This post shows students and new users steps to enable or disable “minimize windows when a monitor is disconnected” in Windows 11.
The default behavior in Windows 11 when multiple displays are connected, and you disconnect a monitor, Windows will automatically minimize windows that were opened on the disconnected monitor and stack them on the main monitor.
You can turn this feature on and off so that Windows don’t automatically minimize app windows on monitors that are disconnected, but instead show them on the main display in their current state.
Below is how to do that when using Windows 11.
How to turn On or Off minimize windows when monitor is disconnected in Windows 11
As mentioned above, Windows will automatically minimize windows that were opened on the disconnected monitor and be stacked on the main monitor.
This feature is turned on by default. Below is how to disable it if you don’t want windows automatically minimized on a disconnected display.
Windows 11 has a centralized location for majority of its settings. From system configurations to creating new users and updating Windows, all can be done from its System Settings pane.
To get to System Settings, you can use the Windows key + i shortcut or click on Start ==> Settings as shown in the image below:
Alternatively, you can use the search box on the taskbar and search for Settings. Then select to open it.
Windows Settings pane should look similar to the image below. In Windows Settings, click the Display tile on the right pane as highlighted in the image below.
On the System > Display settings pane, select Multiple display tile to expand.
Under the expanded Multiple displays tile, check or uncheck the box next to “Minimize windows when a monitor is disconnected” to enable or disable.
That should do it! You can now close Windows settings app.
Conclusion:
This post showed you how to turn on or off minimizing windows when a monitor is disconnected in Windows 11. If you find any error above or have something to share, please use the comment form below.
