Question about removing all apps in Final/RTM Windows 10

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if anyone that has more experience and knowledge on W10 presently could shed some light for me. :) Right now there are only a few items(apps) that you can remove, like XBOX (for people that don't have it), news, money, sports, and a few other apps. Other apps that I have tried in the TP seem to be "built in" and cannot be removed (uninstalled) from Windows. Does anyone know if this will change in the final builds of W10? If not, will there be reg hacks and tweaks that will come along, so that we can remove all this unnecessary bloatware?

For me, since I do everything via web and also upon release will not be available in CANADA, cortana to me is useless and I feel a little paranoid about its spying abilities, lol. I know I can remove it from the task bar, but I will be hoping to remove it completely and just have a normal local search like before, (in previous versions) and not one that searches the web. A lot of those tiles are still useless for me. Majority of those apps I will not use. For example: especially photos app since Windows 8, dislike it. I just use Windows picture viewer as my default. I just need to open and look at a picture, the sorting part I do on my own, photos app to me seems like a waste of space, same with videos app. I use VLC for everything, and lastly I am not really concerned about Wall Street so I don't need stocks/news/money. If I want any of that news & information I'll google it, I really do not need it (on the fly). It seems to me like these live tiles like news/money/cortana will be running constantly wasting unnecessary resources on my computer, as well as the broadband connection. But that's just me, personally. I'm not sure how other users feel.




Of this screenshot I have posted above I can see myself only using 3 of these apps (tiles). Weather, Get Started, Windows Feedback, the rest I would remove/delete permanently if possible. If anyone has any more insider information would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You.

BunnyJ said:

From my understanding the apps you're referring to can't be removed. For example you can't remove the Music app,.

Yea, that is what I was wondering BunnyJ .... that's rather unfortunate at the moment. I was trying to rid that one as well, haha. Maybe some tweak will come around that will allow us to remove this in the future without making the O/S unstable or inoperative?

Lee said:

As to most of the apps you have asked about most them I also do not use, and if possible unpin them from the start menu or delete them. As to Cortana even though I am in the U.S. I will never use it (don't have the ability to program it). As to warring about MS knowing you, just chill on that because they already have all your info as does Apple, Adobe, etc. Reason being you are already on the internet (you posting on a internet site). . .:)

Yes, I have uninstalled the ones that I can and unpinned the rest that I will not use. However I was wondering if it would be possible to uninstall them in the future with a tweak or a patch? Cortana I would rid of too. I only need a local search function, the internet search for me is not needed. Strange how Microsoft feels this is needed, because if they wanted a live search built into the desktop they should have aimed at it years ago, before people got used to "GOOGLING" everything on their PC's & Mobile Devices. I doubt it will get much use, seeing that it uses BING & EDGE, while most have opted out to different browsers and use google instead. It's all I hear these days. Even that FireFox & Yahoo thing didn't catch on. Everyone ends up reverting their search engine to google.

As far as a "waste of space", these apps do not use much space. You can view how much space they use by going to Settings->System->Apps & Features, where it lists each app and the space they use. You will notice that Phots only takes 19.2MB. That's Megabytes.. On multi-gigabyte drives, this amounts to less space than is used for most log files. Even some web pages are larger than that. Many of the other apps are even smaller, 72KB (Kilobytes even).

In any event, no.. Search is search.. it may not use Cortana, but it will still search the web unless you use modifies, like mystuff:searchterm

heyyahblahIf you go to Settings->System->Apps & Features as mentioned above by Mystere there is an option to uninstall practically all the apps - unfortunately some are greyed out yet ! I uninstalled Sport and Money from there and it looks like you'll eventually be able to get rid of anything you don't want in the released version.
I haven't been able to get rid of XBox though - how did you manage that?

Mystere said:

As far as a "waste of space", these apps do not use much space. You can view how much space they use by going to Settings->System->Apps & Features, where it lists each app and the space they use. You will notice that Phots only takes 19.2MB. That's Megabytes.. On multi-gigabyte drives, this amounts to less space than is used for most log files. Even some web pages are larger than that. Many of the other apps are even smaller, 72KB (Kilobytes even).

In any event, no.. Search is search.. it may not use Cortana, but it will still search the web unless you use modifies, like mystuff:searchterm

Perhaps I should have been more clear, waste of space I meant as in, not needed to be installed (waste of space) as in bloatware. I am aware that they barely use any HDD space in terms of size, but yea what I meant was space as in not having them their at all. haha.

That is unfortunate about the search function. I did turn off Cortana, but yea that I have to choose between local and web search annoys me a bit. Maybe a better search option will come around in the final release.

kenC said:

heyyahblahIf you go to Settings->System->Apps & Features as mentioned above by Mystere there is an option to uninstall practically all the apps - unfortunately some are greyed out yet ! I uninstalled Sport and Money from there and it looks like you'll eventually be able to get rid of anything you don't want in the released version.
I haven't been able to get rid of XBox though - how did you manage that?

Hey KenC, yes I noticed that as well. You can practically uninstall them all but the options are greyed out, correct sir. I hope you are right when you said in the final/RTM the options that are greyed out, you will be allowed to remove them all from the APPS. Maybe because its a TP it won't allow you to remove them for now? I hope in the final we can rid them all.

The XBox I was messing around in the registry, I think I might have deleted something and the app is still technically 'installed' but just doesn't show-up in apps anymore, however I still see it on all apps via the start menu but when I click it, it does nothing. I tried to forcefully remove it, lol. I might have messed something up :P, that's how I removed 'XBOX' lol. It's not listed anymore in SETTINGS>APPS, and I cannot pin it as a tile on the start menu, but it shows under all apps, as just a dead icon/does nothing.

I am also not liking how it lists all APPS (even our installed ones) together with the Microsoft ones, I preferred the Programs & Features menu/layout better then that of the settings>apps one. I guess it will be 3rd party removal for me, or via CCleaner.

I hate the Start Menu - it's ugly and has way too much stuff on it that I don't need - although that's pretty much my opinion of W10 !
I'll probably give it a miss for around 10 months - keep reading the forums to see how people are getting on with it and make a decision then. If I removed/deleted stuff I don't want/need: Cortana, apps, tiles, Bing, Edge, Store and Start - then it's hardly worth upgrading anyway. Windows 7 was for the user - W10 is for MS.

I understand how you feel, haha. I think in the 2 versions (Home vs Pro/Enterprise) they should at least give the pro users the ability to rid Cortana, apps, Bing, Store, and etc; I agree with you there. No need for those applications to the Pro/Enterprise user as those versions are targeted for more savvy users or technical/IT consumers that do not need the hassle of those unwanted applications. Say they made them un-removeable for the average W10 home user, that would be fine, but the Pro users should be able to rid the O/S of all that. Would make things so much more easier.

It's a little disappointing that feeling, as I am excited to try and use W10, but at the same time for me its a loss if I won't be able to rid of all that bloatware that MS calls "features". Cortana, apps, Bing, Edge, Store are all not needed for me. If I can rid all that and the start menu is still nice and customizable then its worth the go. Otherwise I will be a little iffy.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that in PRO we can rid all this, since they are giving PRO users the ability to control Windows Updates (as far as we know) whilst HOME users will be forced to install updates automatically, regardless.