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Microsoft Tests New Tool To Remove OEM Crapware (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Windows 10 already includes ways to clear out applications and data to repair misbehaving systems or prepare them to be sold, courtesy of the Refresh and Reset features added in Windows 8. Microsoft is now adding a third option: a new refresh tool. Currently available only for Windows Insiders, the new tool fetches a copy of Windows online and performs a clean installation. The only option is whether or not you want to preserve your personal data. Any other software that's installed will be blown away, including the various applications and utilities that OEMs continue to bundle with their systems. Ars Technica points out that the tool isn't perfect. For example, "it installs a preview build from the fast track, but Microsoft notes that the new tool can sometimes install a version older than the one currently installed. When this kind of version mismatch occurs, the option to preserve your files is removed."
... it's not doing its job very well, now is it?
So, basically giving users the original OS disk? Like they did in the early days? I guess this is a good sign, moving away from the current model of "media free" on the HDD images, with no recourse to removing all of the crapware.
--WooooHoooo--
What about drivers?
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
It appears that this tool downloads Windows 10 installation media from Microsoft, reboots your system, wipes the whole of the OS, and reinstalls the entire OS from said downloaded installation media and after all is said and done, you have a completely clean system that has absolutely none of the OEM bloatware. It would be like you built your own system and installed a clean Windows installation. Sure, I don't discount the use of PC Decrapifier but even with that it can leave things behind since program uninstall tools can and do often leave pieces behind.
What is interesting is that when I bought a Lenovo notebook and did a clean install of Windows 10 the installation of the OS didn't at all ask for a CD key and when I got back into Windows after the installation it said that it was activated via an OEM license. Far better than how it was done in the past.
The "Anniversary update" will expand the tile "suggestions" from five to ten. Microsoft doesn't want the OEM's to compete with their own bloatware and "suggestions". So, you can make their life better. Just be prepared to constantly remove their freemium apps that you uninstalled, but that they keep reinstalling. Windows 10 is horrible in this respect.
I have heard that Lenovo has embedded bloatware into the BIOS of systems, and it uses official protocols so that Windows 8+ will automatically install that software. Will this step do anything against such software?
in an effort to prevent OEM keys from getting loose MS and OEMs figured out how to embed the key into the "bios" so yes currently a Generic Copy of WinX can be used to install and OEM copy of WinX (some OEM files will be grabbed when it can get online)
I'm trying to figure out how this differs from the Media Creation Tool.
Your experience with the Lenovo has been standard for large manufacturers for many years. Been that way at least as far back as XP. The BIOS contains the validation/authentication info.
Reinstalling Windows doesn't really count as a "tool" for removing crap/ad/malware - More like burning the house down to get rid of mice.
Perhaps more importantly, Windows comes with quite a bit of stock crapware; I have to suspect that Microsoft would reinstall all of that, meaning that after using this "tool", you'd need to spend a couple hours disabling all the various telemetry hooks (not to mention the time it takes to install all your non-MS apps again).
Instead, people would do far better to just run something like Deep Freeze, where every time you boot you revert to a known good state of your own choosing.
Of course to users this sounds superficially like a great idea. Dump the dozen bits of crap installed on a new PC and put it back to a clean OS install.
In reality, MS wants to eliminate the data harvesting competition. OEMs add crapware because they get paid to add it. Crapware installers pay for this because they want you to buy their crapware, but even if you don't it's worth the cost to gather data on you and your computer, sometimes for years when naive users don't ever uninstall it.
Microsoft's move is into the data harvesting business -- win 10 telemetry, azure, office365, and now linked in. Third party crapware doesn't just degrade the product (its always done that, and they never cared) but now it produces independent data sets that compete with Microsoft's data sets.
The "solution" they propose is kind of like a symbiotic parasite, guarantee our exclusive data harvesting and will make your PC have fewer problems.
OEM's spend money to put the crapware on the machine. Client buys said brand because of recognition and this tool removes that. That will probably piss someone off. The reason you got that subsidized PC for cheap was BECAUSE of the OEM crapware Lawyer time.
There's a ton of preinstalled crapware in Windows 10 that I'd like to get rid of.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Want to solve the problem? Yank the "windows certification" of every single PC seller and maker that adds crap to the install and make them pay full retail proce for every copy of windows they sell on their machines.
Suddenly the problem of added garbage goes away overnight. And I mean it, it will stop by 8am the next business day you announce that.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
They should also let users easily remove all of the Microsoft crapware
Microsoft is doing this because they want more visibility for their crapware. I have to occasionally use MS Windows at work. My fresh from MS install has all kinds of very non office crap. Candy crush, groove, xbox, etc. Then they do a relentless push for things like edge. I opened edge and typed chrome, what comes up, not a download for chrome but some crap about edge.
Over the years I have worked with fairly cutting edge companies. It boils down to a simple fact: if the company is using windows, they aren't cutting edge and they tend to shuffle along until someone eats their lunch. If they are cutting edge about the only people using windows are the accountants.
So why does Microsoft allow crapware to be installed in the first place?
This sounds like something that would be very useful immediately after you get your new computer plugged in.
How would MS deal with this if the OEM has physical access to the hardware and does need to provide drivers and supporting software for many combinations of components?
All they can do is make life complicated to all their sales channels and have more machines sold without a "MS approved" sticker. Not a winning proposition. It is best to sell Surfaces without crapware, and Xboxes with Windows 10 compatibility. Essentially, to be more like Apple and Google and sell vertically integrated product/services.
How would MS deal with this
Simple, Microsoft sez: If you license Windows, no crapware. If you do install crapware, you are breaking the legal agreement and you lose your right to license Windows.
Apparently anti trust lawsuits from the OEMs.
I think than MS likes to sell loads of licenses and the make a software fix rather than having the extra costs from policing every OEM under the sun. :)
I guess that the reset tool is supposed to be more for the average user as versus someone who's more technically inclined. The reset tool sort of does it all in one shot without the user knowing how to do it.
If you want to use Linux but don't want to use systemd, you're forced to use a niche distro like Devuan, Gentoo or Slackware. Or you're forced to try to hack it out of your installation, which is error prone and can impact future updates. Of course, neither of these is an option for somebody who wants a usable, reliable Linux installation without systemd.
Just FYI Ubuntu 14.04 is a LTS release and uses upstart, and still has support for ~2 years, so somebody can use that.
That being said, I don't see anything wrong with Gentoo or Slackware, other than time required to compile things? It's not difficult, just time-consuming. Gentoo by nature is designed to give you as much choice as possible. I fail to see how they're unreliable. You know, ChromeOS is based on Gentoo, just saying. Also, personally, I use Void Linux and I'd say it's pretty rock solid. See chair analogy for Linux distros.
The thing about Linux is there are a lot of distributions out there. Just because the most popular distributions do things you don't like, doesn't mean you have to stick with them.
Because Microsoft is a software company.
Let's face it, if the story here were that Microsoft is forbidding the installation of any software by vendor even if value added or wanted by the end user, even in cases of specific requirements (think education software, think automated delivery of the OS and apps) then we'd all be asking for their heads for abuse of their monopoly.
The cure is worse than the disease. Also where do you draw the line? No pre-shipment of software? What about drivers? What about software to interface with the drivers?
I think than MS likes to sell loads of licenses and the make a software fix rather than having the extra costs from policing every OEM under the sun.
Microsoft should care about the Windows brand not being associated with crapware. Although with the recent events showing that Microsoft is making Windows 10 look like malware, I would have a difficult time convincing anyone that Microsoft does indeed care about the Windows brand.
. :)
Never mind.
They used to say that the best gamekeepers were former poachers.
Of course with Nutella's tribe of buggerbastards there's no "former" about it. They're no doubt trying to play both ends against the middle.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
$$$?
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
To remove Windows 10?
For Lenovo i created a boot medium via windows, then reinstalled ... and it reinstalled the crap as well.
...it would need to upgrade Windows 10 to Windows 7.