3 ms·

If you buy a computer from the Microsoft Store it is guaranteed to have no crapware, trialware or any other junk on it. If you buy a computer from somewhere el

by 300bps 12y ago

If you buy a computer from the Microsoft Store it is guaranteed to have no crapware, trialware or any other junk on it. If you buy a computer from somewhere else and take it to the Microsoft Store they will place a clean operating system on it for $99. For technical people of course, it is no big deal to install the OS yourself, but I have to say it was nice getting my last HP notebook without a single thing I had to uninstall.

MartinCron 12y ago
There was a time I would have balked at the idea of paying Microsoft $99 to ensure there was no crape are on a PC. Now it sounds like a decent value.
- Nexxxeh 12y ago
  To set up a new machine for a client I charge about $75 to: Remove the pre-installed crap. (Using MCPR or NRT to remove bundled AV.) Ensure MSE or Windows Defender is up and running. Install the usual software - VLC, LibreOffice (or MS Office if they have bought it), Classic Start if Win 8 and wanted, Chrome with AdBlock (although may soon switch to uBlock), etc. Ninite does most of the heavy lifting on that. Setup printer. Set up local user accounts (after discussing Microsoft accounts.) Transfer the user folder (and email if client-based, Thunderbird and Mozbackup usually does most of the work.) Join the machine onto the broadband. If necessary, go through the basics of Windows 8.1, web security, backups etc. It's closer to $99 for businesses, but they usually have slightly more complex requirements. --- We used to make restore disks, but nowadays we generally don't bother as it's faster to clean install from a Windows install that already has the updates on it. I may very well start clean-installing the machines instead. One irritating thing I've come across is that "8.1 with Bing" wouldn't install from a standard Windows 8.1 disk. That may scupper the clean-install plan for home users with cheap machines.
twinge 12y ago
FWIW that's the "Signature Edition" of Windows. You can find them on Amazon too.

by 300bps 12y ago

MartinCron 12y ago

There was a time I would have balked at the idea of paying Microsoft $99 to ensure there was no crape are on a PC. Now it sounds like a decent value.

Nexxxeh 12y ago
To set up a new machine for a client I charge about $75 to: Remove the pre-installed crap. (Using MCPR or NRT to remove bundled AV.) Ensure MSE or Windows Defender is up and running. Install the usual software - VLC, LibreOffice (or MS Office if they have bought it), Classic Start if Win 8 and wanted, Chrome with AdBlock (although may soon switch to uBlock), etc. Ninite does most of the heavy lifting on that. Setup printer. Set up local user accounts (after discussing Microsoft accounts.) Transfer the user folder (and email if client-based, Thunderbird and Mozbackup usually does most of the work.) Join the machine onto the broadband. If necessary, go through the basics of Windows 8.1, web security, backups etc. It's closer to $99 for businesses, but they usually have slightly more complex requirements. --- We used to make restore disks, but nowadays we generally don't bother as it's faster to clean install from a Windows install that already has the updates on it. I may very well start clean-installing the machines instead. One irritating thing I've come across is that "8.1 with Bing" wouldn't install from a standard Windows 8.1 disk. That may scupper the clean-install plan for home users with cheap machines.

twinge 12y ago

FWIW that's the "Signature Edition" of Windows. You can find them on Amazon too.