How to enable Verbose mode in Windows 11?

Windows 11 may not be as customizable as Linux, but the latest addition to Microsoft’s all-popular OS lineup still packs enough options to help you fine-tune your computing experience. From the Start menu and Taskbar tweaks to modifications that can improve the utility of the context menu, there are a lot of changes you can make to Windows 11.

The Windows 11 Registry Editor open on a Uperfect UGame K118 monitor

Despite the risks associated with using it, the Registry Editor has many options that you can modify to improve your Windows 11 experience

One of these is Verbose mode, which displays a brief snippet of the system processes that are executed whenever your PC starts up or shuts down. While it may not be very useful for the average user, the status messages of Verbose mode are a lifesaver when you need to diagnose a faulty system that crashes in the middle of the boot process, and here are three ways you can enable this feature on Windows 11.

Enabling Verbose mode using System Configuration

The built-in System Configuration utility on Windows 11 provides a painless way to turn on Verbose mode. All you have to do is:

1. Right-click on the Start menu and choose Run.
   

   The procedure to open the Run window from the Start button© Provided by XDA Developers
2. Type msconfig into the Run window and tap OK.
   

   Typing msconfig into the Run utility
3. Switch to the Boot tab inside the System Configuration pop-up window.
   

   Heading to the Boot tab inside System Configuration
4. Enable the checkbox next to OS boot information and tap OK.
   

   The procedure to enable Verbose mode in System Configuration
5. Agree to restart your PC when prompted by System Configuration.

You’ll be able to see the Verbose mode messages once your system boots up.

Enabling Verbose mode via Registry Editor

If you’re not averse to accessing the settings inside the Registry Editor, you can use this tool to forcibly enable Verbose mode.

1. Open the Run utility like the last time and enter regedit before pressing OK.
   

   The procedure to open Regedit from Run© Provided by XDA Developers
2. Once the Registry Editor boots up, click on the Search Bar and hit Enter after pasting the following location. Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
   

   The directory for the Verbose Mode key in Registry Editor
3. Right-click anywhere on the right half of the Registry Editor and choose DWORD (32-bit) Value inside the drop-down menu for the New option.
   

   Creating the verbosestatus key in the Registry Editor
4. Give the name verbosestatus to this variable.
5. Double-click on it and change its Value data to 1.
   

   Setting the value of the verbosestatus integer to 1 in the Registry Editor
6. Hit OK and restart your PC.

Enabling Verbose mode via the Group Policy Editor (only on Windows 11 Pro)

For those unwilling to get their hands dirty with the Registry Editor, the Group Policy Editor provides a relatively safe option to enable the Verbose mode. The caveat with this method is that the Group Policy Editor isn’t available on the Home version of Windows 11. Technically, it’s still possible to install Group Policy Editor on Windows 11 Home Edition, but the scripts used for the task are beyond the scope of this article. Thankfully, you can follow along without any issues if you’re on Windows 11 Pro.

1. Once again, launch the Run window and type gpedit.msc before hitting OK.
   

   The Run tool with the command to open the Group Policy Editor in Windows 11
2. Head to the System tab inside Administrative Templates.
   

   Accessing the Administrative Templates in the Group Policy Editor
3. Scroll down and double-click on the Display highly detailed status messages option.
   

   The Display highly detailed status messages option highlighted in the Group Policy Editor
4. Check the radio button for Enabled and press the OK button.
   

   The procedure to enable Verbose mode in the Group Policy Editor
5. Reboot your system.

Making Windows 11 more chatty with Verbose mode

With that, your PC should display the statistics during startup and shutdown. Besides verbose mode, there are a handful of ways to keep an eye on your PC’s metrics. The Services utility and the handy Task Manager can provide detailed reports of the apps running on your system. If you’re as deep into the diagnosis and statistics rabbit hole as I am, you’d probably be familiar with the Event Viewer and its never-ending log of errors and warnings

A Windows laptop showing a context menu with a custom entry added to it© Provided by XDA Developers

I get that coding an operating system isn't the easiest job in the world, but these features felt like no-brainers to me.