Unable to remove last 3 packages of HP bloat using Powershell


You can search for "Software Component xyz" from the Microsoft Update Catalog, and download the driver CAB file. Extract it, scroll through the INF for the matching HWID(s) and you're good.

That's actually a heinous trick, showing a bogus HWID to invoke the dirty work of installing a non-driver analytics package. Nice touch HP.
So I searched for those 3 "Software Components" in the Microsoft Update Catalog and basically found 2 entries for each one. When I click on the title and go to the Package Details tab, I see the hardware ids, which I assume I can use in group policy for blocking purposes, without having to download anything.
But each entry has a different id. For example, Insights Analytics has "swc\hpa000c" in one entry, and the other has "swc\hpanalytics". Whats the difference and how do I know which one is applicable?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro 24H2
OS
Windows 11 Pro 24H2
I fought this battle with my last HP ProBook. Rooting out HPs telemetry "services" requires deleting their corresponding registry keys in HKLM/System/CurrentControlSet/Services, disabling automatic driver updates and removing HPs Download Assistant. Simply turning them off won't work.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 22H2 Pro (X-lite Micro 11 version)i7 13850HX (20 cores, 28 threads)32GB DDR5Intel UHD/ RTX 1000 ADA
OS
Windows 11 22H2 Pro (X-lite Micro 11 version)
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell/ Precision 7680
CPU
i7 13850HX (20 cores, 28 threads)
Motherboard
Dell
Memory
32GB DDR5
Graphics Card(s)
Intel UHD/ RTX 1000 ADA
Sound Card
Realtek
Monitor(s) Displays
4K UHD Touchscreen
Screen Resolution
3840 x 2400
Hard Drives
Samsung 512GB system drive
WD Blue 1TB game drive
PSU
240W AC adapter, 1800W when docked
Internet Speed
1 gigabit symmetrical
Browser
Firefox, Librewolf
Antivirus
None. Manully configured so nobody except me can change any critical system files. (Don't ask how, it's probably against some rule somewhere)
So I searched for those 3 "Software Components" in the Microsoft Update Catalog and basically found 2 entries for each one. When I click on the title and go to the Package Details tab, I see the hardware ids, which I assume I can use in group policy for blocking purposes, without having to download anything.
But each entry has a different id. For example, Insights Analytics has "swc\hpa000c" in one entry, and the other has "swc\hpanalytics". Whats the difference and how do I know which one is applicable?
Open Device Manager and see if you can determine which HWID's are mapped for your HP Model. If you're paranoid, just block all the different variations.

I fought this battle with my last HP ProBook. Rooting out HPs telemetry "services" requires deleting their corresponding registry keys in HKLM/System/CurrentControlSet/Services, disabling automatic driver updates and removing HPs Download Assistant. Simply turning them off won't work.
That's a separate battle, HP Support Assistant is mostly garbage. Prolly worse than Dell's tool.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7
OS
Windows 7
Do you know how many posts we see from people who delete stuff that takes up virtually no space and wonder why things are not working properly?

In simple terms "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".
I learned that lesson when I tried removing the two "reclaimable" packages from the system image with DISM and then WU kept failing!

I'm singing with the guys that say stop worrying about this, you'll just shoot yourself in the foot!

shot in foot.webp
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Win 11 Pro 25H2, Build 26200.8894Intel Core i5 1450064GB DDR4GeForce RTX 4060
    OS
    Win 11 Pro 25H2, Build 26200.8894
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brew
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 14500
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B760M G P WIFI
    Memory
    64GB DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060
    Sound Card
    Chipset Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 45" Ultragear, Acer 24" 1080p
    Screen Resolution
    5120x1440, 1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial P310 2TB 2280 PCIe Gen4 3D NAND NVMe M.2 SSD (O/S)
    Silicon Power 2TB US75 NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 2280 SSD (backup)
    Crucial BX500 2TB 3D NAND (2nd backup)
    Seagate 4TB Ironwolf, rotating HDD archive files
    External off-line backup Drives: 2 NVMe 4TB drives in external enclosures
    PSU
    Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 750W
    Case
    LIAN LI LANCOOL 216 E-ATX PC Case
    Cooling
    Lots of fans!
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000
    Mouse
    Logitech G305
    Internet Speed
    Verizon FiOS 1GB
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malware Bytes & Windows Defender Security
  • At a glance

    Win 11 Pro 25H2, Build 26200.8894Intel Core i5 1440032GB DDR5Intel 700 Embedded GPU
    Operating System
    Win 11 Pro 25H2, Build 26200.8894
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brew
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 14400
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B760M DS3H AX
    Memory
    32GB DDR5
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel 700 Embedded GPU
    Sound Card
    Realtek Embedded
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27" HP 1080p
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial P310 2TB 2280 PCIe Gen4 eD NAND PCIe SSD
    Samsung EVO 990 2TB NVMe Gen4 SSD
    Samsung 2TB SATA SSD
    PSU
    Thermaltake Smart BM3 650W
    Case
    Okinos Micro ATX Case
    Cooling
    Fans
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000
    Mouse
    Logitech G305
    Internet Speed
    Verizon FiOS 1GB
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malware Bytes & Windows Defender Security
  • Nimo N171 17" Laptop, (Intel i3-1215U, 16GB RAM, 2TB NVMe, Win11 Pro)
    Acemagic Vista Mini PC V1 (Intel N150, 16GB RAM, 1TB NVMe, Win11 Pro)
    HP ENVY h8-1540t, (24GB RAM, 2TB SSD, 2TB HDD, Win11 Pro)
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