The Lemon Fool

I'm thinking of buying a cheap HP laptop to use for holidays but I know that HP have a reputation for cramming their computers full of stuff I'd never use.

From what I read on the internet, a simple way to remove everything is to re-install Windows 10, something that apparently Windows 10 can do very easily, using the Fresh Start function inside the Security Centre, the only warning being that some HP drivers may be lost. But apparently, I can choose to keep these when re-installing.

Has anyone done this? Will it really remove everything except the bare bones of the laptop? Being a cynical old sod, I'm wary of 'anything' being that simple on a computer.

Steve

stevensfo wrote: Will it really remove everything except the bare bones of the laptop?

I'd suspect it would be necessary to specify a "custom" installation, one in which you had tick boxes for all the optional features. Otherwise would it not return the machine to the default state as purchased, full of bloat?

Its OK, Microsoft now stuffs the OS full of stuff you'll never use, so no need to worry abotu bloatware ever again because there's little you can do about it

Fresh Start will remobve everything except what comes with the defautl Windows install, you'll have to re-install drivers (not a problem generally, Windows will do this for youu automatically, but you might want to head over to the HP website and download updated HP drivers for your new laptop anyway)

Step by step instructions.

I'm wary of 'anything' being that simple on a computer.

I'd backup (or clone) the whole lot before considering deleting anything.

If you don't tend to have spare equipment knocking about, a wired mouse could be an asset - Poundland often sell a very basic unit which will make a real difference if the trackpad stops working.

You could be in for a real afternoon of fun, and don't assume the wi-fi will work. No wi-fi or internet, makes it slower as you'll be using a working PC to load the drivers onto a flash drive and trying to load them using keyboard commands (did I mention the mouse

If it's a holiday PC, I'd be inclined to buy a cheap SSD, clone the whole system over to it and shove that in. With a complete system on the original drive, you can then get creative with de-bloating the system secure in the knowledge that if it all goes very wrong, you can start again.

Youtube have excellent videos on cracking open laptops, in the old days, you unscrewed a panel, but progress means you spend a while watching a video and then attempt to open your machine with a combination of butter knives and paint strippers secure in the knowledge that if anything breaks, it won't ever be the same shape again.

B.

There's always;

https://www.pcdecrapifier.com/

Why not buy a Chromebook?

Much faster than a laptop and no worries about bloatware.

£179 from Currys. I have a similar model. Cheaper than a holiday lunch for four in a nice restaurant .

regards

Howard

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing ... 7-pdt.html

You can uninstall bloatware from the W10 start menu via a right click on the specific app(s).

Not all of it is necessarily superfluous, I have HP's Support Assistant on this PC I'm posting from (not mine) as it is an HP PC with a new HP printer, so firmware/driver updates, support info, warranty et al are all in one place for the owners to find easily. Likewise on my Lenovo PC, I have the Lenovo support app. (but none of their other bloatware...).

I've cleaned several PC's this way over the years without any major issues, but...
Backing up before doing anything major is a good idea, Macrium Reflect is popular...https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree
Note it only does the OS with free (shouldn't be an issue on a brand new laptop) but the built in W10 File History can do files/documents if needed (you'd need to turn it on and set it up). You can also 'clone' with Macrium Reflect free, do the whole drive as there will probably be recovery partitions from HP already installed. (If you want to get rid of those you only need to clone the C drive and EFI system partitions).

If you really wanted to be sure you were getting a 'clean' W10 install then going the MCT route would be possible.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/softwar ... /windows10

Clean install tutorial here...https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/195 ... -10-a.html

Custom Install tutorial here...https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/120 ... -10-a.html

As for W10 bloat apps, again they can be uninstalled and prevented from repopulating on feature updates via rather more convoluted methods (batch file/registry edits et al with the usual caveats). Again there are tutorials for all of that.
Turn the app store to manual updates first and you can select individually what MS app. updates occur.

£179 from Currys. I have a similar model. Cheaper than a holiday lunch for four in a nice restaurant .

£45 a head for lunch? Surely there must be a Greggs somewhere nearby?