Bloatware removal tools to recommend to friends?


Recommended Posts

Hi fellow Neowinians,

 

I've had a lot of friends who bought PCs latent with tons of bloatware that makes the laptop runs poorly.

 

I've recommended that they remove software that they don't use to speed up their laptops, but all too often, they end up removing crucial drivers and I ended up having to reinstall them.

 

What are some software that I should recommend to them that would remove bloatware, but leave the drivers alone?

If you're willing to spend some time and do them a real favor (maybe they'll repay you in some way) I'd recommend reinstalling from a clean copy of Windows, with just the latest hardware drivers installed. Most OEM utilities are pretty useless and can be safely dispensed with.

Reinstalling is the best option for decraping a system, but assuming its Windows 8+ then they could try a system Refresh / Reset (though OEM's are created bloated recovery images so that might not always work). Otherwise  PC Decrapifier I've used and it does a pretty good job.

 

Additionally a quick search pulled up a PC World article "Beat it, bloatware: How to clean Superfish and other crap off your PC" that also talks of a " Should I Remove It? utility", It seems useful, but I havent tested it out yet.

 

But as said before PC Decrapifier has been around for a while and works quite nicely.

Sometime I think that people expect too much from their computer.

 

A friend of mine has a Dell I3135-3751SLV and she's not too happy with the performance.

 

She did run PC Decrapifier, but there's still a lot bloat left over (she's too cautious about what she is removing) so she's going to drop her laptop off this week.

 

Anyway, the laptop isn't exactly a speed demon esp. because it has an AMD A6-1450 processor and I have to keep her expectations in line.

 

That said, I also plan to disable a lot of the Visual Effects to increase performance.

LOL gotta love the people who buy the $200 POS and complain that its slow.

You know what's funnier (and I've actually seen this happen), some will then happily pay for those scam RAM/system speed booster utilities. Yeah, don't spend on the hardware but on stupid sh*t and then complain about how everything's still so slow. How intelligent. :rolleyes: And of course more often than not these people will end up loading their already POS system with every toolbar and other crap imaginable. :pinch: I swear, next time some relative or acquaintaince asks me to clean their system I'm gonna start charging real $$$ for my time. :crazy:

  • Like 3

PC Cecrapifier works well, http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/

 

I used that before I discovered Windows 7 isos on digitalife. Now Microsoft offers them freely and legally if you have the serial key.

 

After the Lenovo incident I always recommend a fresh copy. Too much openCandy and SSL busting malware. It is downright criminal what these OEMs get away with these days.

On the plus side the new Lenovos wont come with any but many still come with Superfish from old inventory

You know what's funnier (and I've actually seen this happen), some will then happily pay for those scam RAM/system speed booster utilities. Yeah, don't spend on the hardware but on stupid sh*t and then complain about how everything's still so slow. How intelligent. :rolleyes: And of course more often than not these people will end up loading their already POS system with every toolbar and other crap imaginable. :pinch: I swear, next time some relative or acquaintaince asks me to clean their system I'm gonna start charging real $$$ for my time. :crazy:

EXACTLY !

Another thing that was always frustrating for me is - they would call me to fix their computer, then completely ignore my recommendations/advice  & listen to "the guy down the street who's son is a computer genius"   (of course kid down the street is nothing more than a web developer or some IT job that requires zero knowledge of computers).

  • Like 3

Well, she originally had a Dell Inspiron 1564 with Intel Core i3-330M and 4GB RAM, but one of her drunk friends broke it.

 

Anyway, after I removed all the bloatware from that computer, she was generally happy with it.

 

The Intel Core i3-330M is faster then the AMD A6-1450, but not by an outrageous amount.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i3+M+330+%40+2.13GHz

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+A6-1450+APU

 

She said that her Dell Inspiron I3135-3751SLV has a lot of lagging and freezing issues.

 

 

LOL gotta love the people who buy the $200 POS and complain that its slow.

 

She bought it for $350.

She said that her Dell Inspiron I3135-3751SLV has a lot of lagging and freezing issues.

If the laptop's not heating up a lot (which might require cleaning the insides and possibly reapplying thermal paste) and she's still complaining about performance after a clean install, recommend to her that she (or her father) spend a little money. Easiest thing to do is drop in more RAM and an SSD. If she's not running anything too heavy for the CPU this should definitely help.

Romero, on 11 Mar 2015 - 23:23, said:

If the laptop's not heating up a lot (which might require cleaning the insides and possibly reapplying thermal paste) and she's still complaining about performance after a clean install, recommend to her that she (or her father) spend a little money. Easiest thing to do is drop in more RAM and an SSD. If she's not running anything too heavy for the CPU this should definitely help.

 

She writes her reports and do research online as well as use it for entertainment.

 

The most demanding thing she uses it for is to watch Netflix on her TV via a HDMI port.

 

As for as upgrade is concern, this computer already has 4 GB of DDR3 RAM and I doubt that it needs more than that. I am not so sure about putting SSD in a budget laptop.

 

I want to note that she hasn't actually given me the computer yet, so I still need to wait for that.

She writes her reports and do research online as well as use it for entertainment.

 

The most demanding thing she uses it for is to watch Netflix on her TV via a HDMI port.

 

As for as upgrade is concern, this computer already has 4 GB of DDR3 RAM and I doubt that it needs more than that. I am not so sure about putting SSD in a budget laptop.

 

I want to note that she hasn't actually given me the computer yet, so I still need to wait for that.

I would definately start any system with a check for crapware / unneeded programs / other types of bugs. After that I would look at whats all running and what can be turned off or delayed.  Next a disk cleanup solution.

 

Then as a last resort hardware and while I would always recommend a SSD for best performance I have been impressed lately by how much a good hybrid drive can bring to the table as a cheaper upgrade over standard laptop hard drives.

Hello,

 

I tend to build my own PCs (desktop) and buy business-grade laptops, so I do not have much experience with consumer-grade systems these days.

 

So, question for all the people who are recommending to blow away the preloaded image and load a generic Windows ISO:  Is it really quicker to do this than just removing whatever [bloat|crap|trial]ware was preinstalled?  And is performance that much different?

 

The last time I got a consumer laptop in my hands was a Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro (this is one of the models that didn't get the Superfish adware treatment) and there were probably around ten (or maybe slightly less) programs that I didn't want on it, counting both classic desktop Windows programs and Modern Windows apps).  I doubt I spent more than 10 minutes uninstalling these, including time required to reboot. 

 

Admittedly, I did not check the drive afterwards to see if any files or folders were left on the system, but as part of the process of configuring the system, I did checking of various autoload entries in the registry, scheduled tasks, etc., examining the processes which ran on startup and so forth to make sure no orphaned drivers, services or programs continued to run.  That's something I do separately after I've finished configuring the computer, but I'm guessing that's another 20-30 minutes of time.

 

In any case, total time spent was under an hour.  Call it 45 minutes to be generous.

 

Is it still quicker for you to load an image, even a slipstreamed one with the majority of your third-party programs on it?  Also, did you try benchmarking the system to measure the difference in performance between your own cleaning operation versus a generic Windows install?

 

Regards,

 

Aryeh Goretsky

You really can't beat a clean install of Windows from a blank ISO, though I use Advanced Uninstaller to remove bloatware, it's pretty thorough at getting rid of the junk most uninstallers leave behind.

In any case, total time spent was under an hour.  Call it 45 minutes to be generous.

I can install Windows faster than that from a good USB stick, even on an HDD (not SSD) based system. That should answer your question. And while I can waste time rooting through the registry, Program Files, AppData, Windows and all the other places crapware 'uninstallers' leave residue behind in, why should I bother? Clean install from unmodified ISO = 100% guarantee of no extraneous crap whatsoever. Couldn't be simpler.

  • Like 2

One thing I loved recently - I bought a HP Stream 7 tablet from a microsoft store recently to play with - it was what they call the "signature edition". It had no bloatware at all, other than one tiny little warranty check utility. 

 

It was quite refreshing.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • After I installed KB5095093, the volume on my ARM laptop won't go above 20%. It's stuck on the hearing protection level, which is pretty much useless if you want to listen to anything. I rolled back.
    • Amazon Prime Day slashes Samsung's newest Galaxy Watch Ultra by 45 percent by Karthik Mudaliar Samsung’s flagship Android smartwatch has received one of its steepest Prime Day cuts. Amazon has dropped the 2025 Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra in Titanium Blue to $357.24, saving buyers around $292 from its $649.99 list price. That's a 45 percent discount (purchase link below). The 47mm Galaxy Watch Ultra uses a titanium casing and a 1.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 480 x 480 and peak brightness of 3,000 nits. It includes LTE connectivity, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, NFC, and dual-frequency L1+L5 GPS for more accurate outdoor route tracking. The 2025 model has 64GB of storage, a 590mAh battery, sapphire crystal glass, 10ATM water resistance, IP68 protection, and MIL-STD-810H durability testing. Its health and fitness tools include heart rate monitoring, sleep coaching, Energy Score, Running Coach, body composition analysis, temperature sensing, and ECG support, where available. This model is best suited to Android users who regularly run, hike, cycle, or train outdoors and want cellular access without carrying a phone. The larger battery, rugged construction, bright display, and dedicated Quick Button also make it a stronger option than Samsung’s regular Galaxy Watch models for extended workouts and demanding environments. Grab the Titanium Blue Galaxy Watch Ultra before the Prime Day price resets: Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra (2025) [Sold and Shipped by Amazon] Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • Google begins rolling out its post-Epic Play Store billing model next week by Karthik Mudaliar Google has confirmed that its redesigned Play Store billing and fee structure will take effect on June 30, 2026, in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Economic Area. The changes will let eligible developers offer their own payment systems or send users to an external website for purchases, while separating Google’s platform service fee from the cost of using Google Play Billing. The rollout puts concrete dates and detailed rate cards behind the broader Android policy overhaul Google announced in March. That announcement followed a proposed settlement with Epic Games intended to resolve their long-running disputes over app distribution and payments, although the U.S. portion of the agreement still requires court approval. Under the new billing choice program, developers selling digital content or services can display an alternative payment option alongside Google Play Billing. They may also direct users to their own websites to complete a purchase. Developers can use Google’s standard payment-choice screen or design one that complies with the company’s user-interface rules. Choosing another payment processor does not eliminate Google’s cut altogether. The company will continue charging a service fee for transactions associated with apps distributed through Google Play, regardless of whether payment is handled by Google, an alternative provider, or a developer’s website. Google argues that this fee covers the value and infrastructure provided by Android and the Play Store. For developers earning up to $1 million annually, the service fee will generally be 10 percent. That rate also applies to auto-renewing subscriptions. When Google Play Billing is used in the U.S., U.K., or EEA, Google will add a separate 5 percent billing fee, and developers processing payments elsewhere will not pay that additional charge. This means Google’s familiar flat 30 percent commission is disappearing, but developers will not necessarily see a dramatic reduction on every transaction. An in-app purchase from an existing user processed through Google Play Billing can still reach a combined 30 percent. The biggest savings are likely to come from subscriptions, smaller developers covered by the $1 million tier, and companies able to move customers to their own payment infrastructure. Google is also offering lower rates through its Apps Experience and revamped Games Level Up programs. Apps and games that satisfy the company’s requirements can qualify for 15 percent service fees on new-install transactions and 20 percent on existing-install transactions. The criteria include performance and reliability standards, support for additional Android device categories, and selected platform features. Those program rates are scheduled to become available in the initial markets and Australia on September 30. For consumers, the immediate effect will depend on whether developers adopt alternative payments and pass any savings on through lower prices. For developers, however, June 30 begins a more flexible but considerably more complicated Play Store economy in which distribution, billing, install dates, revenue thresholds, and program participation can each affect Google’s final cut. Google is also separately developing a Registered App Stores program designed to simplify the installation of qualifying third-party stores. That initiative is expected to arrive with a major Android release later in 2026 and will launch outside the U.S. first. Google says the rest of the world will receive the changes by September 30, 2027, although billing rates for markets outside the US, UK, and EEA have not yet been announced.
    • 38% off a super insane price is still an INSANE price.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Dedicated
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • First Post
      Tom Schmidt earned a badge
      First Post
    • One Month Later
      D0nn13 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Rookie
      +ChiefOfNeo went up a rank
      Rookie
    • One Year In
      Tom Schmidt earned a badge
      One Year In
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      464
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      177
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      124
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      81
    5. 5
      Xenon
      76
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!