility (WNF), a kernel component used to send notifications throughout the system, including other kernel components, system services, and user space app.

Most experimental features are now pushed to Windows through a core operating system component called the Windows Feature Store, which controls the gradual rollout.

Building a modular infrastructure for various functions is essentially a way to design a controlled rollout model. For example, the Windows Insider Program is used to provide ongoing functionality for early updates that are later patched incrementally and subsequently enabled for every user after stability milestones are reached. If a specific feature contains a catastrophic error or has a security vulnerability, the kernel can seamlessly disable it.

Can we bypass server-side A/B testing?

Keep in mind that Insider and Stable channel releases often come with a ton of "features" that correspond to new, upcoming features that are dormant. In addition to the controlled rollout aspect, remotely coordinated A/B testing (also known as split testing) ensures continuous improvement and rapid feedback loops across multiple configurations. Windows Feature Store protects the random experimentation process by protecting the feature switch state.

Fortunately, it is possible to manipulate data stored in the Windows Feature Store. Many talented developers have managed to reverse engineer Windows' internal feature control APIs. To access the Windows Feature Store, you can use apps like Rafael Rivera's Mach2 or Lucas' ViVeTool (aka thebookisclosed) and bypass server-side A/B testing entirely.

In some cases, you may be able to modify the registry (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FeatureManagement\Overrides\partially to be precise) to change the feature storage variables. However, we recommend sticking to ID-specific feature state modifications to avoid unforeseen circumstances.

Feature ID

Each feature in the Windows Feature Store has a unique ID, such as 26008830, which corresponds to the tablet-optimized taskbar. Each feature ID has three states:

• Default (0): This is the normal behavior for the specific feature.
• Disable (1): This will completely disable the feature.
• Enabled (2): This will force the feature to be enabled.

The developers of Mach2 maintain a list of feature IDs for each Insider build. The repo also contains changes between builds, which is useful for identifying new hidden features. You can also use the graphical fork of ViVeTool called ViVeTool GUI to search for available feature IDs for any Windows build.

Modifying the function ID may cause instability or crashes. Due to interdependencies, some may break core operating system modules and render Windows completely unusable. You may also encounter feature IDs that make permanent changes that cannot be undone. Continue at your own risk.

Because of the way the Windows Update mechanism and the Windows Feature Store are related, changing some features may be enough to put your device in an unsupported state. It is highly recommended that you perform an image backup before choosing to try Windows Feature Store. Or, just evaluate in a virtual machine.

Below you can find a list of some popular Windows features and their corresponding feature IDs.

Function Description	Function ID	Minimum Windows Version
File Tabs in Explorer	37634385	21536
Tablet-optimized taskbar	26008830	25197
Improved widget UI	40772499	25227, 22623.746
New system Tray	38764045	25211
Widget settings menu	38652916	25217
Search bar in task manager	39420424	25231
Desktop search bar	37969115	25120
Animated navigation panel icon in settings	34878152	25197
Modern "Open with" menu	36302090	25151, 22622.290

How to force enable Windows features using ViveTool

ViVeTool is an open source CLI tool for feature manipulation. Under the hood, it's powered by a C# library called ViVe. If you want to try out any of the new features on your Windows 11 instance, you should follow these steps:

1. Download the latest version of ViVeTool from its GitHub repository.
2. Extract the archive to a convenient location.
3. Press the Windows key X on your keyboard and select Terminal (Admin) to launch an elevated shell window. You can also use PowerShell if you prefer, or stick with plain old Command Prompt with elevated privileges.

   

4. Change directory to the unzipped ViVeTool directory. For example, if you have extracted ViveTool to D:\ViveTool, type cd D:\ViveTool.
5. Find the feature from the table above that corresponds to the feature you want to enable ID. Then, execute the command: vivetool /enable /id:xxx

   

6. If everything goes well, you should see "Successfully set function configuration" in the console ".
7. Close the console window and restart the computer for the changes to take effect.

If you change your mind and want to revert your changes, repeat the above steps and replace /enable with /disable in the command in step 5.

Additional Features of ViVeTool

ViVeTool is literally the “Swiss Army Knife” when it comes to the Windows Feature Control API. In addition to toggling the state of Windows features, it can query the underlying WIndows build for existing feature configurations, import/export/reset custom configurations, and even help identify the last known good rollback system state.

To learn more, open a terminal window and run the ViveTool executable without any arguments. The application will list all commands and their usage. This includes enabling or disabling features, and listing existing feature configurations.

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