When you install Windows or start a PC for the first time that comes preinstalled with Windows, there is a high chance that you have dozens of apps installed already on the system before the first sign in.
Some of these apps are all-time classics, like Notepad or Calculator. Others are not liked nearly as much with some of them consider bloat.
It did not take long for clever developers to create applications designed to remove preinstalled Windows apps. O&O AppBuster is my personal favorite, but there are others.
Remove preinstalled apps with NoBloatBox
NoBloatBox is such an app. It is developed by serial developer Belim and the successor of BloatBox. It is an open source app that is designed and optimized for Windows 11, even though it runs on Windows 10 as well.
When you run the 200 Kilobyte app you may notice that it does not really do much on its own. It uses signature files, which you need to download separately from the GitHub repository. Currently, only a Windows 11 version 24H2 signature file is provided.
It lists the included apps afterwards. You may now select one, some, or even all of them for removal. A click on the remove selected button starts that process.
Apps are not necessarily listed by their name, which makes it difficult to identify specific apps. The removal happens without any user interaction.
It is highly recommended to create a system backup before running NoBloatBox or any application remover or tweaker for Windows.
Verdict
NoBloatBox is an easy to use program to remove preinstalled Windows apps. It is not as easy to use as AppBuster, but that could change in the future. It is a bit of a hassle to download the signature file. A better solution would be to always include the latest version or include an option to download it directly from the program on first start.
It is an early release on the other hand and improvements are said to come in the future. The community-powered approach of these filter lists is interesting, as it opens it up for wider use cases and ensures that the developer has time for actual development.
All in all, one to keep an eye on. For now, I will stick to AppBuster though.
Do you use app uninstallers for Windows? If so, which is your favorite and why?
Martin,
Thank you so much for this heads up notice!
I wanted to try the Windows 11 2024 LTSC edition on a Windows 10 laptop–thinking about that looming deadline. The LTSC edition shows some superb development. It eliminates gloat, and is, for some reason, snappy.
One has to go through some .reg tweaks; I added Open Shell. But I didn’t have to eliminate a load of unnecessary apps, and everything else works fine. I find it so refreshing that I am tempted to replace other computers with the version.
I also tried installing 24H2 on 23H2–the upgrade. Phew! Completely ruined my display. I spent hours searching online for solutions. Why or how can that possibly be? I would think the LTSC version would have caused issues.
“But I didn’t have to eliminate a load of unnecessary apps, and everything else works fine.”
Not every PC manufacturer is loading their computers with junk. My Lenovo, I think, did not have any third party bloat. Lenovo has its own bloat and of course Microsoft’s bloat, but I do not think these type of unbloating programs will pick tit up.
Working on installing an M.2 NVME drive in a laptop and ran across the Windows 11 GitHub repository. Wow! Some amazing work going on:
1. https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat
2. Media Creation Tool [for finding older versions of Windows 11, say 23H2 which Phoenix said would be a better option]
3. Phoenix PE [the tool took my breath away!]
Some really nice stuff to look through.
One question–Rufus keeps telling me, on a Windows 11 23H2 computer, that my USB is in use by another process and it can’t lock it for exclusvity–process explorer says it’s explorer.exe. I looked around. Turned off autoplay in Control Panel and Group Policy. Still–Rufus version 4.6. Any ideas to get it working again? Ventoy didn’t work. UnetBootIn did work.