Just bought a new Windows 10 rig - what is the best decrapifier app to clean it?
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I wonder how much more a new PC would cost without the crapware. Depending on the cost, I would even consider spending more just to have it.Looks like [maybe $100](https://www.howtogeek.com/163303/how-computer-manufacturers-are-paid-to-make-your-laptop-worse/) , so totally worth the extra money!
Hogan
This is exactly what MS set out to do with their so-called "Signature Edition" PCs - you'd pay more up-front, but would be guaranteed no extra crapware from third-parties. I'm pretty sure that's disappeared off the face of the earth. As for the OP's question - get an ISO from MS directly. That won't get rid of the stuff *they* bundle, but it's a good start.
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Windows 10 Decrapifier, 18XX/19XX/2XXX - Script Center - Spiceworks[^] Invest a little time to read the docs and understand the script. Run it during a clean installation of a clean retail ISO. I have been using it for months on all new installations (Windows 10 Pro on industrial PCs for machine control HMIs). It easily gets rid of all the MS junk you don't need and I have never encountered any negative side effects.
Phil
The opinions expressed in this post are not necessarily those of the author, especially if you find them impolite, inaccurate or inflammatory.
That's a great link. Thanks, Andy
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M60 machine gun followed by 3 rounds of 40MM HE.
A .45 ACP should be enough.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
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A .45 ACP should be enough.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
Well, if you are going to take that angle, a BB gun would be enough. My approach is more in line with low budget actions movies from the 1980's. :laugh:
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M60 machine gun followed by 3 rounds of 40MM HE.
Slacker007 wrote:
M60 machine gun followed by 3 rounds of 40MM HE.
Followed by: 1. Razing the entire neighbourhood 2. Plowing it under with salt and any hazardous materials you may have to hand 3. Nuking the entire city from orbit 4. Blowing up the Sun If that doesn't do it, nothing will! :evil laugh:
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.
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boot from A: and
format C: /sLOL Ah, those were the days. You can just uninstall all the crapware or, if you have the OS on removable media, just reinstall and start over. I could recommend the incomparable CCleaner, but it doesn't specifically remove OEM crapware. I'm not aware of any general-purpose utility that does this. -
As several other people are stressing: Clean install will do it. It won't even take that long. New crapware will creep in, though. New cookies, new registry entries, new directories with files you do not know where came from. So you really should plan for another clean install ever month, every two months or every three months, depending on how big the problem is. Then it isn't as straightforward any more! A clean install will erase even the applications you want to keep, your lists of trusted email addresses, your various certificates, ... I wrote a software installation wizard handling all sorts of installers (that's how I learned to hate installer developers' unlimited competence in finding new ways of installing software :-)), so I can have all the software automatically put in place after the clean Windows re-install - provided that I have remembered to add the newest systems to the wizard task list. And, some installers demand interactive input for license keys etc., so I have to babysit it. (I have ordered the task list so that those installers are run before the others, so when they are done, all the fully automated ones can be run without me holding its hand.) In a few cases, I have to do manual operations after the wizard completes: I have a checklist reminding me of all of those. More important: The checklist tells me what I shouldn't forget before the clean install: Even though I keep all my user data on other disks than C:, several applications insist on putting data there - typically email clients and other network software. So I have to e.g. move all unsorted email from 'inbox' to other folders. Until my checklist had matured, I did loose some (minor) pieces of data. With the checklist and reinstall wizard in place, doing regular complete cleanups becomes routine. Actually, I don't need to do it more than, say, every three months. That is because I gradually learn how to keep the crapware / spyware / adware / malware in general, from creeping in.
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Slacker007 wrote:
M60 machine gun followed by 3 rounds of 40MM HE.
Followed by: 1. Razing the entire neighbourhood 2. Plowing it under with salt and any hazardous materials you may have to hand 3. Nuking the entire city from orbit 4. Blowing up the Sun If that doesn't do it, nothing will! :evil laugh:
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.
"The Q'nl were an incredible ancient race. We know of them only by the messages left behind by their victims. Apparently their only source of amusement can be explained using a thoroughly human analogy. Imagine playing marbles... using neutron stars."
Software Zen:
delete this; -
Put in the microwave for 10 minutes on high.
Nothing succeeds like a budgie without teeth.
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Brain.exe Knowing exactly what you're about to disable and why as well as how, is superior in the long term to those apps.
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Running AdwCleaner would be enough: Download AdwCleaner[^]
Better to not download the software from BleepingComputer, because it could be packed with malware or other unwanted apps. Go directly to the home of AdwCleaner, Malwarebytes [^]
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I have to say I was pleasantly surprised last year when I bought my new dell laptop that came with Windows 10 pro and nothing else. No ms office, no utilities from dell, no games, none of the junk that you normally have to spend time getting rid of. Just a bare system.
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Download the Windows 10 or 11 retail ISO and reimage it. There's really no way to get the OEM crapware off a machine short of a reimage.
The current Win10 installer ISO does not fit on a single-sided DVD. When I recently installed Win10 on my new PC, I downloaded the MS tool which created a bootable flash drive.
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A clean install would get my vote. As for Windows 11 vs Windows 10, I am running Windows 11 now and it's something of a disappointment. It's definitely less stable and has a few subtle bugs, so unless you need it because most of your customers are using it I would recommend you avoid it until M$ get their house in order (if they ever do). The other thing you should do (if you're not already) is boot off an SSD. This cuts boot and app load times dramatically. And yes, download and install from a Microsoft ISO, that gives you the cleanest system.
Paul Sanders http://www.alpinesoft.co.uk
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The current Win10 installer ISO does not fit on a single-sided DVD. When I recently installed Win10 on my new PC, I downloaded the MS tool which created a bootable flash drive.
It fits on a dual layer DVD though, I'm not sure I see the problem.
Paul Sanders http://www.alpinesoft.co.uk
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It fits on a dual layer DVD though, I'm not sure I see the problem.
Paul Sanders http://www.alpinesoft.co.uk
Paul Sanders (the other one) wrote:
It fits on a dual layer DVD though, I'm not sure I see the problem.
If you don't have a dual layer DVD or burner, it's an insurmountable problem.