New computer full of JUNK.

[TheDabbinDave]

A buddy of mine got a new HP PC. On his only day off in a month, he wanted a nice relaxing day of setting up his computer. Instead he has a day of rage because of all of the preinatalled crapware!

How can he make a backup of Windows 7 and start fresh with a clean install of just Windows?

He is not a patient person, he works literally 15 hours a day. I can't find the results on Google for exactly what I want him to do. Call Microsoft? No way, he has no patience for that. I currently do not have a working PC, so I can't guide him through it.

He is seriously ready to return the computer for a refund!

I know it's simple, what does he need to do?

 

[Kitten]

Im assuming Crapware you mean Anti-Virus Programs? Nortan etc?

 

[TheDabbinDave]

That and the onslaught of HP hand-holding junk.

Ideally what I want to do is make a back up of Windows 7, and then wipe the hard drive and reinstall Windows with nothing else on it.

 

[Kitten]

I'm pretty sure its preinstalled. Im pretty sure he can uninstall it, and install a better Anti-Virus Program.

 

[acascianelli]

Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features?

Uninstalling the apps can and will leave bits and pieces laying around. I'd say reinstall the OS with a plain old Windows install disk, but I don't know off the top of my head how to get his OEM license to work with a non OEM disk.

The only time I bought a new computer, I didn't even let it boot into Windows before reformatting and installing my own OS...

 

[TheDabbinDave]

It's not just Norton, it's anyrhing and everything that Dell, HP, SONY or whomever ship with their computers.

I don't know if Backup and Restore has the ability to do what I'm wanting. Yes, it can restore to factory condition, but that will also include all the junk.

 

[Dean]

I'm surprised he got a lot of pre-installed programs. I've very recently bought a HP computer and it didn't really have more than McAfee and some weird XP-style menu. Anyway, uninstalling it shouldn't be harder than going through Programs and Features, as previously suggested, and it certainly shouldn't take longer than 15-20 minutes. 👍

 

[TheDabbinDave]

He has convinced himself that he has a virus because HP is installing things on the fly (adding new desktop icons that were not there 3 hours ago), such as HP Games. He connected his printer and HP immediately launched it's hand-holding program to install the drivers for $30! That is they sort of junk he doesn't want to have to deal with at all.

The best thing to do is start from scratch with a clean Windows install.

 

[acascianelli]

Does he have Windows 7 or 8?

Any system restore that comes with the system will likely re-install any preinstalled software anyway.

 

[Grayfox]

Try using the Minimized Revoery imagae.

Turn on the PC and tap F11 for a few seconds.
and find the recovery section,.

Minimized should just install windows and drivers

 

[TenEightyOne]

A buddy of mine got a new HP PC. On his only day off in a month, he wanted a nice relaxing day of setting up his computer. Instead he has a day of rage because of all of the preinatalled crapware!

How can he make a backup of Windows 7 and start fresh with a clean install of just Windows?

He is not a patient person, he works literally 15 hours a day. I can't find the results on Google for exactly what I want him to do. Call Microsoft? No way, he has no patience for that. I currently do not have a working PC, so I can't guide him through it.

He is seriously ready to return the computer for a refund!

I know it's simple, what does he need to do?

Either use the minimised re-install if available (detailed above) or get another copy of Windows. I went through the same thing with my parents' PC, full of manufacturer blooaaaat-ware.

 

[DQuaN]

http://pcdecrapifier.com/

 

[wfooshee]

It also depends on the product line it's part of. PCs aimed at the business world don't have much other than an HP security management system designed to keep the user's identity information safe but convenient. They even use MS Security Essentials as the default antivirus. Go to the consumer line, though, and then you get all the crap and trials.

 

[Pootis]

Since you mentioned Windows 7: Start Menu>Computer>Uninstall or Change a Program. Remove all the stuff you don't need. Be sure to not uninstall anything important though. About the anti-virus software, I use Microsoft Security Essentials.

 

[TheDabbinDave]

I recall reading something about usinng Recovery and Backup, you deselect certain directories to not back up, such as Program Files. As I said, I don't have a functioning computer to check this for myself.

Unfortunately he jumped the gun before I had a good plan of attack. He did a restore to a certain point in time. Which seemed ok, until he was trying to install a needed program. He was getting a strange error message about not enough space! So, he's teconnexting his old tower so he can do his job. When he has time, he will revert back to factory fresh and remove the bloatware using the program suggested above.

 

[TenEightyOne]

It also depends on the product line it's part of. PCs aimed at the business world don't have much other than an HP security management system designed to keep the user's identity information safe but convenient. They even use MS Security Essentials as the default antivirus. Go to the consumer line, though, and then you get all the crap and trials.

Standalones perhaps, not bulk though. They come absolutely blank, larger businesses put their own images on