Windows keeps three separate settings: display language, regional format and system locale. Changing only the format keeps the English UI while dates, decimals and the first day of the week follow your country.
Set the format with **Set-Culture de-DE** for the current user and the system locale with **Set-WinSystemLocale** for legacy apps. The display language stays untouched, because it is a separate setting.
**Get-Culture** is the regional format, **Get-WinUILanguage** the menus, and **Get-WinSystemLocale** the code page for older programs. Only the first one changes today's numbers and dates.
Get-Culture | Select-Object Name,DisplayName,KeyboardLayoutId
Get-WinUILanguage | Select-Object Name,DisplayName
Get-WinSystemLocale | Select-Object Name,DisplayName
Get-WinHomeLocation**Set-Culture** writes the per-user format and takes effect in the next process. Check the decimal separator and the date pattern right away, because that is what the setting controls.
Set-Culture de-DE
[System.Globalization.CultureInfo]::CurrentCulture.NumberFormat.NumberDecimalSeparator
(Get-Culture).DateTimeFormat.ShortDatePattern
(1234.5).ToString((Get-Culture))**Set-WinSystemLocale** changes the ANSI code page that non-Unicode applications use. It needs admin rights and a reboot, and it does not change the format of the shell.
Set-WinSystemLocale de-DE
Get-WinSystemLocale | Select-Object Name,DisplayName
Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Nls\CodePage' | Select-Object ACP,OEMCPWithout the copy, a second account and the lock screen keep the old format. **Copy-UserInternationalSettingsToSystem** is the command-line form of the checkbox in the old control panel.
Copy-UserInternationalSettingsToSystem -WelcomeScreen $true -NewUser $true
Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Nls\Language' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object InstallLanguage,DefaultExcel and a few older tools read the system locale or their own option. When the shell shows 1.234,56 but a program still shows 1,234.56, the program is the place to look, not Windows.
Get-Item 'HKCU:\Control Panel\International' | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Property
Get-ItemProperty 'HKCU:\Control Panel\International' | Select-Object LocaleName,sShortDate,sDecimalSetting the format back leaves the installed language pack and the menu language alone. Both values are recorded in the registry, which is the reliable way to compare before and after.
Set-Culture en-US
Get-Culture | Select-Object Name,DisplayName
Get-ItemProperty 'HKCU:\Control Panel\International' | Select-Object LocaleNameThe setting is per process. Close and reopen the app; Explorer needs a restart with taskkill /f /im explorer.exe before the clock follows.
Those apps read the system locale, not the user format. Set the system locale and reboot, and check the individual application options as well.
The cmdlet needs an elevated shell and is blocked by some language policies. Run PowerShell as administrator, or use intl.cpl's Administrative tab.
Set-Culture does not change the keyboard. The layout follows the language list, so check Settings > Time & language > Language & region > Keyboards.
No. You can run an English UI with German dates and decimals, which is the common setup for someone working in English but living in Germany.
Yes, the short time pattern comes from the same culture. A 24-hour clock also needs the short time pattern to use HH instead of hh.
Scripts that parse dates as text can break. Use invariant culture or explicit formats in code instead of relying on the machine setting.
Run Set-Culture with the previous culture name, set the system locale back with Set-WinSystemLocale, and reboot. The language pack and the menu language were never changed.
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