MANAGE SOFTWARE INSTALLATIONS BETTER
Windows’ own uninstallation options don’t always get everything. You’ve probably heard of the PC Decrapifier, so you may have thought about using it as a hard drive mop. It’s certainly worth a shot, and it’s likely to catch a few things in its net, but realistically, it’s better suited to removing the shovelware packaged with new PCs, rather than uncrusting a venerable old box. The “Tools” menu of the similarly perennial CCleaner, which we’ve talked about elsewhere, spots a lot more than Windows’ default uninstallation efforts— including, mercifully, that preinstalled software that Microsoft tries to force on you, and refuses to acknowledge. Goodbye, Groove Music! See ya, Weather!
If you’re going to manage your installations properly, perhaps taking a little inspiration from Linux is in order? Chocolatey ( www.chocolatey.org) is certainly one way to do it, downloading new packages and anything they depend upon from servers, and deleting them cleanly when done, although it’s complex and finicky, so we don’t necessarily recommend it. But aside from the Windows Store, which we can’t in good conscience recommend, there’s no Steam-style software management tool out there for your desktop apps. Consider, though, the quite excellent Ninite ( http://ninite.com), which can help you install a whole bunch of highly useful apps at one time from a selection of the best freeware going, automatically dodging any advertising tack-ons or unwanted features. Click a bunch of boxes on the site, download your installer, and go. Once they’re installed, you can rerun your custom Ninite installer to keep your app selection tip-top and squeaky clean by updating them to the latest versions.