Removing Bloatware on new computer

[tinkerbell615]

Hi. DD received a new laptop for Christmas. It appears that there are way too many processes running on this brand new computer. She has 70+ processes running. I have gone into the start up menu and removed the unnecessary items that are starting when starting the computer, but there are still a ton of processes running.

I am going in to add/remove programs and removing what I know is okay, but how do I know what is bloatware? I don't want to start messing too much with this new computer, but I want it to run as best as possible for her.

 

[bicker]

First of all, unless you're running out of hard disk space, you don't necessarily need to uninstall things to have them stop running, or stop running automatically. And if you're wrong about what you need, it's far more difficult to find out how to reinstall them and/or piece them back together than it is to simply turn them back on.

Second, there is no one answer that is right for everyone. You'll generally need to consider each thing individually, learn what it is, and then decide whether you need it or not. It's not straightforward, though, because sometimes something you need relies on something that you didn't anticipate.

Windows 7 provides System Configuration. The third and fourth tabs (Services and Startup) gives you a pretty easy ui for controlling which services start on boot-up.

Don't make any changes with this. Just don't. Walk away.​

Okay I've done my part in trying to encourage you to not mess things up for yourself. However, if you are intent on doing so, at least use this pretty easy-to-use ui for it.

 

[Sosai X]

http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/

 

[tinkerbell615]

Thanks. "Bicker" I only took things out of the start up like... itunes, skype, hp mediasmart, adobe reader etc... I never touch anything I don't know. I would certainly never want to mess up anything. I figure those things can be started when needed. They don't need to start up right away.

The only programs I removed are Norton and Norton back up and Bing toolbar. We are not using those, so no need to keep them.

I think I will leave everything else as is. Everything is running fine, so no need to change them.

 

[BunsenH]

When I used to set up brand new PCs at work, I would re-format the hard drive and reinstall the operating system from scratch. Any programs or drivers that you needed would have been provided on a CD/DVD. Windows and driver updates could be downloaded form the Internet.

This may be a drastic option, but it's worth considering if you have a lot of bloat on a shiny new laptop.

 

[mrodgers]

When I used to set up brand new PCs at work, I would re-format the hard drive and reinstall the operating system from scratch. Any programs or drivers that you needed would have been provided on a CD/DVD. Windows and driver updates could be downloaded form the Internet.

This may be a drastic option, but it's worth considering if you have a lot of bloat on a shiny new laptop.

I can't remember the last time an off-the-shelf system had a CD that you could reinstall only the operating system. They have been coming with "recovery" partitions on the hard drive for years which reverts the computer back to the first boot, including all the bloatware.

That's the biggest pet peeve of mine with computers these days. You get a license to use the operating system, but have no actual copy of the OS other than the recovery partition.

 

[tasha99]

I can't remember the last time an off-the-shelf system had a CD that you could reinstall only the operating system. They have been coming with "recovery" partitions on the hard drive for years which reverts the computer back to the first boot, including all the bloatware.

That's the biggest pet peeve of mine with computers these days. You get a license to use the operating system, but have no actual copy of the OS other than the recovery partition.

Yup, it stinks. I have a copy of Windows Vista from being in the Microsoft research panel. I thought I'd never use it, but it turned out to be the answer to getting a virus--rather than rolling back with the recovery partition, I got a fresh system with only Windows.