Solved New HP laptop - Fresh Install Win11 vs Trying to Remove Crapware


bfunke

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OS
Win11
Just received a brand new HP 15t-eg200 laptop to replace an ancient Asus laptop. My question is am I better off trying to remove all the bloatware and HP crapware or doing a clean install with Win11 downloaded to a flash drive? If clean install is best way to go should I first activate the factory install with my MS account? Also I recall Brink telling someone to first export the drivers and add them to the Win11 flash drive and also create an image of the factory drive using Macrium Reflect. Please advise best steps to take. Thanks in advance
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    2023 HP Pavilion 15t-eg200
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-3200 SDRAM (2 x 8 GB); 512 GB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD
    Screen Resolution
    1910x1080
Just received a brand new HP 15t-eg200 laptop to replace an ancient Asus laptop. My question is am I better off trying to remove all the bloatware and HP crapware or doing a clean install with Win11 downloaded to a flash drive? If clean install is best way to go should I first activate the factory install with my MS account? Also I recall Brink telling someone to first export the drivers and add them to the Win11 flash drive and also create an image of the factory drive using Macrium Reflect. Please advise best steps to take. Thanks in advance


You seem to have the right idea. The main thing is the drivers.
Occasionally a laptop will have a weird, uncommon driver that's hard to find.
So having them accessible on the flash drive... is a good thing.

As for the bloatware... that's up to you. The clean install is probably the quickest solution IF you export the drivers, first.

YES. Activate Windows 11 first... then worry about all the other stuff.

Yes... always make a backup of the existing install, before attempting something BIG like this.
It's never very smart to "work without a net". :cool:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3374 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
First thing I would do is to make sure your Windows 11 system is activated. That can be done by going through the OOOB setup when you first turn on the PC. It will run and install Windows updates. You'll need to install Macrium Reflect, then create a disk image and if not already done, rescue media.

Once your system is activated, you can do as many clean installs as you like. It's really up to you whether you just want to delete some of the bloatware or just do a clean reinstall. I would play around with the new system a bit before deciding to do a clean install.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3793
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 1065G7 @ 1.30GHz Ice Lake 10th Generation
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0V996R
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Iris Plus Graphics with shared graphics memory
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop Display 17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2, NVMe SSD
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbs
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    F-Secure Security Suite
    Other Info
    Upgraded from Windows 10 to Win 11 on 10-21-21
    Upgraded to Win 11 22H2 on 9-20-22 (Clean Install)
    Upgraded to Win 11 23H2 on Halloween 2023
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 3910
    CPU
    12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700 processor (12-Core, 25M Cache, 2.1GHz to 4.8GHz)
    Motherboard
    Dell 0KHP4K
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) UHD Graphics 770 with shared graphics memory
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 27" Monitor S2721DS,
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2560 x 1440 @ 75 Hz
    Hard Drives
    1TB M.2, PCIe NVMe, SSD
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    F-Secure Security Suite
    Other Info
    Bought in November 2022
    Updated to 23H2 10-31-23
See the part number and the serial number at the bottom of your laptop. If there is not any sticker, you can find these using a utility such as Aida64. In Aida64, go to Computer -> DMI -> System section. Then visit www.hp.com and click on Support and type the P/N or S/N to find your exact model. Download all the available drivers and utilities (if you want any). Many times a few Windows 11 or 10 drivers are offered, assuming Windows Setup will take care of the rest. If you want the complete list, try an earlier Windows version, such as Windows 10 64-bit, Windows 8 64-bit or even Windows 7 64-bit (if applicable) to download the rest drivers. Gather all the drivers in a folder and copy them to a USB flash drive. Now you can just format and reinstall Windows 11. While at Windows Setup, delete all partitions, including the recovery partition to gain more disk space, then proceed. After installation, install all drivers from the USB flash drive starting with the chipset (platform) drivers and then the graphics. Just in case there is a newer graphics driver, I would then visit the manufacturer's site (Intel, nVidia, AMD) and check there. A newer graphics driver should fix some bugs and improve compatibility and performance. Also I prefer the full package (with Control Panel), not only the basic driver that some laptop manufacturers or Windows Update gives.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 64-bit (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v23H2 (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    Gainward NE5105T018G1-1070F (nVidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Patriot Burst Elite 480GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Stock Intel CPU Fan, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
See the part number and the serial number at the bottom of your laptop. If there is not any sticker, you can find these using a utility such as Aida64. In Aida64, go to Computer -> DMI -> System section. Then visit www.hp.com and click on Support and type the P/N or S/N to find your exact model. Download all the available drivers and utilities (if you want any).
The problem with this is that nearly all drivers from manufacturers come in .exe file format and require Windows to already be installed. Some computers require drivers to access the disks during windows setup, especially the Intel IRST driver, which you cannot use an .exe file for. Plus, instead of looking through all the available files on a website, one simple command will export the drivers to the USB flash drive:
dism /online /export-driver /destination:E:\Drivers <-Change E:\Drivers to match USB folder you created to hold the drivers.

When I get a new off-the-shelf computer, I enter Audit Mode from the OOBE screen that it first boots up to. I'll do all Windows Updates, including optional driver updates. Then run the dism command to export the drivers. Then I will reboot the computer from a Macrium Reflect rescue drive and create an image of the factory software. I'll play with factory software load for a couple of days and then wipe it completely and do a clean install with Microsoft downloaded vanilla Windows and any needed drivers I exported earlier.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
Another option is to use a program such as Revo Uninstaller free version and uninstall any programs you don't want.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec B746
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-10700K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/ax
    Memory
    16GB (8GB PC4-19200 DDR4 SDRAM x2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 TI
    Sound Card
    Realtek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SAM0A87 Samsung SAM0D32
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    NVMe WDC WDS100T2B0C-00PXH0 1TB
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB
    PSU
    750 Watts (62.5A)
    Case
    PowerSpec/Lian Li ATX 205
    Keyboard
    Logitech K270
    Mouse
    Logitech M185
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge and Firefox
    Antivirus
    ESET Internet Security
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec G156
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8400 CPU @ 2.80GHz
    Motherboard
    AsusTeK Prime B360M-S
    Memory
    16 MB DDR 4-2666
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Speptre HDMI 75Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 EVO 500GB NVMe
    Mouse
    Logitek M185
    Keyboard
    Logitek K270
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge and Edge Canary
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I use IObit Uninstaller or Your Uninstaller to remove all remaining traces of the application after the standard uninstall.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 64-bit (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v23H2 (build 22631.3235)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    Gainward NE5105T018G1-1070F (nVidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Patriot Burst Elite 480GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Stock Intel CPU Fan, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4

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