STREAMLINE & OPTIMIZE WINDOWS

Alex Cox shows you how to cut out everything you don’t need, and create a custom Windows install for next time

Cut out everything you don’t need, and create a custom Windows install for next time.

BLOAT IS THE CURSE of operating systems, because they need to appeal to the masses, rather than cater for individuals. You can’t have a Microsoft engineer sit there and craft you your own custom version of Windows (we know, we’ve asked), so you need to scrape off that additional chaff yourself. We’re not just talking about shaving away the contents of a couple of megabytes of hard drive space, or cleaning up the Start menu. Windows comes with stacks of software that can reduce your machine’s performance or boot time. It comes with stuff that can see what you’re doing. It includes features that are potentially monumentally annoying. So we’ll do away with all of them, plus explain what’s safe to chop, and what isn’t.

Doing all this work every time you get a new PC would be very frustrating, so we’re also going to look at creating an already-mostly-trimmed Windows installer, which you can use to start from a much more advanced point than usual, and even integrate apps that make up for some of Windows 10’s shortfalls. A better Windows for your PC of tomorrow. And before you write in to say that you can do the picking, choosing, scrubbing, building thing with Linux, rest assured: we know. Building your own Linux installation is a completely different kettle of fish, it’s more common, and better supported, and it’s a topic for another feature. Windows doesn’t seem to encourage trimming, but a little knowledge goes a long way. Our sacrificial OS for this guide is the latest official ISO of Windows 10 Home, updated for the Creators Update, because (presumably) that’s the version most people are using; if you’re taking a hammer to the Pro version, you might have to tease out a few more services, but the changes won’t be too extreme.