Windows-as-a-nuisance: How I clean up a “clean install” of Windows 11 and Edge
Windows-as-a-nuisance: How I clean up a “clean install” of Windows 11 and Edge
Tips and tricks for making Microsoft leave you alone while you use your PC.
It's bad when an operating system keeps giving you a screen full of options and the best answer for every single one is No.
if I need to go in to a command line and make a custom boot of the OS. I might as well be using a Linux distribution and not have the system reset my work every time it updates.
I did this about a year ago and haven't looked back. The only thing that's sometimes a problem is if a game has anti cheat stuff that's super Windows specific, but I wouldn't want to run those things anyway.
10 years strong on Linux and still the only windows laptop I have at home is the one my work gave me to use.
If you are learning all that might as well just switch to Linux and stop relying on Microsoft's enshittified products in the first place.
I'm on your side, but comments like these are nonsense and help nobody.
how so?
learning all that stuff to clean windows is like replacing reddit with another privately-owned publicly-traded alternative instead of lemmy.
the same problems will keep returning over and over. in this case until next update. i'm old enough to remember these issues going back to the Vista days and its only gotten worse.
Ok folks telling me to just get a Linux Distro.
PC Gaming - Enshrouded, Valheim, BG3, Dragon Age: Origins, and No Man's Sky, generally Steam platform. Classics like Caesar III, TIE Fighter.
Work - Data Analysis, Lots of word documents, spreadsheets
Internet - Light browsing, podcast listening, music streaming
What distro and why?
I use Linux currently and have for many years. It is a wonderful operating system. However, if you wish to switch to Linux, it is in your best interest to understand that enthusiasts will oversell whatever they love, and they will do so without even noticing it.
Gaming on Linux is impressive and it's getting better every day, but it is still not the same as Windows.
Depending on the games you wish to play, you may feel frustrated at times. Also, barely any peripherals have official Linux support on a software level. I'm talking about fancy keyboards, mice, gamepads, cameras, microphones, headphones, and all kinds of RGB contraptions.
If something doesn't work, the next recommended steps can range from installing a complicated third-party interface to essentially programming your own. If I read the word "kernel" as part of a solution, chances are that I'm just buying something else instead.
People also forget that even supported games sometimes malfunction, and all tips and fixes will assume you're running Windows. Besides, not every game is on Steam, and even when they are, some may require the use of external software to install and manage mods. So using Linux for games is awesome, but significantly less so if you are not an advanced user and want more than the defaults for your games.
When it comes to work, you might find yourself restricted to LibreOffice or Microsoft Office Online. It is possible to run Office via Wine, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea (more on that here). A bit off-topic, but I've been trying to purchase a legit license for local Microsoft Office and I don't think they even sell it anymore. They're completely focused on the cloud version.
If you like the older windows ui, Linux mint. You don’t need to look any further than that. If you want something fresh and cool, use regular fedora with gnome, if you want a more mac like or windows 11 experience use fedora kde. That’s all you need to know.
https://distrochooser.de --> find a distro that fits your criteria
https://alternativeto.net --> find alternatives to your windows products
https://protondb.com --> check if your games run on linux
to be fair distrochooser is focused more on power users and spit out pretty generic recommendations.
Buy a second drive and boot into it for Windows gaming. Do everything else on Linux. Personally I have found this to be the least frustrating, best performing solution with the added benefit of segregating gaming from work/study and vice versa.
Pop! OS if you’ve got an NVidia card!
I use Linux mint on my old Thinkpad and for the most part it works great. I use Kubuntu on my desktop. Asides from from weird hardware issues I had when initially setting it up, works great as well (Wayland too).
I agree with others: Linux mint, fedora, Ubuntu. Honestly, whatever gives you the least number of issues
Linux mint, easy AF and has a good app store
Get steam as a flatpak from apo store. Try a dual boot.
For internet Firefox is good, try it with unlock
For work use libreoffice or just get ms office
Mint is very easy and user friendly, use cinnamon edition. It looks very similar. I can explain more if needed
When I tried setting up a new computer I initially started with Windows. Going through that new setup process was such a pain in the ass with how Microsoft tries to connect you to their services. I just want to use the damn computer without any of these 'extra' services. Like, is it so difficult to have an OS that you can just simply install and use without any BS? Its what finally pushed me to move to Linux. Haven't looked back since.
Windows 11 was the straw that broke the camel's back for me as an MS specialist with 20+ years of experience.
Under Windows 10, making a golden image was all you needed to make sure that malware (yes some MS services share the same traits as malware!), bloatware and telemetry were not active, even on major updates (a couple of exceptions but overall that was the case)
Windows 11 no matter what you do, on a major update it will reset to Microsoft's "recommend" settings even wiping out task scheduler scripts and reg entries. That is malware behaviour and should be treated as such.
Honestly, I know I will sound like a broken record but if you have any value on your privacy, get on Linux. There are distros out there that are very friendly but remember with anything new, there is a learning curve and the steepness is based on how willing you are to learn, don't be afraid.
Mountain Dew Verification Can when?
If the rumored transition to a subscription model with Win12 comes to pass, you can bet there will be shit like that.
I've got a whole powershell script I run these days on a new Windows install to remove eveything I don't need and set things how I like them
Permanently Deleted
So when you clean windows, how long does it actually stay clean? I uninstalled a bunch of stuff when I was using windows 10 and they kept reappearing.
A bunch of crybabies.
Set language to german during setup, back after.
Can you elaborate? Is it because Germany has regulations against all the bloatware?
GDPR
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I've written before about my nostalgia for the Windows XP- or Windows 7-era "clean install," when you could substantially improve any given pre-made PC merely by taking an official direct-from-Microsoft Windows install disk and blowing away the factory install, ridding yourself of 60-day antivirus trials, WildTangent games, outdated drivers, and whatever other software your PC maker threw on it to help subsidize its cost.
I frequently write about Windows, Edge, and other Microsoft-adjacent technologies as part of my day job, and I sign into my daily-use PCs with a Microsoft account, so my usage patterns may be atypical for many Ars Technica readers.
There are plenty of experimental hacks dedicated to that sort of thing—NTDev's Tiny11 project is one—but removing built-in Windows components can cause unexpected compatibility and security problems, and Tiny11 has historically had issues with basic table-stakes stuff like "installing security updates."
Regardless of your reasoning, if you don't want to bother with sign-in at setup, you have two options (three for Windows 11 Pro users):
During Windows 11 Setup, after selecting a language and keyboard layout but before connecting to a network, hit Shift+F10 to open the command prompt.
Proceed through the Windows 11 setup as you normally would, including connecting to a network and allowing the system to check for updates.
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