Even if Microsoft wants to bury it, the Windows Control Panel has not said its last word. In the latest build of Windows 11, it’s the network manager in the Control Panel that reappears, while Microsoft had recently tried to make it disappear for good.
It’s been almost 10 years now that Microsoft is trying to replace its Control Panel with the Settings app. Appeared with Windows 8, this module is now ubiquitous in Windows 10 and Windows 11. Whether it’s to adjust the display, change network settings, manage installed applications or launch Windows Update, the Settings app is now mandatory. And even if the Control Panel is still present, most of the possible settings systematically refer to the Settings module. Microsoft is slowly killing the Control Panel, which many regulars continue to use.
In recent builds of Windows 11, Microsoft made the decision to bury one of the fundamental elements of the Control Panel: network connection tool, the very one that allows you to manage the connection to the Web and to the local network. When trying to access it through the Control Panel, it is the module Settings > Network and Internet > Advanced network settings who launches. Although the network connection tool (ncpa.cpl) is still present in the WindowsSystem32 directory of the operating system, it cannot be executed.
Control Panel’s Network Manager makes a comeback
Good news for those who find that the network settings of the Settings application are not numerous enough. In the Windows 11 Preview 22538, accessible to users of the Windows Insider program, Microsoft has reversed its decision. The Network Connection Manager is operational again.
It is therefore possible to launch the ncpa.cpl application either manually or by calling the Control Panel. Microsoft has provided no explanation for this backpedal. It is possible that the decision was made because of the limited possibilities of network settings via the Settings module. Some on Reddit are having fun explaining that the Windows developers probably had problems with the management of their own network, and that they were unable to troubleshoot it via the new interface… Which makes them had to put the old one back.
Source : Bleeping Computer