Winhance Release #13 v25.12.12

🚀 Changes in v25.12.12

• fix: Change Fuzzy Matching logic to prevent false positives in App installation detections. See #232
• fix: Rework Clean Taskbar Command to properly remove all pinned items including Copilot & Teams. Fixes #230
• fix: Change Foxit Reader to use MSSTORE WinGet ID to prevent stalling issues during installation. Fixes #258
• fix: Resolve power plan detection and selection issues on non-English systems. See #256 #249
• fix: Correct Sniffnet Download URL's and Improve Download Logging. Fixes #263
• fix: Use VisualTreeHelper to prevent MoreMenu FlyOut from attaching to the wrong element. Fixes #254
• Add Polish, Swedish, Ukranian and Vietnamese translations.
• i18n: add zh-Hant.json

Localization 🌐

I used AI (Gemini 2.5 Pro) to generate initial translations for Winhance, so it's available in multiple languages right out of the gate. That said, AI isn't perfect, and there are probably some mistakes or awkward phrasings in there.

If you spot any translation errors or have suggestions to make things sound more natural, I'd love your help! Feel free to open a Pull Request with corrections or create an Issue to let me know what needs fixing. The localization files can be found in the src/Winhance.WPF/Localization directory.

Want to see Winhance in a language that's not currently supported? Open an Issue with the "feature request" label and I'll see what I can do!

📥 Installation

Download from winhance.net or directly from this release.

Winhance Release #12 v25.12.05

🚀 Changes in v25.12.05

📝 Commits

• feat: Implement Localization (Translations) for the following languages: English (en) Base Language, Czech (cs), German (de,) French (fr), Hindi (hi), Italian (it), Japanese (ja), Lithuanian (lt), Latvian (lv), Brazilian Portuguese (pt-BR), Portuguese (pt), Russian (ru), Chinese Simplified (zh-Hans).
• fix: Remove problematic 'Memory-Compression' Setting from GamingandPerformance Optimizations
• Remove Winhance theme change button from Main Window Top Nav bar. Theme change is now available in the Settings View
• Add bug report button to Top Nav and More Menu
• fix: Improve AutoUnattend registry generation accuracy #250
• fix: Fixed Power Plan Detection to use a Regex pattern instead of localized Output Strings
• feat: Add HiBit Uninstaller to External Apps File & Disk Management Section
• fix: Force UTF-8 Output from Commands like Powercfg and reading of UTF-8 to correctly display localized characters like Czech in Power Plan Combobox. Addresses #246
• fix: Corrected typo in Setting Name definition and Recommended Config file. Fixes #248
• fix: Improve responsive header scaling and window sizing. Add Minimum Size to MainWindow and Setting Description Text Wrapping. Fixes #233
• fix: Add 20 sec delay before restarting pc after applying UserCustomizations script to give enough time for FirstLogonCommands to complete. Fixes #244
• fix: Filter out hardware-controlled core parking settings on modern CPUs. Fixes #227
• fix: Resolve STA threading error in update check dialog #237
• refactor: Centralize feature definitions in Core to enforce Single Source of Truth

Localization 🌐

I used AI (Gemini 2.5 Pro) to generate initial translations for Winhance, so it's available in multiple languages right out of the gate. That said, AI isn't perfect, and there are probably some mistakes or awkward phrasings in there.

If you spot any translation errors or have suggestions to make things sound more natural, I'd love your help! Feel free to open a Pull Request with corrections or create an Issue to let me know what needs fixing. The localization files can be found in the src/Winhance.WPF/Localization directory.

Want to see Winhance in a language that's not currently supported? Open an Issue with the "feature request" label and I'll see what I can do!

📥 Installation

Download from winhance.net or directly from this release.

Winhance Release #11 v25.11.18

What's Changed

Winhance release 11 update (v25.11.18) including bug fixes and new features in #231

• fix: replace Winhance_Recommended_Config. Now includes settings for both Windows 10 & 11

• fix: move Volume2 to Multimedia External Apps Group.

• fix: Action commands not executing due to incorrect checkbox validation

• fix: Add a restart to the explorer process when executing Clean Taskbar command

• fix: Add Graceful Dependency Handling to cross-OS settings that are filtered out during startup

• feat: Improve configuration import with action-only subsections and enhanced process handling

🔐 Security Info

Important: Please verify your download using the information below. Any file with different values for this particular version is not from the official source.

• Winhance.Installer.exe (v25.11.18)
  • SHA256: b78fdcc55919fab3fca61998b2481e88321b932cad015b5a7235351b16697d76

📥 Installation

Download from winhance.net or directly from this release.

The Winhance.Installer.exe includes both Installable and Portable versions during setup.

Winhance Release #10 v25.11.12

What's Changed

Winhance release 10 update (v25.11.12) including bug fixes and new features in #223

• fix: RegContent definition and state detection issues Issue #222
• fix: Update Privacy Setting names and descriptions Issue #220
• fix: Improve external app install status detection and definitions Issue #215
• refine: Tighten external app detection fallback to reduce false positives Issue #215

🔐 Security Info

Important: Please verify your download using the information below. Any file with different values for this particular version is not from the official source.

• Winhance.Installer.exe (v25.11.12)
  • SHA256: c9d1f3d9bbe83e963d2c15237a7b3aa027024f0509d8ffa929428aa44184ee41

📥 Installation

Download from winhance.net or directly from this release.

The Winhance.Installer.exe includes both Installable and Portable versions during setup.

Winhance Release #9 v25.11.07

What's Changed

Winhance release 9 update (v25.11.07) including bug fixes and new features in #216

• feat: Add SMPlayer to External Apps (Multimedia)

• fix: Resolve donation dialog preference not persisting

• fix: Resolve memory leak when switching between views

• chore: remove version security info

• fix: Resolve driver addition issues in WIMUtil 'add your own drivers'…

• feat: Add requested external software

• fix: Remove duplicate IObit Unlocker definition from External Apps

• perf: Use bulk power query for autounattend.xml power settings extrac…

• fix: Export/import AC/DC power settings and resolve UI refresh hangs

• fix: resolved some toggles not working

• fix: Power plan creation failing for default Windows plans in autouna…

• chore: rename ExternalApp Definition file.

• fix: Resolve Windows version filter not updating Taskbar feature when…

• fix: Resolve crashes when exporting configs with Windows version filt…

• fix: Resolve PowerCfg config import errors and log spam issues

• fix: Add RequiresRestartMessage to 'Enhance Pointer Precision' setting

🔐 Security Info

Important: Please verify your download using the information below. Any file with different values for this particular version is not from the official source.

• Winhance.Installer.exe (v25.11.07)
  • SHA256: 03acf4f105b508c8101069ccbfa55eabea27fb35205b363b03c1bc0aad907d0a

📥 Installation

Download from winhance.net or directly from this release.

The Winhance.Installer.exe includes both Installable and Portable versions during setup.

Winhance Release #8 v25.11.03

[UI Improvements]

• Replaced setting tooltips with Settings Cards that contains a clear description about what a setting does. Closes #192

[Winhance Configs]

• Import: Users can now select between importing their own config file or the recommended Winhance config
• Import: Users can now select the sections they want to have applied and whether apps should be removed automatically or manually
• Import: Added a Winhance overlay screen that is displayed while config settings are being applied

[Windows Apps]

• Added "Select All Installed" and "Select All Not Installed" checkboxes. Closes #168
• Added a Help Button, when clicked, shows content where users can see which removal scripts and tasks are active (ie. BloatRemoval.ps1, EdgeRemoval.ps1 and OneDriveRemoval.ps1) and they can delete the scripts and scheduled tasks by clicking on the removal status icon.
• Reworked EdgeRemoval.ps1 script completely so it doesn't uninstall WebView and added better handling for removing the legacy version of Microsoft Edge (default on Windows 10 ISO's) Fixes #17
• Fixed an issue where features/apps are still auto-removed even after reinstalling them from Winhance by deleting and recreating the scheduled task, which should reset the task cache. Fixes #175
• Fixed "We can't open this 'microsoft-edge' link" due to edge removal and no default browser found. Fixes #38

[External Apps]

• Added installation status detection to indicate whether items are installed or not. NOT IMPLEMENTED: If installed, show if updates are available (updates indicator for windows softwares as well). (Not in the vision of this project at this time, it's recommended to use UniGetUI for Software Management) Closes #142, #165
• Added an icon next to each app in external software that when clicked, will take the user to the apps' webpage so users can get more info about the app before installing it, whether it is paid or free etc. Closes #142, #152
• Added various requested apps. Closes #170, #149, #202
• Added "Select All", "Select All Installed" and "Select All Not Installed" checkboxes.

[Power Optimizations]

• Improved the Power Plan combobox. Users can now see which plans are present on the system, which plan is active and also delete plans.
• Added toggles, selection and numeric controls that can be used to control powercfg commands on the currently applied power plan. (In the previous version of Winhance, importing the Ultimate Performance powerplan just automatically applied all "recommended" powercfg commands and there was no control over it) Fixes #84

[Gaming and Performance Optimizations]

• Removed the problematic mouse related settings (Smooth X/Y Curves) which caused Enhance Pointer Precision not to work. Closes #13
• Removed HPET Setting. Users reported system instability and that this setting is snakeoil anyway, not worth it.
• Added multiple new settings to feature. Closes #184
• Removed Unpark CPU Cores setting, this is now handled in the Power Optimizations.

[Taskbar Customizations]

• Fixed News & Interests/Widgets/Weather icon not being removed from the Taskbar due to being a protected registry key.

[Explorer Customizations]

• Added "End Task" to Taskbar right click menu for Windows 11. Closes #177
• Fixed "Disable Translucent Selection Rectangle" not working in windows 11 file explorer. Fixes #173 (Note, this setting is now in Gaming and Performance Optimizations under Visual Effects)
• Add toggles to remove "-Shortcut" Text, Add 'Show/Hide Extensions' to Context Menu. Closes #135
• Added toggle to show or remove the "open in terminal" option from right click context menu. Closes #162
• Added toggle to enable or disable Legacy Windows Photo Viewer. Closes #135

[Misc]

• Fixed a bug where multiple instances of Winhance could be opened at the same time. Fixes #196
• SoftwareApps: Fix incorrect (failure) dialog being shown when a single app installation is cancelled. (Removed cancellation dialogs completely)
• Major refactor of the codebase and how settings are detected and applied.
• Added filter toggle in mainwindow to toggle Windows version filtering of settings in Winhance

🔐 Security Info

Important: Please verify your download using the information below. Any file with different values for this particular version is not from the official source.

• Winhance.Installer.exe (v25.11.03)
  • SHA256: 3bd6e1721068fd8ed7bc92cf39c09f1c586c2624f16217d47063ef8e9c788b3d

📥 Installation

Download from winhance.net or directly from this release.

The Winhance.Installer.exe includes both Installable and Portable versions during setup.

Winhance Release #7 v25.05.28

What's Changed

• Merge Dev to Main: UAC Bug Fix & Installer Improvements by @memstechtips in #194
  Full Changelog: v25.05.22...v25.05.28

Detailed Changes

fix(installer): Improve installation and uninstallation process

• Fix incomplete uninstallation by adding proper [UninstallDelete] section
• Remove duplicate executable issue by optimizing file copying strategy
• Reduce installer size by ~40% (from ~125MB to ~74MB) by excluding unnecessary runtime components
• Add support for clean updates by implementing pre-installation cleanup
• Preserve Scripts folder during updates while removing old files
• Ensure proper internationalization by including language resource folders
• Add automatic application termination during uninstallation

Implement Custom UAC Settings Persistence

• Created a new CustomUacSettings model to represent custom UAC settings
• Implemented IUacSettingsService interface to define the contract for UAC settings persistence
• Added UacSettingsService to handle saving and loading custom UAC settings from UserPreferences.json
• Modified UacOptimizations to work with the new service-based approach
• Updated WindowsSystemService to use the new IUacSettingsService
• Enhanced WindowsSecurityOptimizationsViewModel to properly handle custom UAC settings
• Fixed potential deadlocks by making TryGetCustomUacValues completely synchronous
• Ensured Custom UAC option remains in dropdown when custom settings exist in preferences

🔐 Security Info

Important: Please verify your download using the information below. Any file with different values for this particular version is not from the official source.

• Winhance.Installer.exe (v25.05.28)
  • SHA256: e8070390adc8196c664f39ff7dfda0429ee9ff4645d9a17dc4e9c7904a885532

Installation

Download from winhance.net or directly from this release.

The Winhance.Installer.exe includes both Installable and Portable versions during setup.

---

EDIT: Reupload Installer with Digital Signature

Winhance v25.05.xx Dev/Beta Testing Release #1

General Changes

Optimize WinGet logging and improve performance

• Simplified WinGet output logging by filtering out progress bar outputs and download information
• Only log essential download information (initial download URLs) while maintaining progress tracking
• Added caching for WinGet path to avoid redundant verification checks
• Fixed compatibility issues with older WinGet versions by removing problematic parameters
• Improved error handling for null or whitespace responses in earlier WinGet versions

These changes enhance log clarity and improve the overall user experience during app installations by removing unnecessary WinGet output messages.

Addresses issue #187

Added Beta Versioning Indication to the MoreMenu

Winhance v25.xx.xx Dev/Beta Testing Release #1

General Fixes

Fix (installer): Improve installation and uninstallation process

• Fix incomplete uninstallation by adding proper [UninstallDelete] section
• Remove duplicate executable issue by optimizing file copying strategy
• Reduce installer size by ~40% (from ~125MB to ~74MB) by excluding unnecessary runtime components
• Add support for clean updates by implementing pre-installation cleanup
• Preserve Scripts folder during updates while removing old files
• Ensure proper internationalization by including language resource folders
• Add automatic application termination during uninstallation

Implement Custom UAC Settings Persistence

• Created a new CustomUacSettings model to represent custom UAC settings
• Implemented IUacSettingsService interface to define the contract for UAC settings persistence
• Added UacSettingsService to handle saving and loading custom UAC settings from UserPreferences.json
• Modified UacOptimizations to work with the new service-based approach
• Updated WindowsSystemService to use the new IUacSettingsService
• Enhanced WindowsSecurityOptimizationsViewModel to properly handle custom UAC settings
• Fixed potential deadlocks by making TryGetCustomUacValues completely synchronous
• Ensured Custom UAC option remains in dropdown when custom settings exist in preferences

---

Winhance.Installer.exe SHA256: ea71a876062ec20b37ab7afc448f264b1f43c5d31f1c8d1bbeb27844fd8f5b1e

Winhance Release #6 - v25.05.22

Release Notes Winhance v25.05.22

Winhance.exe & Winhance.Installer.exe is now Digitally Signed!

Installation Improvements

• Fixed Start Menu Shortcut Issue: Resolved the problem where Winhance shortcuts weren't appearing in the Start Menu (All Programs). Thoroughly tested on Windows 10 (22H2) and Windows 11 (24H2).
• Custom Installation Directory Support: Fixed issue #154 where the installer wasn't honoring custom installation directories. The installer now properly saves and persists the user's directory selection throughout the installation process, regardless of installation type.
• Windows IoT LTSC Compatibility: Verified Winhance compatibility with Windows 10 IoT LTSC 21H2 and Windows 11 IoT LTSC 24H2.
• Windows Sandbox Note: Investigated installation issues in Windows Sandbox, which appear to be related to known Windows Sandbox limitations affecting .NET applications rather than Winhance itself.

User Interface Enhancements

• New "More" Navigation Menu: Added a convenient "More" button in the Main Window providing quick access to:
  • Winhance Version (with update checker)
  • About Winhance
  • Winhance Logs
  • Winhance Scripts
  • Close Winhance
• Improved Toggle Visualization:
  • Enabled State: Green fill with a checkmark on the knob
  • Disabled State: Red fill with a cross/X on the knob
• Enhanced Scrolling: Improved scrolling speed across all views for a smoother user experience.
• Cleaner UI: Removed redundant "Selection Indicators" from the headers of the subviews in the OptimizeView.

Software & Apps Improvements

• Internet Connection Verification: Added internet connection checks before and during app installation to prevent timeouts and installation failures (Issue #155).
• Fixed Installation Status Reporting: Corrected issue where apps were falsely reported as installed after WinGet installation.
• Typo Correction: Fixed typo in custom dialog box that incorrectly displayed "installd" instead of "installed" (Issue #146).

Windows Apps & Features

• OneNote Uninstallation Fix: Resolved issue #141 where Winhance failed to remove OneNote on Windows 11. Added special handling to check for OneNote installation using registry keys and properly trigger its uninstaller.
• Xbox Integration Fix: Resolved issue #34, #123, #158 where removing Xbox would trigger the "Get an app to open this 'ms-gamingoverlay'" popup by adding the necessary registry entry.

External Software Additions

Added numerous requested applications to the External Software section:

• KeepassXC (Issue #133)
• PotPlayer (Issue #138)
• Wise Registry Cleaner (Issue #164)
• BCUninstaller (Issue #161)
• Explorer Patcher
• Volume2
• Crystal Disk Info
• TailScale
• StreamLabs OBS
• Input Leap
• Bulk Rename Utility
• AutoHotKey
• Text-Grab
• VenToy
• Unlocker
• Windhawk
• Lively Wallpaper
• Rainmeter
• Sucrose Wallpaper Engine

Note about Adwcleaner: While the download works correctly, when installed via WinGet, Adwcleaner requires launching via Terminal/PowerShell with the command "adwcleaner" as no direct executable is saved to the desktop or Start Menu.

Optimization Improvements

Windows Security Settings

• Enhanced UAC Controls: Improved UAC slider to match all available Windows options by changing from a three-state slider to a combobox with 4 options that match the Windows UAC GUI (Issue #166).

Gaming & Performance

• HPET Toggle: Added option to disable High Precision Event Timer for gaming optimization (Issue #139).

Notifications

• Added toggles for "Location Notifications" and "Windows Security Notifications".

Explorer Improvements

• Wallpaper Quality: Added option to prevent Windows from compressing wallpaper images (Issue #130).

Windows Updates

• Label Clarity: Changed "Exclude Drivers from Windows Updates" toggle label to "Do not include drivers with Windows Updates" to match Windows terminology (Issue #167).

Customization Improvements

Taskbar

• System Tray Icons: Added "Always show all system tray icons" registry entry (works on Windows 10 only) (Issue #18).

Explorer Improvements

• File Visibility Options: Added toggles to show hidden files, folders, drives and to uncheck "Hide Protected Operating System Files" (Issue #30).
• Lock Screen Control: Added toggle to remove lock screen (Issue #105).

Technical Improvements

• WinGet Integration: Refactored the WinGet installation process to download the latest version and dependencies directly from the winget-cli GitHub repo.
• Installation Process: Refactored the app installation process when installing apps with WinGet.
• Progress Reporting: Enhanced progress reporting for both WinGet installation and app installation.
• Dialog Improvements: Refactored CustomDialog to correctly display longer messages.
• UI Organization: Created SoftwareAppsDialog for App Installations and Removals, formatted into 4 columns for better readability.
• Code Architecture:
  • Created BaseInstallationViewModel to avoid code duplication in WindowsAppsViewModel and ExternalAppsViewModel.
  • Created ApplicationCloseService to handle showing the SupportDialog and closing the application to avoid code duplication.

Known Limitations

New toggles or items that were added has no visual indicators indicating that they're new.
New toggles or items will be skipped when importing existing config files. Robust handling will be implemented to prevent this in future releases.

The following items will not be added to External Apps due to unavailability through WinGet or the Microsoft Store:

• FileZilla
• CDBurnerXP
• Classic Task Manager
• NirCmd
• TriggerCMD
• SyncToy
• Minimize to Tray
• Serial Port Notifier
• Sereby AIO Runtime
• FlowFrames

Note: Apps with a generic direct download link that always download the latest available version may be added in future updates.

🔐 Winhance v25.05.22 Security Info:

• Winhance.Installer.exe

  • Size: 131223680 bytes : 125 MiB
  • SHA256: 5f20b7be5741ce37a8663041ae8228c28e45b32f7ca260036c34c38e436e634c

• Winhance.exe

  • Size: 165248 bytes : 161 KiB
  • SHA256: 58e1fc0707f25e71738388817b397cdb98aa8037b0c275424b6f56c74bc56b05

This release fixes #154, #155, #146, #141, #34, #123, #158, #133, #138, #164, #161, #166, #139, #130, #167, #18, #30, and #105.