[Closed] How to uninstall pre-packed apps from my new PC?

Definitely logged in with an admin account?

Also - some of that crap is installed from the windows store - might be an uninstall option there?

Definitely logged in with an admin account?

Yep - I only have the one account on there and it has full access

In the past, I've just cut out the middleman and reinstalled a fresh, clean version of win10 to begin with. It doesn't take too long, and I know exactly where I'm starting from

Some of these apps can be uninstalled by right clicking their start menu item and selecting Uninstall. Bloody nuissance tbh, along with all the Candy Crush crap.

^^What sobriety says.^^ You can create the installation media to use with a USB stick straight from the MS website, if the pre-packed image is full of bloatware.

If you install Ccleaner, which is a handy tool anyway, it has its own built in un-installer:

https://support.piriform.com/hc/en-us/articles/213222937-How-do-I-uninstall-Windows-Apps-using-CCleaner-

McAfee have a 'nuke from orbit' removal tool.

http://download.mcafee.com/products/licensed/cust_support_patches/MCPR.exe

But yeah, I'd flatten it and do a clean install too, as @sobriety says.

Ccleaner, which is a handy tool anyway

I wouldn't, if you're not comfortable removing default apps, there's a lot that Ccleaner can break for you if you get it wrong. Also, I don't really feel it's particularly necessary any more.

(EDIT - that plus the security concerns it has brought in previous versions have taken it off my "useful tools" list and I've never needed to put it back on for anything).

there’s a lot that Ccleaner can break for you if you get it wrong. Also, I don’t really feel it’s particularly necessary any more.

I've been saying this for years, and it's just occurred to me that I've not actually looked at it in years (something I've been critical of other people for doing over on the Windows thread). So I'm going to stop being a monumental hypocrite and rectify that right now. Wish me luck, I'll be back.

I'm back. Miss me?

I stand by that statement. At best there's nothing I can recommend in Ccleaner for regular users and at worst it's downright dangerous.

You can use Powershell to remove anything and everything. There is a big script called decrapify windows 10, but be very careful as it can gut a PC in one fell swoop. I like it.

I'd be very, very careful doing that too.

Does it have the equivalent of rm -f /*

That's what I came by to say, you need to install an OS that understands rm -f /*

I've been on the same desktop computer since 2007 with linux + a hoover to clean it out occasionally.

Not for everyone though.

Windows 10 has a built in clean installer, search for 'fresh start'. It's the default thing I do on a new computer. Edit: windows pc....

Ooooooh that's a good shout.

That is a good call.  I've given up buying hp computers because I can no longer be bothered with all their crap.

I didn't even know about this feature!
Sounds like the best solution.. So does it just roll back to give you a vanilla windows install as opposed to a reseller that side loads lots of crap?

Windows 10 has a built in clean installer, search for ‘fresh start’. It’s the default thing I do on a new computer. Edit: windows pc….

Good call 👍

Save me time that.

search for ‘fresh start’

yip do this. go out for an hour, cause it's just a fresh reinstall.

Cool thank you - will check out fresh start then copy everything over from the old PC

Ta

Thats cool - i'm impressed they provide that. I've always wiped brand new laptops/pre-built desktops, so so so much crapware.

I seem to recall that a few years ago Dell offered a clean windows install where you could pay extra not to have all the "free" shit installed in the same place. Will be using that fresh start feature next time we get a windows laptop.

Choose the reset your PC option. I have done this before when my PC has got itself into a right mess.

Manufacturers get paid to put this crap on.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/12415/windows-10-recovery-options

Hmm that fresh start option looks very useful ta

I think Microsoft used to offer "Signiture Edition" hardware or something like that which didn't have crapware installed. The basic problem is that the margins on low-end PC are so tiny that a few dollars from bundled crapware is pretty much the only way the manufacturers can make money. If you buy decent quality business machines, the prices are much closer to Macs, but the machines perform well and run for years.

As discussed above, most of the "I used a PC and it was horrible" stories are from back in the XP or even Win98 days. Apart from the last update, which was a disaster, my experiences with Win10 have been overwhelmingly good. I have an old convertible laptop that came with Win8. Win8.1 worked well on a touchscreen, Win10 was a step backwards from that perspective. What I don't understand is why MS didn't make tablet mode optional right from the start, so that touchscreen machines would default to tablet mode and non-touchscreen machines would just use the standard Win7 type start menu just like Win10 does.

Win 10 does have a "tablet mode" option, though I've never used it (the only tablet I have is Android).

Win 10 does have a “tablet mode” option, though I’ve never used it

Yes, it's useful for touchscreens, annoying for desktop PCs. If they'd used the Win10 interface when they launched Win8, so that it defaulted to a conventional desktop and start menu when it detected a mouse and only launched tablet mode when it detected a touchscreen, I think it would have been much better received. Once you installed a proper start menu and got it customized, Win8 was pretty good. It was just that silly tile based start menu that gave it the bad reputation.

Win 10 is getting better. Still annoys me that some features are split across the old style screens and the new metro screens. User management springs to mind.