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I do this for every Windows installation that is used for similar purposes, like embedded machines that has to run a single application, virtual machines, etc.

I do this for every Windows installation that is used for similar purposes, like embedded machines that has to run a single application, virtual machines, etc. For who says that this will break the system: it will not, provided that you only need to run win32 applications (as it's almost the case). It's basically the same thing that Windows 10 LTSC (or now Windows 10 IoT I think it was renamed) does, that is not have any appx package installed beside Edge and few system packages. You of course loose a couple of utilities, such as the calculator (but you can simply do calculations in powershell, python or whatever), the image viewer (you can view images in Paint) and audio/video player (just install VLC or open them with a browser). If you need the store you can reinstall it afterwards, and then use the store to reinstall any software you need, that is faster than manually removing all the bloatware that is installed (like Candy Crush and stupid stuff that shouldn't even be there in the first place!)

gjsman-1000 4y ago
> You of course loose a couple of utilities, such as the calculator (but you can simply do calculations in powershell, python or whatever), the image viewer (you can view images in Paint) and audio/video player (just install VLC or open them with a browser). This is, technically speaking, only if you run the script from Windows 11. Windows 10 still has Paint, WordPad, Windows Media Player, Remote Desktop, and some others as unpackaged system components that aren't in the Store. So, if you are still on 10, you won't have that issue.
jakogut 4y ago
> I do this for every Windows installation that is used for similar purposes, like embedded machines that has to run a single application, virtual machines, etc. Have you tried running Linux for these use cases? This sort of thing is an area Linux excels, in my experience. When you run Windows, you're in for the whole kit and caboodle. Most of the components are proprietary, closed-source black boxes. You can only poke and prod and test and hope things don't break in unexpected ways. Conversely, Linux can be easy stripped down to a bare bones kernel and a single statically-linked binary. I can run a useful application on top of Linux with the whole system weighing in smaller than bootmgfw.efi. Something more complex, but still custom, is easily crafted with Buildroot. https://buildroot.org/ https://buildroot.org/
- alerighi 4y ago
  Of course yes, where I can I run Linux. Unfortunately you have often to deal with software that is only for Windows, mainly programs made to interact with very specific and custom hardware, often legacy software.

gjsman-1000 4y ago

> You of course loose a couple of utilities, such as the calculator (but you can simply do calculations in powershell, python or whatever), the image viewer (you can view images in Paint) and audio/video player (just install VLC or open them with a browser). This is, technically speaking, only if you run the script from Windows 11. Windows 10 still has Paint, WordPad, Windows Media Player, Remote Desktop, and some others as unpackaged system components that aren't in the Store. So, if you are still on 10, you won't have that issue.

jakogut 4y ago

> I do this for every Windows installation that is used for similar purposes, like embedded machines that has to run a single application, virtual machines, etc. Have you tried running Linux for these use cases? This sort of thing is an area Linux excels, in my experience. When you run Windows, you're in for the whole kit and caboodle. Most of the components are proprietary, closed-source black boxes. You can only poke and prod and test and hope things don't break in unexpected ways. Conversely, Linux can be easy stripped down to a bare bones kernel and a single statically-linked binary. I can run a useful application on top of Linux with the whole system weighing in smaller than bootmgfw.efi. Something more complex, but still custom, is easily crafted with Buildroot. https://buildroot.org/ https://buildroot.org/

alerighi 4y ago
Of course yes, where I can I run Linux. Unfortunately you have often to deal with software that is only for Windows, mainly programs made to interact with very specific and custom hardware, often legacy software.