Microsoft to remove crapware from OEM machines for $99

[jimbo45]

Hi there
The EU should follow through what they started -- you get this REDICULOUS system wherby the user has to say what browser they want to use -- but if I buy a PC I DON'T get the OS --except on some stupid hidden partition which even if it works at all is laden with everything that you don't possibly want.

I also LOATHE witha passion any "Demo" or "Trialware" since the features you invariably might want to use are "Not available in the demo version" in any case.

It should be 100% ILLEGAL to supply a PC without the install disk / install media of a RETAIL version of the OS if a commercial OS is being supplied or a freebie if it's Linux or other. Customers choice.

I don't think a few extra dollars on the cost of a PC will stop people buying one if they are in the market --and if you are going to pay 100 USD for "Crapware removal" you could probably have got a retail version of Windows legally for less than that anyway.

The last time I actually visted a physical store to get a PC I asked --AND GOT a free copy of Windows 7 PRO thrown in --just ask the manager --even in chain stores the local manager has more "say" than you might think. Most people are usually too scared to ask -- but the worst that can happen is that they say no. Usually - especially these days- you get a sympathetic answer --even if you don't get a FREE retail copy you can usually walk out with a 20 USD copy thrown in. !! Always be prepared to do a little haggling -- even in "Beverley Hills LA".

Not sure how it works in the US --but maybe the EU commission should actually bare it's teeth for once.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[pparks1]

I think it can be simpler. By a P/C or Laptop without a operating system. Then by the operating system and install. Now you have a new computer and a clean operating system.

The typical issue is trying to find a computer, prebuilt from an OEM that doesn't include an OS. A dedicated computer shop, might sell you a built from parts desktop this way...but laptops are not assembled from parts. You won't find a desktop/laptp in a retail brick and morter store that doesn't already have Windows pre-installed.

 

[SIW2]

Like it.:roflmao:

Microsoft to charge customers $99 to remove OEM 'crapware'

Microsoft to charge customers $99 to remove OEM 'crapware' | ZDNet

I have no comments - except I will neither support Microsoft nor the OEMs on this issue..

So for $99 I could get Metro removed from Windows 8?

Might almost be worth it.

Oh, Metro is not OEM. Darn it!!

 

[windude99]

Hi there
The EU should follow through what they started -- you get this REDICULOUS system wherby the user has to say what browser they want to use -- but if I buy a PC I DON'T get the OS --except on some stupid hidden partition which even if it works at all is laden with everything that you don't possibly want.

I also LOATHE witha passion any "Demo" or "Trialware" since the features you invariably might want to use are "Not available in the demo version" in any case.

It should be 100% ILLEGAL to supply a PC without the install disk / install media of a RETAIL version of the OS if a commercial OS is being supplied or a freebie if it's Linux or other. Customers choice.

I don't think a few extra dollars on the cost of a PC will stop people buying one if they are in the market --and if you are going to pay 100 USD for "Crapware removal" you could probably have got a retail version of Windows legally for less than that anyway.

The last time I actually visted a physical store to get a PC I asked --AND GOT a free copy of Windows 7 PRO thrown in --just ask the manager --even in chain stores the local manager has more "say" than you might think. Most people are usually too scared to ask -- but the worst that can happen is that they say no. Usually - especially these days- you get a sympathetic answer --even if you don't get a FREE retail copy you can usually walk out with a 20 USD copy thrown in. !! Always be prepared to do a little haggling -- even in "Beverley Hills LA".

Not sure how it works in the US --but maybe the EU commission should actually bare it's teeth for once.

Cheers
jimbo

I agree with you, totally. I wish that could happen in the U.S. also. At this point, I just buy a pc and make the recovery discs in case anything goes wrong. Then, I nuke everything that was on the hard drive that came from the OEM and put a fresh copy of Windows on it.

 

[Graemzy]

I dont see how they get away with this. ripping people off is all it is.

Also some people have said with the use of that program you can remove "most" of the bloatware and crap. What can ya not remove?? I mean for anyone with a small bit of computing knowledge and defo for most of the users on here it should be a simple task should it not?? Just use the program to remove all the crap and stuff that is not needed? Is there other stuff that a program like that can miss or is unable to remove??

Now if i was to do this i would use "Your Uninstaller" I have always used this to remove the "crap". Seems like this is more or less the same type of software is it?? I might give this other one a go.

This being said tho that is only if a fresh install is not an option. What i prefer to do on my own system is just format the disk and install fresh, no bloatware, no crap, decent running system.

So what are they charging for that most of us on here could do in a hour or so???

 

[A Guy]

Your Uninstaller would work great, that's what I have as well. It's just PC Decrapifier is specifically designed to remove the crapware installed on many new systems. It isn't better, just specific. A Guy

 

[Layback Bear]

If anybody cares I did find some PC without operating systems.
No OS Desktop, No OS PC, No Operating System PC at TigerDirect.com

Dell now selling PCs without an operating system

 

[Graemzy]

Ok thanks Guy. I might just give that other one a shot and see how it goes!

 

[w1dpc]

i bought this machine and it was preloaded with bloatware. first thing i did was grab the drivers i needed. put them on my usb stick and formatted my drives. when done i had my main drive with the OS and needed drivers installed. and updates only took 24.6 gigs

 

[Gornot]

Many people can't be bothered with learning that stuff; it's either not interesting to them or they just don't understand it, to put it politely (the latter being even more true), so they'd rather cough up the dough and be done with it...

Or they'll go and buy a Mac xD

 

[pparks1]

IDell now selling PCs without an operating system

That particular link is a thread from back in 2007.

 

[Layback Bear]

My point is simple. If one wants a computer with a clean install; to me their are four choices.
1. Buy or build a computer without a operating system and do a clean install.
2. Buy a built computer with operating system and then do a clean install.
3. Buy a built computer with operating system and pay some one to do a clean install.
4. One could buy a computer with operation system and the trash that comes with it and learn to like it.

 

[Bertison]

Manufacturer bloatware is a bigger problem on Laptops. 2.5 years ago, I did not have the knowledge & expertise I now have (thanks in part to this Forum)

I bought a HP Pavilion DV7 for the missus, although I used it from time to time. After a few months, and several complaints about the krap that HP installed on it, the wife (demanded) -er-requested- that I do something about it. So I read the tutorial previously mentioned, with the intention of de-krapping the lappy. Then I thought better of it and backed up the relevant stuff, before carrying out a complete reinstall of Win7. Result: machine hums along nicely, one happy-with-the-lappy wife.

I think we tend to view what MS has done here, through the eyes of experienced PC users. Redmond knows exactly what they are doing here: lots of inexperienced computer users, will take up this offer. (If you know of one, you can make them a better offer. I know I will!)

Having said all that, I have to admit that $99 is a heck of a lot of money for this service. In some cases, it may be around 30% of the original purchase price. But my real gripes are (a) will it make it to the UK and (b) will it be the usual practice of ignoring exchange rates and going straight to £99?

That is what usually happens here with US-UK exchange rates, in relation to buying from a US source.

 

[pparks1]

My point is simple. If one wants a computer with a clean install; to me their are four choices.
1. Buy or build a computer without a operating system and do a clean install.
2. Buy a built computer with operating system and then do a clean install.
3. Buy a built computer with operating system and pay some one to do a clean install.
4. One could buy a computer with operation system and the trash that comes with it and learn to like it.

Agreed, I wasn't intending to argue. I'm just saying that for the average person who doesn't build on their own, getting a box without an OS isn't usually a standard option for them.

 

[spencer1]

This $99 Microsoft "service" smacks of PT Barnum. Yeah, I guess they are "entitled" to charge the unsuspecting public, but is it really ethical?

 

[Dwarf]

That is open to debate. From my point of view, I think that they are quite within their rights to charge for this service. They are not responsible for the bloatware that computer manufacturers install, so why should they remove it for free?

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
It's a commercial service -- you AREN'T forced to use it -- I know I wouldn't -- cheaper to buy a retail copy of Windows and re-install. However it's unfortunate that most people wouldn't realize this or can't install an OS .

Look at those totally EVIL payday loan companies that operate quite legally in the UK -- charging rates that even the Mafia might baulk at --

Wonga for example up to 3000% Interest (yes no typo here). At least these sorts of companies are banned in the rest of the EU and EEA - so it's not all bad in Euroland.

Those payday loan companies target individuals usually educationally challenged who for one reason or another don't know any better and the spiral of debt goes on and the poor hapless individuals sink further into the abyss while the courts and the "suited Lawyers" make even more money.

I'm not blaming MS -- just the poor educational system which leaves individuals open to exploitation of this sort of stuff.

Believe me --"Education might be Expensive -- but the price of Ignorance is Stratospheric".

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Borg 386]

Five apps for crapware cleanup

Five apps for crapware cleanup

If you buy new PCs from OEMs, you are probably all too familiar with the plague known as “crapware”: the useless applications that come installed with Windows. Crapware wastes space, often ties up your RAM and CPU power, and can be a major hassle to get rid up. Luckily, there’s a solution. These five applications will help you deal with the crapware quickly and safely.

Five apps for crapware cleanup | TechRepublic

 

[A Guy]

Hell, the Geek Squad charges at least this much. People go to them all the time, even pay them to come out. If they don't know PCs, or have a geeky friend, they don't know what else to do. A Guy