Removing Bloat ??????

[Malke]

I have ordered a new Gateway laptop. I want to remove all bloat as a
first step. What are the steps to do this ?

Control Panel>Programs & Features

Uninstall anything you don't want such as trial versions of software.

Malke

 

[F. Drew Leyda]

I have ordered a new Gateway laptop. I want to remove all bloat as a first
step. What are the steps to do this ?

Thank you
Drew

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I have ordered a new Gateway laptop. I want to remove all bloat as a first
step. What are the steps to do this ?

The first step is deciding what you consider to be bloat. We don't all
have the same definition of this.

Once you know what you want to remove, post back with those specifics
and we can help you.

 

[On Request]

An important point: it is much easier to remove the bloat *before* you
install any of it! Installing 'to see what it might be all about' can be
very troublesome to uninstall. This is especially true with stuff like AOL
or anything Norton. Just my experience....

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

An important point: it is much easier to remove the bloat *before* you
install any of it! Installing 'to see what it might be all about' can be
very troublesome to uninstall. This is especially true with stuff like AOL
or anything Norton. Just my experience....

Although I agree with what you say, note that he is talking about
getting a computer from Gateway, and it undoubtedly comes preinstalled
with many things, some of which he may not want.

So it's very unlikely that he has the choice you suggest.

 

[On Request]

Perhaps I used the wrong terminology -- my OEM computer had 'preloaded' (or
'preinstalled') items -- so I removed the ones I did not want before
'activating' or 'launching' them. For example, the AOL stuff was never in
the list of Control Panel| Programs and Features listing to begin with, so
there was no need to 'Uninstall' it. I tracked the stuff back to their
C:/program files folders and manually deleted them at that location. Does
that make sense?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Perhaps I used the wrong terminology -- my OEM computer had 'preloaded' (or
'preinstalled') items -- so I removed the ones I did not want before
'activating' or 'launching' them. For example, the AOL stuff was never in
the list of Control Panel| Programs and Features listing to begin with, so
there was no need to 'Uninstall' it. I tracked the stuff back to their
C:/program files folders and manually deleted them at that location. Does
that make sense?

I'm not sure I understand you. Certainly, if the computer came with an
installation program for AOL, but it hadn't yet been installed, yes,
you can do as you say, and that makes sense.

I don't know your particular OEM computer, but in general I would
expect that anything in the \Program Files folder *has* been installed
there.

And even if there are situations where the computer comes with some
programs that have not actually been installed yet, most OEM computers
often come with other junk that *has* been installed.

But once again, I don't disagree with what you say; I was just
pointing out that he may not have all the options not to install
things that he might like to have.

 

[On Request]

I made this note in my startup log last May when I got my current (then new)
computer. Dunno, maybe each situation is unique....

"I have a new Vista based HP Pavilion computer. It came with some HP
provided software files and online service choices that I do not want, one
of which is AOL. I do not use AOL and wanted to remove all traces from the
computer. I was surprised when I searched for AOL references, found lots of
AOL related files, most of which are within a folder in Program Files/Online
Services/AOLUS. There is no mention of anything related to AOL in 'Uninstall
a program' or any reference in any startup list, probably because I never
'installed' AOL in the first place. In my case I have never 'activated' or
'launched' anything with AOL on this computer. I deleted the Folder AOLUS
and everything in it; it went quietly after Vista made sure I confirmed my
action, and now it is in the Recycle Bin... I have now removed several of
the other unwanted preloaded software items by tracking them back to their
C:/program files folders and deleting them. Seems as long as I have never
'installed' or 'activated' them, it is pretty straightforward. So, if you
have not installed any of these preloaded optional programs, it is pretty
easy to get rid of them. Cheers."