Windows 10 isn’t the latest PC operating system, but it’s still great and, understandably, full of drawbacks. In this article, we’ll show you some tricks to remove those out-of-the-box annoyances (aka bloatware) that Windows throws at you, especially for Home Edition users.
Get rid of bloatware
When you buy a new PC, it often comes with a license and a Windows installation full of bloatware. The other day I happened to be looking at some laptops sitting in a few friends’ office. They all had boot menus filled with bloatware. My friend was unhappy and we suddenly found ourselves in a teachable moment. I will share with you what I shared with them.
1. Once you have your PC, look at the apps
Start by looking at apps in your search bar. You would be surprised to find that even a simple Windows 10 installation often comes with bloatware such as Candy Crush Friends Saga, Candy Crush Saga and Cooking Fever.
2. Uninstall apps
The best thing to do is to uninstall these apps. In the search box, start typing “add” and the menu Add or remove programs will appear. Click on it.
3. Find the annoying app and click to make it disappear
Scroll down to the app you want to get rid of, click it, then click Uninstall. Do this for every unwanted app.
If you don’t see the app in the list of settings…
Sometimes the app is not listed in the panel Settings > Apps > Apps & Features. In this case, find it in the search bar menu, right-click on the application icon and choose Uninstall.
Apps to replace manual removal
Going through all the apps in bulk can be time consuming and unnecessary manual work. That’s why, as in many cases, “there’s an app for that”. Bulk Crap Uninstaller or PC Decrapifier can help you in particular.
Risks associated with the use of applications
The risk of using a third-party uninstaller tool was illustrated quite starkly by the perennial problem of CCleaner, offered by Avast.
Disable Start Menu Ads
Microsoft helpfully calls the advertisements it displays in its Start menu “suggestions”. Once you know this “feature” is just another annoying junk in disguise, you can turn it off.
1. Type “suggestions” in the search field
To find and disable this feature, type “suggestions” in the search field, then click Occasionally show suggestions in the menu.
You can also type your request directly: “Occasionally show suggestions in the menu”.
2. Disable
After selecting Occasionally show suggestions in the menu, just click the blue button to disable the feature. Lo and behold… no more annoying ads!
Remove Start Menu Tiles
If you’re like me, the Start menu tiles were already giving you nightmares on Windows 8. On my Windows installations, one of the first things I do is remove them all. It’s very easy, just right click on it and select Unpin from start menu.
And there you have it, a real Start menu stripped of its tiles:
Quick, clean, and easy, here’s how to clean up your Windows 10 setup.
Source: ZDNet.com