Debloat Windows discussion

[maflynn]

I stumbled upon a some YT the other day and they mentioned debloating of windows, There seems to be a small cottage industry for these scripts, as github seems to host a number of them. The two I will link too below seem also to have gui front ends to help manage the updates.

I'm a bit hesitant to remove cortana, while I don't use it, I'm nervous that it will impact other areas, or functionality

Windows10Debloater by Sycnex
Debloat Windows by Chris Titus Tech

Thoughts on debloating windows and/or running any of these powershell scripts?

 

[sracer]

I've mentioned these debloaters here on MR a few times. I use them on every Win10 system I own. These make Windows 10 quite snappy and lighten the footprint considerably. I also use WUB (Windows Update Blocker) to control when I want Windows updated.

The effects and benefits of these tools have been so significant that Win10 is my current "escape to" OS as I leave MacOS.

I've run them in "full de-bloat" mode removing everything including Cortana without any ill effects.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

Like sracer, I have used various debloaters and utilities to rid my W10 systems of both Microsoft and OEM bloatware.

A lot of these are simple amalgams of various individual procedures that have been pretty well documented on the Internet like the aforementioned Cortana removal as well as uninstalling OneDrive, disabling telemetry ("phoning home") and a raft of other W10 annoyances.

I am using the Sycnex debloater as well as Bloatbox and GeekUninstaller. I believe I learned about the Sycnex debloater here on MR.

I also keep around some dedicated first-party removal utilities like the Norton uninstaller. There's one for Microsoft applications as well. I feel like I can trust these when they are provided by the same software author. Of course that doesn't necessarily mean they do a better job than third-party tools might do. After the Norton removal, there are still tons of Norton-related registry entries.

Cortana failed to maintain consumer acceptance and in recent releases of W10 has been largely separated from the main Windows code, no longer an integral part of the system. All of the Windows sites/blogs have long reported Cortana's divorce from Windows proper.

Initially I cautiously used these debloaters on a "throwaway" ghetto PC but today I joyfully run the debloaters without hesitation after any Windows update (e.g., Patch Tuesday).

I used to build my own custom PCs back in the late Nineties and sadly some things still haven't changed. There's a lot of Windows system administration load on garbage like this that simply doesn't exist in the Mac universe and it starts the moment you power on the system for the first time.

 

[I7guy]

Always looking to reduce my w10 footprint, I've been watching debloating/optimizing videos on YT. I saw the video by Chris Titrus Tech. I won't run the powershell script however. I'm okay with editing the registry or using gpedit to update group policy, but I want to be able to reverse what was done in case of issues.

 

[mmomega]

I stumbled upon a some YT the other day and they mentioned debloating of windows, There seems to be a small cottage industry for these scripts, as github seems to host a number of them. The two I will link too below seem also to have gui front ends to help manage the updates.

I'm a bit hesitant to remove cortana, while I don't use it, I'm nervous that it will impact other areas, or functionality

Windows10Debloater by Sycnex
Debloat Windows by Chris Titus Tech

Thoughts on debloating windows and/or running any of these powershell scripts?

I've used the Chris Titus Tech version for around 3 years or so very specific case computers.
There are a couple dozen PC's at the office that are only used for specific applications and browser applications, the Microsoft store and several other apps are already blocked via active directory login scripts so there is no issues with the debloater, on those machines.

But.

In my experience some of the Debloaters can break many Microsoft based applications, even had an issue with the built-in calculator before.
Cortana is also becoming more and more integrated into search and other apps and removing it may cause issues.

If you have a daily use computer, I would suggest being careful and undoing some of the debloating isn't so simple, so can be reversed but some things can be a major PITA to get working again.

Many times you can find and disable a specific service from running and find out if it has an impact on your computer. No harm no foul to turn the service back on if needed.

You can google something like 'disabling windows services' and find many articles on which services are safe to turn off, which have a performance impact, which you can partially disable. It can be an interesting read if you are in to learning about some of the hidden things like this is Windows.

I would suggest something like this to someone who may be unsure or someone who isn't ready for a possible format/reinstall everything if something like a debloater or similar program really makes the fit hit the shan.

 

[c0ppo]

I've also written about these scripts.
I have disabled telemetry and many other services, Cortana included. Windows is way faster with all that disabled, even in basic UI actions, I get way less lag.

But I can't simply disable everything. Disabling .NET for example is a no-go for me.
Create a restore point, and play around a little bit with these scripts. You'll be amazed in what you can achieve. But it does take time and patience.

 

[maflynn]

I am using the Sycnex debloate

I've used the Chris Titus Tech version

It seems that Syncex predates CTT, and in fact, I stumbled upon a CTT video of him promoting Syncex's debloating script. I suspect both being open source, CTT used Syncex's as a foundation. It appears that CTT's script also uses O&O ShutUp10 to stop W10 from phoning home.

I've been looking at both while I've not run either one yet, I like Syncex's as it appears to better edit the black list.

One thing (of many) seem to have in common is the removal of OneDrive - seems odd, I kind of like the cloud storage that it offers and it actually works into my backup scheme, YMMV but I think its a nice option to have and use

 

[Erehy Dobon]

It seems that Syncex predates CTT, and in fact, I stumbled upon a CTT video of him promoting Syncex's debloating script. I suspect both being open source, CTT used Syncex's as a foundation. It appears that CTT's script also uses O&O ShutUp10 to stop W10 from phoning home.

I've been looking at both while I've not run either one yet, I like Syncex's as it appears to better edit the black list.

One thing (of many) seem to have in common is the removal of OneDrive - seems odd, I kind of like the cloud storage that it offers and it actually works into my backup scheme, YMMV but I think its a nice option to have and use

Clearly you have not realized that there are other usage cases than your own. OneDrive has scant use on a dedicated gaming PC. Also many are wedded to more venerable cloud storage services like Dropbox, SugarSync or Google Drive.

Many corporate IT staffers probably don't want to encourage employees to stick company confidential documents in a consumer-grade cloud service.

I don't use my gaming PC for productivity tasks like MS Office, personal finances (Quicken) and the ilk.

No one can please everyone all the time which is why these scripts provide some control on what they disable. You can run the Syncex debloater's individual tasks and skip the one to remove OneDrive.

I happen to use Dropbox and iCloud but neither is installed on my gaming PC. If I need access to a document stored on either service, I can A.) sneakernet the file from another computer, B.) access the service via a web browser, or C.) just e-mail it to myself. All of this so my gaming PC isn't chewing up network bandwidth for irrelevant stuff.

People who rely on one computer for all their tasks have little choice but to have a bunch of stuff installed on their systems.

Like c0ppo, I still need to keep .NET on my Windows PC. Too many important (to me) things require it; I must keep Fidelity Active Trader Pro on my non-gaming PCs that ATP requires .NET. I know I've seen at least one game or utility install .NET on my gaming PC so I won't remove it there either.

I will reiterate that you are free to manually invoke all of the command line arguments for all of the desired tasks individually. The debloater scripts are very convenient but aren't expected to solve every problem for everyone.

Remember that programmers are inherently lazy. The Syncex script was likely written because the programmer got tired of repeating the same manual bloatware removal tasks every time he sat in front of a new computer. Good programmers will spend eight minutes to write a program that will do a ten-minute job. Bad programmers will spend an extra five minutes fixing bugs.

Disclaimer: I am a bad programmer. Once upon a time I was a good UNIX/Linux system administrator.

 

[maflynn]

You can run the Syncex debloater's individual tasks and skip the one to remove OneDrive.

Oh I know, Syncex's has more flexibility (it seems) in choosing what you can blacklist

Clearly you have not realized that there are other usage cases than your own.

No, that's not the case, I'm pretty open minded in knowing one size doesn't fit all.

Many corporate IT staffers probably don't want to encourage employees to stick company confidential documents in a consumer-grade cloud service.

Yep, and for some sectors like healthcare there's PHI or PI information that if compromised could cause significant fines.

I don't use my gaming PC for productivity tasks like MS Office, personal finances (Quicken) and the ilk.

I do, simply because I choose to own a single laptop that does all of my home stuff

Remember that programmers are inherently lazy.

Its hard for me to forget, as i've been a programmer for most of my professional life

 

[Erehy Dobon]

Well then why don't you write your own?

Or do you simply prefer to wallow in all of the Microsoft and OEM bloatware?

Even a cheap $700 Acer ultrabook runs very respectably when the bloatware is removed.

 

[maflynn]

Well then why don't you write your own?

Maybe - I've done other Powershell scripts in the past ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
.

Or do you simply prefer to wallow in all of the Microsoft and OEM bloatware?

This seems kind of harsh - all I was doing was starting a discussion on debloaters and a couple scripts that I came across.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

You're a longtime Windows user and alleged programmer [sic] and yet you don't find removing Windows bloatware tedious?

As I wrote earlier I built Windows PCs in the Nineties and removing bloatware is still (sadly) an integral part of the Windows Experience.

You probably have a high-spec notebook and yet you willing give up disk space, CPU cycles, and network bandwidth to a bunch of stuff that doesn't need to exist?

 

[millerj123]

You're a longtime Windows user and alleged programmer [sic] and yet you don't find removing Windows bloatware tedious?

As I wrote earlier I built Windows PCs in the Nineties and removing bloatware is still (sadly) an integral part of the Windows Experience.

You probably have a high-spec notebook and yet you willing give up disk space, CPU cycles, and network bandwidth to a bunch of stuff that doesn't need to exist?

Mike's a longtime forum member, as well as a moderator, and consistently brings good work to the forum. Why attack him?

 

[I7guy]

You're a longtime Windows user and alleged programmer [sic] and yet you don't find removing Windows bloatware tedious?

As I wrote earlier I built Windows PCs in the Nineties and removing bloatware is still (sadly) an integral part of the Windows Experience.

You probably have a high-spec notebook and yet you willing give up disk space, CPU cycles, and network bandwidth to a bunch of stuff that doesn't need to exist?

I have been building my own pcs for a long time. Faster cpus, more memory and bigger hard drives/ssds are less costly than what my time is worth doing a "windows-ectomy". As I said above I do some debloating, but then my time starts to become more valuable than what I'm removing. I don't segregate gaming, business and financials and productivity. As it is I have two laptops and a new desktop.

I got everybody manages their environments differently and YMMV.

 

[MBAir2010]

is a debloat- removing ads wanting and insisting me to buy more HP toner ink every time i "ctrl P"
and clicking coupons while browsing with edge?

When i purchased a Dell XPS for work related purposes i was lucky enough to buy that at Microcenter which did into include bloatware compared to a best buys or office supply megastore. there were some settings i had to toggle but not as bad as I thought. I stored the Dell in a box back in May when my workload was limited to content were i typed on the MacBook air for the remainder of my tenor at the web company.

I am happy MaFlynn posted something like the on the apple forums. i need to make sure this dell xps i am using since this Monday does not such bloating data.

 

[maflynn]

i need to make sure this dell xps i am using since this Monday does not such bloating data.

Dell definitely has unwanted apps, both directly from MS, but also Dell pre-installed. I also would look into O&O ShutUp10 One of the debloat scripts run this, and while not specifically bloat, it turns off much (or all if you want) the telemetry that windows sends to MS. Its basically an anti-spyware app that helps manage your privacy.

 

[MBAir2010]

Dell definitely has unwanted apps, both directly from MS, but also Dell pre-installed. I also would look into O&O ShutUp10 One of the debloat scripts run this, and while not specifically bloat, it turns off much (or all if you want) the telemetry that windows sends to MS. Its basically an anti-spyware app that helps manage your privacy.

thanks for the information, I got rid of a lot of MS apps and was going to run Linux, but windows 10 was very stable and friendly after i used that for a while.

 

[MacDaddyPanda]

Are you all debloating OEM systems or your custom builds too? Cause I build mine as Gaming mostly rig with 50/50 gaming/everything else. Never felt like I needed to "debloat" my PC.

 

[maflynn]

Never felt like I needed to "debloat" my PC.

I have a razer and it didn't come with a lot of "bloat" that is typical of name brands, such as Dell and HP, even so there are things that are pre-installed. Do all of them slow the system down? No of course not, they just consume disk space. For instance people point to candy crush, and that's not consuming cpu cycles (to my knowledge)

Here's Syncexs debloater and as you can see you can white/black list items and then select the option to use that list. I have the black list screen shot below. There's also other option changes, like disabling cortana, which should improve performance since that's no longer running in the background. As is OneDrive, if you don't use it. I didn't notice this before but you can disable the telemetry, I'm not sure if they're using a their own process or O&O Shutup.

Another improvement is stopping Edge from being the default PDF viewer but if you have Acrobat already installed this is a non-issue.

Here's the black list, sorry if its too small (click on the image to see the larger version) and even so, this isn't the entire list, just items that were checked off by default

This list is a bit aggressive on one hand, why remove MS calculator? personally I find it useful, though I understand my needs are not the same as others. I also question the removal of .net framework 2.2 but hey that's just me

I think with any interaction with the system on this level, the best advise is to take a backup prior to running this, just in case it does cause issues. I've not heard of any problems with Syncex's version but if you google debloaters there are some hits on someone debloating their system and suddenly having stability issues or not all apps running as they had

 

[maflynn]

Here's a couple of examples of bloatware - the first example is an extreme example that isn't a real world example, but it does illustrate some of the bloatware, mostly with RGB controlling software

Here's Chris Titus Tech's video of tweaking the system for gaming

This seems a bit extreme, in that he's recommending a custom ISO, which is not something I'm wanting to do.

 

[MBAir2010]

This seems a bit extreme, in that he's recommending a custom ISO, which is not something I'm wanting to do.

same here, there were steps on a website you thoughtfully recommended that included launching that dreaded terminal program which i never-ever felt comfortable using, and i can "code". The Dell XPS seems okay and fast and no signs of annoying alerts, i prefer using the macbook air and Mojave but not for this week.
Again thanks for these tips and advice!

 

[maflynn]

The Dell XPS seems okay

Ultimately that's the bottom line, if you're happy with your machine then why mess with success, in other words why fix what's not broken?

 

[LeeW]

As I wrote earlier I built Windows PCs in the Nineties

The Nineties want you back.

 

[MacDaddyPanda]

Yeah that's definitely useful. I feel like more useful for an OEM system that comes with too much bloated software, like from Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc. But a fresh install like in my case with a custom built PC, I'm happy with it and not noticed any issues of performance. That's probably an easier solution than just reinstalling windows on OEM PC with fresh copy of Windows and manually installing all the manufacturers drivers. And leaving the "bloatware" off.

 

[maflynn]

The Nineties

Not for nothing thinking back in the day when I was a programmer, one of the earliest lessons I needed to learn was reading core dumps to get memory offsets of the failing code. Life has certainly changed in the world of programming, some for the good, some for the bad ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Back on topic, I've run the O&O Shutup and that's stopping the telemetry, my Razer doesn't have too much bloat but the video I linked to showed an AME method of stripping windows, and while involved and severe, I'm impressed that many of the apps that I don't like, such as mail are stripped out. Needing to use a linux boot drive, to run scripts to delete the files does seem quite excessive. I have a spare laptop, laying around, for giggles, I may try this just for the sake of trying it.