Windows 11 menus often don't match menus given in advice leaving me scrabbling around my menus often to no avail :(

FIRST PROBLEM Many Windows settings that I change revert to previous settings either at seemingly arbitrary times on the occurrence of events I cannot identify. For example I change File Explorer View to List and Compact. This morning I see File Explorer View is back to showing File Content that lists not just the name but details of files, and the view is not compact. This is just one example of a setting I have changed on Windows 11 that has reverted to the setting I'm trying to get away from. Other examples of Windows reverting to defaults relate to changes to text cursor width; stopping desktop autoarrange, stopping auto-tabbing of notepad files, stopping resizing of File Explorer folders resizing all folder sizes, getting rid of "Quick access", changing mouse right-click menus to open in full (now a truncated menu with "more options" at the end), changing system dialogue font size, changing the keyboard auto repeat delay, changing mouse double-click speed setting, hover mouse not activating over the top edge of browser window, changing the scroll delay, stopping Windows auto downloading pdfs.

I'm completely mystified and have spent literally hours trying to change Windows settings that suit my use of Windows

QUESTION: Can anyone make sense of this for me?

SECONDLY Very, very often online advice on how to change Windows 11 settings refers to menu items and menu selections that are just not available on my laptop's Windows 11. Then I have to spend forever hunting around my Windows 11 menus to find what I want

Windows version I'm usingStart-Run-Winver says its Ver 23H2 (OS Build 22631.3993).Start - System info says its Version 10.0.22631 Build 22631

Laptop I'm usingLenovo3 - Model 82RK - x64 based PC

(For example, one of many) I want File Explorer View to show compact list so that the space around each file listed is minimized. I'm told by eg a google hint to open File Explorer, select View, then select Compact view

My File Explorer menu has the following view, no menu for changing buffer space between items

File Explorer View Compact

QUESTION: How do I fix my Windows 11 menus to reflect the menus tht everyone else seems to have?