Alex Ruben
How To Unlock All New Features in the Windows 11 24H2 May Update (KB5058499)
The Windows 11 24H2 May update totally shakes things up, bringing a bunch of new features that can genuinely make everything feel snappier or more polished. But here’s the thing—most of these features don’t turn on by default, which is kinda annoying. So, you gotta do a little manual work, and ViveTool is the tool of choice for that. Basically, it helps you unlock stuff that’s hidden or disabled until you run specific commands.
Prerequisites Before You Start
First, make sure you’ve got a few things lined up:
- Windows 11 is installed and running the latest update. Because of course, Windows has to make it harder than necessary.
- You have admin rights—otherwise, good luck running commands or changing system stuff.
- A decent internet connection for grabbing the tools.
- Back up your system if possible—better safe than sorry, especially if you’re tinkering with system features.
Step 1: Download and Extract ViveTool
Start by grabbing ViveTool from a trusted source. Here’s how:
- Head over to the ViveTool Download Page. Make sure you’re getting the latest version for your CPU – Intel or AMD.
- Download the ZIP, then right-click it and choose Extract All. Pick a simple folder, like
C:\HiddenFeatures\. Because yeah, Windows is gonna make you jump through hoops to find these features. - Pro tip: Keep the folder somewhere easy to remember—you’ll be running commands from here.
Step 2: Open the Command Prompt with Admin Rights
Next, this part feels kinda weird but necessary:
- Press Win + R, type
cmd, then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open as administrator. You’ll get that UAC prompt—say yes or no, but you’ll want admin rights here. - If things go sideways, make sure you right-click the Command Prompt icon and select Run as administrator. Sometimes, boosting permissions just kinda helps.
Step 3: Navigate to the ViveTool Folder
Once the terminal is open, you gotta tell it where to look:
- Type this (adjust if you extracted elsewhere):
cd C:\HiddenFeatures\. Hit Enter. That moves the command line into the folder where ViveTool lives.
If you get an error here, double-check the folder path—tys are wrong or you didn’t run as admin. Happens more than you think.
Step 4: Use Commands to Enable Features
Here’s the point of no return. You’ll input commands that tell Windows to turn on stuff that’s been hidden:
- To enable a feature, run something like:
vivetool /enable /id:. - Replace
<feature_id>with actual IDs, which usually look like a string of numbers or similar. For example:
vivetool /enable /id:12345678. - There’s a bunch of these IDs—some are well-documented, others take digging or checking the community posts. On some setups, running these gives a success message, but on others, just blink-and-miss-it.
- Repeat for all the feature IDs you want. The site or maybe a guide will list which IDs correspond to what. For example, enabling the improved snapshot features or new menus.
Note: Sometimes running all these commands makes Windows act a little funny, or you might need to run some commands multiple times to see features show up.
Step 5: Restart Your PC
This is the classic step that kind of feels like a bandaid, but it works:
- Close your command window, then restart. Some features only actually appear after a reboot.
Honestly, on some machines, the features kick in immediately, but they still suggest a restart. Usually, it’s the only way to see the magic happen.
Step 6: Check if The Features Are Active
After the reboot, go check:
- Start menu, see if there are new options or layout tweaks.
- File Explorer might have new context menu options or options—think revamped right-click menus.
If you don’t see anything different but ran the commands properly, try running the commands again—maybe you missed a step or the feature ID was wrong.
Extra Tips & Common Issues
If commands aren’t working or Windows throws errors:
- Check you’re in the correct folder, and you’re running the Command Prompt as admin.
- Make sure your Windows is fully updated. Sometimes these features ripple out only after certain updates.
- If you want to turn things off again, use the same command but replace
/enablewith/disableand the same ID. - In some cases, you might need to disable Windows Defender temporarily—yeah, Windows security can be a pain, but sometimes it flags these scripts as unsafe. Make sure you trust the source, of course.
Oh, and on certain machines, you might need to run the commands twice or do a clean reboot before features show up. Not sure why it works sometimes and not others, but hey, that’s Windows for you.
Conclusion
Once all that’s done, those hidden features should be unlocked and ready. It’s not the smoothest process, but it’s worth it if you want the latest toys or under-the-hood tweaks. Just keep in mind, messing with system features always has a little risk, so backup if possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ViveTool?
It’s basically a command-line utility that Nintendo-switches Windows features on or off, even if they’re normally hidden or disabled. Think of it as a way to unlock secrets Microsoft doesn’t want you to see easily.
Can I delete ViveTool after enabling features?
Totally. Once the features are unlocked, keep the folder if you want, but it’s not mandatory. The commands modify system settings, so ViveTool itself isn’t needed forever.
What if the features don’t appear after reboot?
This is kinda common. Double-check that you entered the feature IDs correctly, and make sure your system is actually on the latest update. Sometimes you gotta run the commands again or wait for Windows to process everything. Patience is key here.
Summary
- Download ViveTool from a trusted source
- Run Command Prompt as admin
- Navigate to the folder with
cd - Use the
vivetool /enable /id:<id>commands - Reboot and check if features are active
Hopefully this shaves off a few hours for someone. Sometimes, it just works better than waiting for Microsoft to roll out updates. Fingers crossed this helps.