Let's get rid of OneDrive and CoPilot and streamline some other stuff... Who needs that crap...
Unfortunately, Microsoft may at random decide to reinstall this crapware, or re-enable some of these settings... sigh.
Topics
Microsoft sometimes installs stuff I don't want. But even hardware manufactures are finding ways to p*ss me off by installing stuff I don't want, simply because my PC starts auto-installing their crap the moment I connect their hardware to my machine!
This has to stop...
In this post:
- OneDrive - Microsoft is (ab)using OneDrive to install things like a photo app... No way.
- CoPilot - Pretty much a piece of crap
- Startup - Let's git rid of some stuff
- Companion Apps
- Cloud Content
- Other
- Ronin
- WinAero Tweaker
1. OneDrive
Settings / Apps / Installed Apps / Microsoft OneDrive / Uninstall
...because Microsoft might use it as an excuse to install other crap...
2. CoPilot
Settings / Apps / Installed Apps / CoPilot / Uninstall
...because nobody needs this crap...
3. Startup
And whilst we are doing then, let's visit the apps that are launched during startup and kill those unnecessary. First I went to:
Settings / Apps / Startup
And there I removed / disabled:
- AutoDetector - Ulead
- Microsoft Edge - Microsoft
- MS-Teams
Startup Folders
Note that some things might hide in the startup folders...
Check these two folders:
- C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
- C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
4. Stop hardware related software apps (aka Companion apps)
Sometimes DRIVERS decide to install OTHER software. A monitor supplier might decide it's a good idea to spam ads for a virus scanner... And you know what? You AUTOMATICALLY opted in to this 'feature'... It's so crazy that it actually happened.
I don't want that, so...
- Settings / System / About / Advanced System Settings
- Hardware / Device Installation Settings
- No
Yeah, that option is hidden in a crazy place.
Note 1: Some hard- and software may require this option to be enabled. Just disable it and see if it causes trouble. If it does, re-enable it.
Note 2: System ICONS may also be affected by this setting.
5. Cloud Content
Windows 11 happily installs stuff Microsoft thinks you might find interesting... Another no no no.
- Start RegEdit
- Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\
- Create a key CloudContent
- Create a DWord DisableWindowsConsumerFeatures
- Set its value to 1
6. Other stuff
Some quick changes, but for a full explanation I'd suggest to visit Windows 11 Usability Guide.
Start
- Settings / Personalization / Start - change to what you like
Lock screen
- Settings / Personalization / Lock Screen - Change to what you like
Typing insights
- Settings / Time & Language / Typing - change to what you like - I turn Typing Insights off
Privacy & Security
It's pretty much a good idea to check all the settings under Privacy & Security, and disable everything you do not need... Some suggestions:
- Settings / Privacy & Security / Recommendations & Offers - All off except Language List
- Settings / Privacy & Security / Diagnostics & Feedback / Send optional data - Off
- Settings / Privacy & Security / Diagnostics & Feedback / Improve Inking - Off
- Settings / Privacy & Security / Diagnostics & Feedback / Improve Inking - Off
- Settings / Privacy & Security / Search - Adjust as needed
6. Winaero Tweaker
This tool may help you remove more Windows crap, and / or make some of the steps above easier. Most of the things this app does you can do yourself, but this is a little more comfortable.
You'll find its homepage here.
Be careful though... the whole website is spammed with banners and logos that try to make you download something else.
Last time I checked, I found the real download on this page.
7. Ronin
This is another tool that might help clean up stuff. I haven't tried this one myself.
You'll find the homepage here.
I never found Github very comfortable. To get to a downloadable version of Ronin, you have to click on Code / Tags / Releases... Yeah. It ain't obvious.
Here's a direct link.
8. Links
You might want to visit some of these links...
- Windows 11 Usability Guide - very detailed and complete, though not entirely up to date
- A list of some very good tools to tame Windows
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