5 ms·

Things you can do to clean up a fresh install of Windows 11 24H2 and Edge

32 points by mastazi 2y ago

1970-01-01 2y ago
Fresh install? Hit it with Blackbird and enjoy. https://www.getblackbird.net/screenshots/ https://www.getblackbird.net/screenshots/
- blackeyeblitzar 2y ago
  The documentation page of that website is pretty interesting. Can disabling all those things break Windows in some way, like making updates not work or something like that?
  - 1970-01-01 2y ago
    Of course, that's the entire point of having 'admin' power over the OS.. blackbird -d = Enable/Disable Windows Defender. blackbird -u = Enable/Disable auto-installation of Windows updates / Sets to manual download and install only. blackbird -m = Enable/Disable auto-installation of Malicious Removal Tool updates.
    - blackeyeblitzar 2y ago
      Well what I mean is, if you disable Cortana or the gaming services or whatever, can it cause functionality like windows update to stop working properly?
      - 1970-01-01 2y ago
        no
        out-of-ideas 2y ago
        what an awesome handle; also caught this as it reads: 1970-01-01 10 hours ago
      - hnuser123456 2y ago
        No, there are thousands of pieces of random cruft in Windows that can removed without breaking updates or core functionality. There's only 12 or so processes that are actually critical to keeping Windows running.
      - Krssst 2y ago
        Windows Server exists and must not include any of Cortana/OneDrive/online accounts/... So as long as the base for Server is the same it should at least be theoretically possible to remove unwanted components without breaking things too badly. (of course non-Server editions could hardcode something that breaks when some component is not present but I assume this is not how Windows editions work?) Not sure how Windows Update behaves if some expected component is removed; not having it working would be pretty bad.
- exceptione 2y ago
  That looks daring! But any update can undo privacy measures. I think the safest option is to not allow windows any network access. But that can be a pain in a dev vm, something like visual studio needs to talk with a trillion domains for installing. An MS does not provide static ip-lists for anything azure. The whole Windows ecosystem experience is such a backwardness, each time I can shut down a win vm I feel relief.
- out-of-ideas 2y ago
  last updated 2022 though; i'd assume it is outdated for win11 though im unsure if it syncs its actions against something more recently maintained
andy800 2y ago
Install StartAllBack and choose the Windows 7 theme. Even if you dont care about the other UI improvements like the older Start Menu, it's worth it just for the improvements to the clock and calendar - the analog clock especially.
codedokode 2y ago
I don't understand how cloud Windows accounts work. Will you be able to log into your computer if Microsoft bans you or you end up in the US sanction list? Also those who are willing to go to great lengths tuning Windows should consider using Linux - not only it has more opportunities for "tuning", but as a bonus you'll be able to fix the errors in the source code.
anotherhue 2y ago
This is a sign of an abusive relationship. If you have the stomach for this, you have the stomach for Ubuntu and a Looking Glass VM for whatever software won't run under wine (which is a lot).
- vagab0nd 2y ago
  My use for Windows has been shrinking rapidly over the years. The last holdout seems to be HDR gaming, which, unfortunately, Looking Glass doesn't seem to support yet.
- mastazi 2y ago
  Link to Looking Glass for anyone interested https://looking-glass.io/ https://looking-glass.io/
sitkack 2y ago
There is a whole subreddit devoted to "fixing" windows. https://old.reddit.com/r/TronScript/ https://old.reddit.com/r/TronScript/
ankurdhama 2y ago
What kind of bubble the "product managers" of Windows are living in? Does anyone of them actually tries a new install of Windows or are they entirely focused on just incrementing some stats counter on some telemetry based dashboard?
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- TowerTall 2y ago
  They all run Windows 11 Enterprise configured by Microsoft's IT department, so no.

32 points by mastazi 2y ago

1970-01-01 2y ago

Fresh install? Hit it with Blackbird and enjoy. https://www.getblackbird.net/screenshots/ https://www.getblackbird.net/screenshots/

blackeyeblitzar 2y ago
The documentation page of that website is pretty interesting. Can disabling all those things break Windows in some way, like making updates not work or something like that?
- 1970-01-01 2y ago
  Of course, that's the entire point of having 'admin' power over the OS.. blackbird -d = Enable/Disable Windows Defender. blackbird -u = Enable/Disable auto-installation of Windows updates / Sets to manual download and install only. blackbird -m = Enable/Disable auto-installation of Malicious Removal Tool updates.
  - blackeyeblitzar 2y ago
    Well what I mean is, if you disable Cortana or the gaming services or whatever, can it cause functionality like windows update to stop working properly?
    - 1970-01-01 2y ago
      no
      - out-of-ideas 2y ago
        what an awesome handle; also caught this as it reads: 1970-01-01 10 hours ago
    - hnuser123456 2y ago
      No, there are thousands of pieces of random cruft in Windows that can removed without breaking updates or core functionality. There's only 12 or so processes that are actually critical to keeping Windows running.
    - Krssst 2y ago
      Windows Server exists and must not include any of Cortana/OneDrive/online accounts/... So as long as the base for Server is the same it should at least be theoretically possible to remove unwanted components without breaking things too badly. (of course non-Server editions could hardcode something that breaks when some component is not present but I assume this is not how Windows editions work?) Not sure how Windows Update behaves if some expected component is removed; not having it working would be pretty bad.
exceptione 2y ago
That looks daring! But any update can undo privacy measures. I think the safest option is to not allow windows any network access. But that can be a pain in a dev vm, something like visual studio needs to talk with a trillion domains for installing. An MS does not provide static ip-lists for anything azure. The whole Windows ecosystem experience is such a backwardness, each time I can shut down a win vm I feel relief.
out-of-ideas 2y ago
last updated 2022 though; i'd assume it is outdated for win11 though im unsure if it syncs its actions against something more recently maintained

andy800 2y ago

Install StartAllBack and choose the Windows 7 theme. Even if you dont care about the other UI improvements like the older Start Menu, it's worth it just for the improvements to the clock and calendar - the analog clock especially.

codedokode 2y ago

I don't understand how cloud Windows accounts work. Will you be able to log into your computer if Microsoft bans you or you end up in the US sanction list? Also those who are willing to go to great lengths tuning Windows should consider using Linux - not only it has more opportunities for "tuning", but as a bonus you'll be able to fix the errors in the source code.

anotherhue 2y ago

This is a sign of an abusive relationship. If you have the stomach for this, you have the stomach for Ubuntu and a Looking Glass VM for whatever software won't run under wine (which is a lot).

vagab0nd 2y ago
My use for Windows has been shrinking rapidly over the years. The last holdout seems to be HDR gaming, which, unfortunately, Looking Glass doesn't seem to support yet.
mastazi 2y ago
Link to Looking Glass for anyone interested https://looking-glass.io/ https://looking-glass.io/

sitkack 2y ago

There is a whole subreddit devoted to "fixing" windows. https://old.reddit.com/r/TronScript/ https://old.reddit.com/r/TronScript/

ankurdhama 2y ago

What kind of bubble the "product managers" of Windows are living in? Does anyone of them actually tries a new install of Windows or are they entirely focused on just incrementing some stats counter on some telemetry based dashboard?

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
TowerTall 2y ago
They all run Windows 11 Enterprise configured by Microsoft's IT department, so no.