Phenquestions
You can disable or turn off Cortana in Windows 10 by tweaking the Windows Registry or configuring Group Policy settings. We have seen how to disable Cortana or Hide the Search bar in Windows 10, now let us see how to do it using the Registry Editor or Local Group Policy Editor.
Turn Off Cortana using Group Policy
Type gpedit.msc in the taskbar search bar and hit Enter to open the Local Group Policy Editor.
Navigate to the following settings:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search.
Double-click on Allow Cortana to open its settings box.
This policy setting specifies whether Cortana is allowed on the device. If you enable or don't configure this setting, Cortana will be allowed on the device. If you disable this setting, Cortana will be turned off. When Cortana is off, users will still be able to use search to find things on the device and on the Internet.
Set the settings to Disabled, click Apply and Exit.
Disable Cortana using Registry
If your Windows does not ship with Group Policy, type regedit in the taskbar search and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Navigate to the followig key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search
Now in the left pane, right-click on Windows Search key and select New > DWORD (32-it) Value. You will it formed in the left pane. Give this newly created DWORD value a name AllowCortana and set its value to 0 to disable the feature.
To enable Cortana again, you may delete this AllowCortana value or change it from 0 to 1.
UPDATE: Andrew Rodecki from Elkhart contacted me and mentioned that the path for creating the AllowCortana DWORD. It is now:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search
So you may want to try and see if that works for you.
Hope this helps!
