What should I uninstall from my laptop?

[LiliumSnow]

(Note: If it turns out that I posted this in the wrong place, then I apologize in advanced).

So I've been looking through my Uninstall Programs list and I realized that I have a ton of stuff on my laptop that I have no idea what they actually do. Not only that, I have no idea if I actually need half the stuff that is on it.
So I took some screen caps of the list and put them together so that maybe someone can tell me what stuff is safe to remove from my laptop.

Just some thing about myself in case that helps:
-I am a university student majoring in English, so I use Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.
-I am a gamer, so anything game-related does need to stay.
-I also like to do digital art from time-to-time.

Thanks. : D

 

[bobafetthotmail]

you can remove very little. A couple older Java installations can go away, and maybe some of the crapware that Toshiba installed in that, like the "service station" or the "value added package" or "reeltime", check what they are and if you like them.

I mean ok you can nuke more or less everything, but it's either irrelevant (has no impact whatsoever and could be still needed) or something game-related.

I'd personally ditch Norton and use a free antivirus like say Avira (the one I use and install on all PCs I sell), it's pretty light and works well, while I had all kinds of issues and slowdowns with Norton in the past.

 

[Ztruker]

Instead of uninstalling anything, use msconfig Startup and Services tabs to stop programs from loading at boot. That will leave them there if you still need them but they won't take up any resources every time you boot.

Something like this:

Advanced startup options - Windows 7
How to use msconfig in Windows 7

Click on Start then Run, type msconfig and press Enter.
Click on the Startup tab, record what is currently starting then click the Disable All button. Go back and enable your anti-virus and firewall.

Click on the Services tab.
Check the Hide All Microsoft Services box, record what is currently starting then click the Disable All button. Again, go back and enable your anti-virus and firewall.

Reboot and see how your computer runs. Make sure everything you need is there. If not, you can use msconfig to enable the ones that are absolutely needed.

None of this is permanent so if things seem wonky simply use msconfig to put things back as they were.

 

[whs]

I always uninstall Works because I have the MS Office package.

I also uninstall the Adobe PDF reader because it is a pain in the neck. I use Foxit instead. That is a nice reader.

I definitely would not have any of those games - but I don't game - a waste of time.

Norton I use. It is the best AV program on the market.

I also have one Toshiba with all those Toshiba programs. I kept them because they may be useful at times. Some are needed to manage special features on yout PC.

 

[LiliumSnow]

Thanks for all your suggestions guys. It was really helpful.
This might not be related but when I've been uninstalling stuff, I've actually been losing space on my computer. I started off with 306/435 GB, but when I began uninstalling stuff it dropped to 301/435 GB. Shouldn't I be gaining more space since I removed a bunch of content from my laptop?

 

[smarteyeball]

I definitely would not have any of those games - but I don't game - a waste of time.

That is merely a non constructive comment.

It's clear that the OP enjoys them and hence, are not a waste of time.

 

[whs]

Thanks for you all your suggestions guys. It was really helpful.
This might not be related but when I've been uninstalling stuff, I've actually been losing space on my computer. I started off with 306/435 GB, but when I began uninstalling stuff it dropped to 301/435 GB. Shouldn't I be gaining more space since I removed a bunch of content from my laptop?

Reason is because every time you install or uninstall a program, the system makes a restore point. And those restore points are 500MB to 1GB each. You can check your shadowstorage (that's where the restore points reside) with this command in elevated Command Prompt:

vssadmin list shadowstorage

The Allocated number is what the system currently has grabbed and the Maximum number is what will ultimately be used.

 

[whs]

I definitely would not have any of those games - but I don't game - a waste of time.

That is merely a non constructive comment.

It's clear that the OP enjoys them and hence, are not a waste of time.

I mix constructive with non-constructive comments as I like. Comments on my postings are only welcome when they are constructive.

 

[LiliumSnow]

Thanks for you all your suggestions guys. It was really helpful.
This might not be related but when I've been uninstalling stuff, I've actually been losing space on my computer. I started off with 306/435 GB, but when I began uninstalling stuff it dropped to 301/435 GB. Shouldn't I be gaining more space since I removed a bunch of content from my laptop?

Reason is because every time you install or uninstall a program, the system makes a restore point. And those restore points are 500MB to 1GB each. You can check your shadowstorage (that's where the restore points reside) with this command in elevated Command Prompt:

vssadmin list shadowstorage

The Allocated number is what the system currently has grabbed and the Maximum number is what will ultimately be used.

I tried that, but I got an error that said:

"Error: You don't have the correct permissions to run this command. Please run this utility from a command window that has elevated administrator privileges."

 

[whs]

That's because you did not run it in elevated mode - as I said in my posting. Go to All Programs > Accessories > Right click on Command Prompt > Click on 'Run as Admin'. Then the vssadmin command will be accepted.

 

[LiliumSnow]

That's because you did not run it in elevated mode - as I said in my posting. Go to All Programs > Accessories > Right click on Command Prompt > Click on 'Run as Admin'. Then the vssadmin command will be accepted.

Lol, I missed that part of you instructions. x'D

So I did that, but now it's giving me a new error:

"Error: The shadow copy provider had an unexpected error while trying to process the specified command."

It ...doesn't tell me anything else, just says,"Oh there's an error, kay thanks bye."

 

[whs]

Hmm, we are really out of luck. You can do this:

Press Start > Right click on 'Computer' > Properties. On that page on the top left click on 'System Protection' > highlight C:\ and click on the 'Configure' button. It should tell you what is used where it says 0 (zero) on my picture.

 

[LiliumSnow]

Hmm, we are really out of luck. You can do this:

Press Start > Right click on 'Computer' > Properties. On that page on the top left click on 'System Protection' > highlight C:\ and click on the 'Configure' button. It should tell you what is used where it says 0 (zero) on my picture.

Oh okay. So I took a screen-shot of that:

 

[whs]

So with 9.47GB you are nearly at your 10GB maximum. From there, your disk usage should be stable because the shadowstorage will be reused FiFo (first in/first out).

At your HDD size, I would leave it as is. At least you now know where all the disk space went.

 

[LiliumSnow]

So with 9.47GB you are nearly at your 10GB maximum. From there, your disk usage should be stable because the shadowstorage will be reused FiFo (first in/first out).

At your HDD size, I would leave it as is. At least you now know where all the disk space went.

Okie dokie!
Now what? 8D

 

[whs]

Now what? 8D

???

 

[LiliumSnow]

Now what? 8D

???

Sorry, wrong forum thing.
ANYWAY, thanks for you assistance. You were most helpful. : 3

 

[whs]

You are most welcome. Any time.

 

[gregrocker]

These steps cover all bases when you Clean Up Factory Bloatware.

Most tech enthusiasts won't run the bloated Factory Preinstall but prefer to Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 for best performance.

 

[bobafetthotmail]

you can delete restore points if you really wanted to, but I don't think you really need to do that, as 300 GB are a lot anyway.

Something you could definelty do is checking how much space the recycle bin is gobbling up (reserved recycle bin space isn't available for other stuff even if empty).

You won't need more than 1-5 GB of recycle bin, but it gobbles around 25 GB for a 500 GB drive like yours if you don't tell it not to. Here a tutorial.