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Windows 10 Debloat Script

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161–170 of 188 posts

Re: Windows 10 Debloat Script

#161
post #18

I have to ask, for anyone that cares this much, why bother with Windows at this point? Wouldn't it be easier to just use Linux? I know the usual argument is that you need Windows to game, but why make your gaming instance your main work instance too? Why not dual boot and use Linux for work and Windows for gaming?

Dual booting is something I used to do. It's not a fun work flow. Having to reboot (even with an SSD) is a very destructive action because it means suddenly all of your work is shut down and unless you script a way to rebuild your environment (which never works flawlessly even with a lot of effort), you'll have to set everything up again when you come back. So even if it only took 2 seconds to dual boot, you'd still…

You can hibernate both instead of cold reboot.

Re: Windows 10 Debloat Script

#162
Been using this https://github.com/Disassembler0/Win10-Initial-Setup-Script script for over a year and it's been my goto to fix Windows 10 after a fresh install.

It's purely Powershell based unlike some other binary based tools out there, clean, in a single file. I'd say it doesn't use any hacks either to stop telemetry.

Keep in mind Windows will revert some settings occasionally after a Windows update.

Re: Windows 10 Debloat Script

#163
There is an easier way (for those with access to the version of Windows involved):

    Windows 10 N LTSB / LTSC
N = No media things built-in, so you'll need to install VLC if that's a concern.

LTSB / LTSC = Long-Term Servicing Branch / Long-Term Servicing Channel. This is really the killer thing but it comes with catches. You'll get an absolutely stable Windows and to achieve that a load of things are removed by Microsoft.

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3250464/faq-windows-10...

> LTSB does not include Edge nor any Microsoft Store (Universal Windows Platform, or UWP) apps, whether Redmond-made or third-part, because the browser and those apps constantly change and need updating. Also AWOL: the Cortana voice-activated digital assistant and access to the Microsoft Store.

And for the HN community... lack of Microsoft Store means that you are not running Ubuntu on Windows.

Re: Windows 10 Debloat Script

#164
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The biggest WTF was Cortana . . . running by default on Windows Server. I have no idea what they were thinking. Yes, you can disable it with a policy editing. For a server product, you shouldn't have to.

Windows 2003 Server had sound system disabled in default installation. How things change...

Server 2019 also has the sound service disabled and doesn't come with Cortana either, just windows search.

Re: Windows 10 Debloat Script

#165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mac has intrusive anti-malware that is almost a carbon copy of Windows Defender, or used to be anyways (perhaps one or the other have changed in the past few years!). See also https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20407233 Linux is a wasteland of terrible security practices that sysadmins excuse as "acceptable" for their own workstations and servers because they think that locking down SSH is sufficient defense agains…

The link you link to is "Apple has pushed a silent Mac update to remove hidden Zoom web server." It has little to do with the functions of Windows Defender. It was a special purpose function removing one very particular file from a specific location. It was not scanning your whole system, or downloads, for malware signatures. When you say MacOS includes software that is "almost a carbon copy of Windows Defender," are…

You misunderstand how this system works. The Zoom removals were malware signature definition file update #45 and #46, iirc, since the feature went live years ago. I encourage further research.

Re: Windows 10 Debloat Script

#167
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dual booting is something I used to do. It's not a fun work flow. Having to reboot (even with an SSD) is a very destructive action because it means suddenly all of your work is shut down and unless you script a way to rebuild your environment (which never works flawlessly even with a lot of effort), you'll have to set everything up again when you come back. So even if it only took 2 seconds to dual boot, you'd still…

You can hibernate both instead of cold reboot.

Yeah that's not a bad idea. It's still a big context switch to dual boot tho. Also dumping your entire machine's RAM to disk on an SSD seems questionable for the lifespan of your SSD. That's a huge amount of writes, especially if you're dual booting a few times a day. But maybe it wouldn't matter? I haven't measured how much of an impact that would have.

And in my case, it wouldn't work because I need to be able to record a Linux environment but record / edit videos in a Windows environment, so both OSs need to be running at once.

Re: Windows 10 Debloat Script

#169

Do your friends a favor and never run this or any like it on their systems "for their benefit". This is a prime example of "expert user footgun problem". The phrase "debloat" is a marketing-hype word that's being used to bait you all into someone's personal view of how computers should be. Expect to be forced to reinstall Windows 10 a few days or weeks after running any such script. Whenever I tech support any of my…

Amazingly incorrect observation. All "non-bloat" mentioned above is mostly one big pile of shit that you generally do not need and might need only on specific machine AND in specific context. Running this concrete debloater might produce some unwanted side effects which are easy enough to fix, but it sure as heaven makes a system at least x2 faster ALL THE TIME. Yeah, spotify is a bloat if you don't use it, just as c…

> typically not in a line for babysitting and don't go around clicking britni's nude photo.jpg.exe

Do you understand what a drive-by attack is? Defender is the last line of defense against unknown vulnerabilities, assuming you have the latest security patches...

> Windows updates are better if controled

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