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How To Clean the Cruft Left By a Windows 10 Upgrade
MojoKid writes: Microsoft may have given you a free Windows 10 upgrade but it's not without some left over file clutter that some folks don't realize is left on a system after migration. It's not rocket science but there are a few key strategies to tidy up the file bloat an OS migration can sometimes leave behind and to further optimize an upgraded Windows 10 installation. The ability to roll back to your Windows 7 or 8.1 installation within 30 days is a very easily overlooked feature of the Windows 10 upgrade process. The feature is a lifesaver if you encounter issues, such as missing or incompatible drivers, and need to quickly recover without starting from scratch. This ability doesn't come without consequences, though. In order to offer this feature, Windows 10 is essentially keeping another completely separate Windows installation on your PC. This will need to go, once you've determined that you are sticking with Windows 10 and everything seems happy enough. These files are scattered throughout your system and include a number of hidden directories, with the bulk of them located in Windows.old and the hidden $Windows.~BT and $Windows.~WS directories.
The easiest way is just don't install this craptastic pile of shit in the first place.
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
I've found that going from version to version in Windows means reliability issues, because stuff remains from previous versions. In fact, pretty much any OS is like this.
If you want a reliable machine, back the thing up (image backup, so it is easily restored), save all documents, format all drives, install the OS, image the OS (so you have a blank, activated copy to roll back to), reinstall applications, and toss the data back on.
Major version upgrades always have issues. Only real exception used to be RHEL where an OS "upgrade" was just a point in time of patches, but even this died with the 7.x release.
Stay with Windows7. You ain't losin' nothin'.
If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
Don't waste your time.
If you're upgrading from Win7\8\8.1 do an in-place upgrade just to pass your product key on to win10 then format.
You don't need the activation key at all. Just upgrade to W10, make sure you are activated, then wipe and install W10 without any key at all -- once you're online Windows will automatically activate your system. There is no need for the key at any point nor for using a Microsoft - account, it works just fine even with a local account.
The old Windows installation will be removed *automatically* after the period of time to roll back ends. No need to do anything.
This isn't meant to be a troll. Last year I bought a laptop with Windows 8 from Staples as a [cheap-ish] backup computer for my Mac. The *very first* update after turning it on rendered it a brick. Of course it didn't come with a recovery disk, so I decided that I would try Linux Mint on it before taking it back to the store. That was one of the wisest things I've done recently. It works perfectly, and since I don't play games on it (just regular development) it does everything I want/need it to. There are no stability issues at all (though I do shutdown/startup when I close the lid, but I think every Linux has that problem).
And I don't have to deal with the abomination that is Windows
First there is an easier way. If you install windows10 then do a system restore (logically, a pointless thing to do right after you install an OS) a side effect is that it wipes out the old Win8. Why do I know this? well as you can imagine I installed windows 10, and then within days got suckered by a trojan (than WinDefender and Norton did not stop) that just ate my system alive. So I did a restore.
My review of win 10. I'm a diehard mac and linux user who hates windows and said goodbye to it after XP. But then I bought a computer than had windows 8 installed (factory default restored) and figured why not try the free win10 offer. I have to say that while Win10 is, relatively speaking, the best OS microsoft ever made, and is infact not very painful to use, the installation process was truly a lesson in why microsoft products are pure crap.
The install process took over 8 hours when done without mistakes from a factory install of windows 8 on a screamingly fast i7-3000 series, 8GB, and a 20Gb;sec internet connection. Plus it was not click and wait, but required lots of babysitting, reboots, and even one web search to accomplish. There is no way to go-straight-to-10. Instead you have to walk your system through all the updates of Win8, then install 8,1, then walk it through all the 8.1 updates one of which is not an automatic update, and then finally you can request Win10, a day or so later you get permission to install Win 10. Mine too 164 updates of win8. then another set I lost count of. then a long process to download and install win 8.1. Then about 40 updates of that. At that point it was stuck. Nothing more to do but there was no win 10 install icon. I ran the tool microsoft supplies to guide you through this absurd dance and it told me I was missing some file whose name started with KB. SO I googled that, downloaded it. There was an executable mks file with it so I ran that. When I re-ran the windows tool it once again told me this KB file was not installed. So I re-ran the executable and this time it told me it had already been run. So I was at an impasse. At the time I did not know what a KB file was and the tool wasn't telling me other than that it was missing. Googling I learned this was some update patch. This seemed od to me that 8.1 did not apply this update for me and that I had to download it by hand. But I re-rean the 8.1 updater and this found the file I had downloaded and now updated. At this point I could now request the Win10.
From that point on things were flawless. Win10 has a nice installer. it lists all the ways it is going to monetize your ass with brief semi-coherent explanations, and gives you the opportunity to opt out. It's really nice of them to ask. However you rapidly lose services if you do. For example Cortana requires you to share your addressbook and browser links and history with Redmond, it won't run stand alone without that. They also explain how they will brand you with an indelible advertiser ID so they can sell you to their friends. But at least they asked me unlike the serfs on the google plantation.
Here's what's so great about this OS from a mac or linux user. It just gets out of your way. you hardly notice the OS. It looks pretty much exactly like Linux Mint with some of the more handy applets installed. Gone are the crazy panel desktop with tiles filled with crap you never asked for. It's still there but in a much reduced form in the start menu (yep it's back!) and it doesn't get in your way. Infact it's becomes useful in this less dazzling form.
The bad is that it still has the usual hard to navigate directory structure (e.g. the user files are under C: but the my computer files where programs live is elsewhere). It comes loaded with crapware that tries to trick you into installing it like Norton Utilties or HP's keychain and then informs you after the install that after your free month there will be a charge. And then there's the extreme ability to get rooted when you try to install some code. They
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
Upgrade to W10, then download the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft and choose to either make an ISO-image or to make a bootable USB-installer.
One cost of Windows 10 is that it will become whatever Microsoft wants it to be in the future; most users will have no ownership. Windows 10 is designed to allow Microsoft complete control over a user's computer whenever it is turned on and connected to the internet.
Maybe Microsoft wants to imitate Google. Microsoft can use the information collected by Windows 10, apparently, to sell to advertisers. Perhaps Microsoft is also paid by secret U.S. government agencies.
Google's tracking is extremely widespread because people use numerous Google services rather than software that they own. Google tracks Slashdot users. The Slashdot home page allows Google to track users 3 ways:
1) google-analytics.com
2) googleadservices.com
3) googletagservices.com
Maybe Microsoft wants to be even more complete about tracking users, to try to take business from Google.
Windows 10 is not "free" to owners of Windows 7 and 8. Installing Windows 10 means that, after 1 month, owners lose what they bought. If someone offers you a "free" car, but then takes away the car you have now, that is not free. Those who switch to Windows 10 pay a high price for something they cannot evaluate fully in 1 month.
Microsoft management thinks it is okay to remove features from Windows. For example, those who switch to Windows 10 from Windows 7 and 8 will lose Windows Media Center. Removing features allows Microsoft to ask users to pay for them again in the future.
Maybe, in the future, Microsoft intends to imitate Adobe Systems. Maybe Windows will eventually become "cloud" software, and users will be expected to pay monthly. Others on Slashdot have suggested that.
Also, it seems to me that Microsoft is extremely badly managed. I'm not the only one who thinks that. Others called former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Monkey Boy and said "Without a doubt, Mr. Ballmer is the worst CEO of a large publicly traded American company today."
It seems to me that Satya Nadella, Microsoft's new CEO, is incapable of managing a large corporation. He apparently was picked because of his ability to avoid being involved in conflicts, rather than because he has an ability to resolve conflicts. It seems to me that Nadella does not have the social sophistication necessary to coordinating the company.
I'm honestly sorry to be rude but I seriously could care less what you did on you home computer and what your reasoning was for installing a Linux distro.
Windows is installed on the majority of computers so this information is important for those of us who run Windows. Any information to help clean up various old data from an upgrade is welcome as is the various techniques for shutting down all of Microsoft's tracking. If I need to use Linux for something which is very rare, I can just fire up VirtualBox and run Linux flavor distro # 525 whenever I need to.
Open Administrator Command Prompt
> cleanmgr /sageset
Tick every option, then OK
> cleanmgr /sagerun
Go away and have a cup of tea.
(this is not a