Windows 7: Removing Windows Components

I want to get rid of some things that came with the OS like Media Player and Internet Explorer to name two. What is the safest way to do this and would it in any way cause the OS as a whole to become unstable.



Thanks!

Just go to Control panel- Programs and features, then in the left panel, click on "turn windows features on or off". Uncheck anything that you dont want. If you want them back later, just re-check those items.

Thanks Bill2. I'm curious though, does that mean one cannot uninstall them? Only 'hide' them, so to speak?

Thats right, they are simply disabled not actually removed. There are unofficial ways of downgrading to wmp11 if one prefers that but i found it to be messy and sometimes a one way street. Turning off these features lets you install alternatives in a safe and stable way. Just FYI, the E editions of Windows 7 dont have IE bundled and the N editions dont have WMP bundled, the result of various anti-trust cases against MS.

Cool. Thanks again.

look into DISM

RT 7 Lite may also be of interest to you - pretty sure it uses DISM

DISM is packaged with 7 BTW (not sure what versions, but i know home premium has it) - from a command prompt, just key in DISM