Brand new laptop won't load Windows after 'bloatware' removal

Hi everyone,

My girlfriend recently (like, yesterday) purchased a new ASUS Zenbook 305, 8gb RAM with Windows 10. I believe it's the one that's available here.

It started fine, but she asked me to clean it up (get rid of the bloatware on Windows 10 etc). I downloaded CCleaner, Chrome, Google Drive and Spotify, then proceeded to use CCleaner to:

1. Remove (using the uninstall tool) what i assumed was bloatware (various apps including Mail and Calendar, Booking.com, Alarms, CandyCrush etc). I checked online before removing things to ensure, as far as I could tell, that they weren't necessary.

2. Run a system analysis and subsequent clean. During this I ticked ALL of the 'Advanced' boxes in CCleaner too.

This all went fine at the time - only took a few minutes. However, when I went to restart the computer later it wouldn't get past the black screen with the circle of rotating dots when rebooting.

It seems to go to sleep after 15 minutes or so or this screen, after which I need to hold down the power button to turn it off in order to get it to try again.

Do I simply need to carry on waiting, and ensure it doesn't put itself to sleep by wiggling the trackpad often enough, or have I potentially done something damaging?

Thanks
Chris

You've apparently bricked the machine. It will most likely require recovery back to the original factory image. Check ASUS for info on restoring (if possible).

Best suggestion is not to use CCleaner as you have to remove what you consider bloatware. Just uninstall using the built in Windows uninstaller for anything you don't want - much safer. The built in mail app and calendar app for example are not "bloatware".

Look on the ASUS site and locate and read the user manual which should detail how to do a factory restore.

The bloatware programs of any ASUS laptops are listed here in the link below. It's also got a nice program to tell you which to remove and which you shouldn't and also the ability to choose which you want to remove or not.

ASUS Bloatware - Should I Remove It?

You should be careful though, you might end up bricking the system again after recovery.

You can also use PC Decrapifier to scan bloatware off your system and does the same thing.

RoasterMen said:

The bloatware programs of any ASUS laptops are listed here in the link below. It's also got a nice program to tell you which to remove and which you shouldn't and also the ability to choose which you want to remove or not.
ASUS Bloatware - Should I Remove It?

You should be careful though, you might end up bricking the system again after recovery.

You can also use PC Decrapifier to scan bloatware off your system and does the same thing.

Thanks for your replies.
I didn't remove ANY of those programs - it was more the Windows 10 bloatware that I got rid of.

I've had a look at how to do a factory restore but can't see how to do it if you can't log in to Windows. Does anyone have a suggestion?

fireberd said:

You've apparently bricked the machine. It will most likely require recovery back to the original factory image. Check ASUS for info on restoring (if possible).

Best suggestion is not to use CCleaner as you have to remove what you consider bloatware. Just uninstall using the built in Windows uninstaller for anything you don't want - much safer. The built in mail app and calendar app for example are not "bloatware".

Thanks Fireberd. So the computer is fixable, but will require a full reset which needs to be done by a pro, is that correct?

Chris

As I noted (I haven't looked at the site) the ASUS site should have information on how to do a restore (should be a partition on the hard drive). It should be doable by the user and not require taking it to a repair shop. If you can't figure it out, call ASUS support and if there is a recovery available on the hard drive ASUS support should be able to talk you through the procedure.

PC Decrapifier is a free program to help remove bloatware. Probably better (and safer) than the way you originally did it.
The PC Decrapifier

bogski said:

So the computer is fixable, but will require a full reset which needs to be done by a pro, is that correct?
Chris

According to the Asus manual...
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/..._UX305CA_A.pdf
... there is no F9 factory reset for models supplied with Windows 10. It used to be the practice for Win7 to have a separate recovery partition to hold the factory image, restored by OEM recovery software launched from a function key at boot up.

Since Win10 OEMs tend to rely on the native Win10 recovery options, which can be customised by the OEM to include their own utilities and drivers to perform a true factory reset. From the Asus Manual:

Windows® 10 allows you to do any of the following recovery options:

• Keep my files
- This option allows you refresh your Notebook PC without affecting personal files (photos, music, videos, documents). Using this option, you can restore your Notebook PC to its default settings and delete other installed apps.

• Remove everything
- This option resets your Notebook PC to its factory settings. You must backup your data before doing this option.

The second option 'Remove everything' would be the one to go for. The problem with this 'bricked' PC would be getting it to boot to advanced recovery. The only way would seem to be the 'Hard Reset' method - turn on, while it's booting press and hold the power button until it kills the power. Repeat. The third or fourth time it should boot into repair mode. This method is described in Option Six in this Tutorial.
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/...a.html#option6