Cleaning up win 10 pro 1

[Leozack]

Hi all - it seems clear that MS are going to keep shoving ads and junk into win 10 pro and making it win 10 home in reality as they simultaneously remove the ability of GPOs to control it, forcing people onto Enterprise and LTSB licences. However for those of us stuck with win 10 pro for now, has anyone had much luck cleaning stuff off?

For example we remove apps n stuff using DISM but I've found suggested apps still appear in my start menu list (not the tiles) so we don't run anything like this

https://community.spiceworks.com/scripts/show/3977-windows-10-decrapifier-version-2

There are regedits to try and deal with this sort of thing here

https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/5aqgkl/windows_10_ads_on_lock_screen/d9jix96/

and there is a regedit you can set via GPO here

https://community.spiceworks.com/to...nally-show-suggestions-in-start-in-windows-10

but so far only ticking the slider in the options to disable the ads seems to actually hide them from the start menu.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has got past this kind of thing, or if there is a central resource online anywhere for the fight against home-ifying win10 pro as MS continue their junk injection and control removal going forwards


_________________________________
Leozack

MakeUniverse($infinity,1,42);

 

[kjv1611]

I haven't tried any automated fixes yet, due to many saying they don't totally work, or else full scripts that DID remove some items actually remove pretty much everything.

What I have tried, though, is when setting up each user initially (so long as the user doesn't end up logging into a new PC before I get a chance to set things up for them), I go to Start - Settings - Personalization - Start - and disable Occasionally show suggestions on Start.

Once I do that, it SEEMS like all the suggested garbage goes away, even those already installed.

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

 

[Leozack]

Yes it does seem to obey this manual switch (or at least that aspect of it does, for now) but it would help to not have to do this with every user manually. Maybe it can be done to the default/template user

_________________________________
Leozack

MakeUniverse($infinity,1,42);

 

[Rick998]

The Windows 10 Decrapifier is very good in its way but probably over the top for 99.9% of people, especially if you just want to amend an existing install rather then create a whole new install (using Windows 10 Decrapifier from Audit mode).

Reg files are good, particularly for amending settings for 'Current User' (i.e. the HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive) but can fail for machine-wide settings (i.e. the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE hive) and new users (HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT) unless you run REGEDIT using 'Run as administrator'.

Scripting registry changes is easier in many ways because you can run the scripts elevated (especially useful when you may also need to amend permissions or ownership of some keys, although that isn't the case here). I personally still find PowerShell too convoluted for making simple registry edits so have standardised on using AutoHotkey (although I have no doubt that AutoIt can also be used just as easily.) AutoHotkey's RegWrite command is stupidly easy to understand. IMO the only issue is understanding when you may need to use registry re-direction.

To give you some idea of how easy it is, here's an AutoHotkey (AHK) script I wrote using the 32-bit version of AHK that will remove ads from the Windows 10 Start menu (and Lock screen) of 64-bit Windows. I've commented it ( extensively to explain what it does in detail.

; Only allow one instance of the script to run at a time
#SingleInstance,Force

; Prompt to 'Run as administrator', i.e. show UAC dialog
If Not A_IsAdmin
{
   Run *RunAs "%A_ScriptFullPath%"  ; Requires v1.0.92.01+
   ExitApp
}

; First, a quick check that the script is only being used in Win 10
if A_OSVersion in WIN_8,WIN_7,WIN_VISTA,WIN_2003,WIN_XP,WIN_2000,WIN_NT4,WIN_95,WIN_98,WIN_ME  ; Note: No spaces around commas.
{
    MsgBox, 16, Turn off adverts, This script is only for Windows 10. ; If not Win 10 then popup this message
    ExitApp ; ... then exit when the message has been closed by the user
}

; Allow registry commands in a 32-bit script to access redirected keys in the 64-bit registry view and vice versa.
; Thanks to qwerty12 (see [URL unfurl="true"]https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=21292&p=102632#p102632)[/URL]
SetRegView 64

; Disable App Suggestions in Start, i.e.'advertised' - Turn off machine-wide
; Thanks to [URL unfurl="true"]https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/mniehaus/2015/11/23/seeing-extra-apps-turn-them-off/[/URL]
; Thanks to [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/38945-enable-disable-app-suggestions-start-windows-10-a.html[/URL]
RegWrite, REG_DWORD, HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CloudContent, DisableWindowsConsumerFeatures, 1

; Occasionally show suggestions in Start - Turn OFF
; Thanks to [URL unfurl="true"]http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/how-to-disable-start-menu-ads-or-suggestions-in-windows-10/[/URL]
RegWrite, REG_DWORD, HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager, SystemPaneSuggestionsEnabled, 0

; Stop adverts on the Lock screen
; Thanks to [URL unfurl="true"]http://www.howtogeek.com/243263/how-to-disable-ads-on-your-windows-10-lock-screen/[/URL]
RegWrite, REG_DWORD, HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager, RotatingLockScreenEnabled, 0
RegWrite, REG_DWORD, HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager, RotatingLockScreenOverlayEnabled, 0
RegWrite, REG_DWORD, HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Lock Screen\Creative, LockImageFlags, 0
RegWrite, REG_SZ, HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Lock Screen\Creative, CreativeId, 
RegWrite, REG_SZ, HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Lock Screen\Creative, PortraitAssetPath, 
RegWrite, REG_SZ, HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Lock Screen\Creative, LandscapeAssetPath, 
RegWrite, REG_SZ, HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Lock Screen\Creative, PlacementId, 
RegWrite, REG_SZ, HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Lock Screen\Creative, ImpressionToken, 
RegWrite, REG_SZ, HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Lock Screen\Creative, HotspotImageFolderPath, 
RegWrite, REG_SZ, HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Lock Screen\Creative, CreativeJson,

; Restore normal behaviour for 'Reg' commands
SetRegView default

; Let the user know that the registry edits have been completed and autoclose the message after a timed delay
MsgBox, 64, Win 10 Adverts, Done! Adverts have now been turned off.`nPlease restart or log off/log on for the changes to take effect., 10

ExitApp

I use AutoHotkey extensively to change the behaviour of Windows 10... not just to make registry edits but to make changes to services, scheduled tasks and more.

Hope this helps...

 

[kjv1611]

Thanks a ton for sharing, Rick998!

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

 

[kjv1611]

I have used AutoHotkey, but cannot remember. Do you have to have it installed on the machine you wish to run the script? Not sure I'd want to install that on every computer.

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

 

[Rick998]

You can copy just the Autohotkey executable and use it like a portable app but you would need to prepend the executable's file path.

For example:

C:\Support\AutoHotkeyU32.exe C:\Support\My_AHK_script.ahk

Better still IMO is, after testing, compile the script and just run the resultant My_AHK_script.exe. I have a whole bunch of compiled AHK scripts that I carry around with me on a USB stick to save me installing AHK.

Tip: When you install AHK, don't accept the defaults. Instead, choose a custom install and then select the 32-bit (recommended) version.

I use [URL unfurl="true"]https://autohotkey.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=16061[/url] so I can include my own icons and program details to make them look more professional.

Hope this helps...