Searching for Win11 Debloat Guide

Operating Systems & Open Source Windows
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I am currently building a workstation for a friend of mine and it has to be installed with Windows 11.

Doing some research regarding how to disable the various unpleasant things of Windows 11, I found myself lost. Most of the time I read that the found approaches are undone with a Windows update or other non-stable things.

As I don’t want to troubleshoot these things in the future, I am looking for a “once and for all” solution. Does anyone know guides/blog posts for these things?
How is it done in the enterprise?

Thx

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Group policies, Microsoft Intune or Policy CSP if using a 3rd party MDM solution.

Consumer features in Windows 11 are difficult to turn off completely if you’re not in a domain or have an MDM solution. Even with MDM, some consumer features in 11 Pro can’t be turned off unless you’re running Workstation or Enterprise versions of Windows 11.

You can probably avoid the bulk of it by creating a Windows 11 install USB using Rufus and checking the ‘disable online account’ box. This way it won’t require a MS account to use the OS.

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I yoloed this on my windows laptop, and it seemed to do well.

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I’d trust a mod here.

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On that note, please do review random powershell scripts you download from github.

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Absolutely. Rufus doesn’t cut enterprise level.

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define debloat and to what degree

optimize the appearance in advanced system settings

disable hibernate with powercfg /h off

uninstall OneDrive

if you just want easy, reversibly remove the superfluous apps preinstalled win W11: Get-AppxPackage | Remove-AppxPackage

more aggressive: Get-AppxProvisionedPackage -online | remove-AppxProvisionedPackaged -online and you’ll even delete the Windows store

disable tips and suggestions in settings

don’t link a Microsoft account

You can then format the C:\ drive, install Linux, and run Windows 11 in a QEMU VM

Forget how to boot the VM, give up and run Linux forever

steal the neighbor’s WiFi credentials when they first connect their overpriced econobox and RDP into their laptop while they’re at work

Now you have a Windows machine that’s completely removed all the worst parts of Windows (namely the Microsoft bits) and a Linux machine you can troubleshoot GPU drivers on until you’re a master of 6 year old hardware.

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Thx, I will give it a try

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chris tirus tech has one

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Would be nice of you to link it.

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@SgtAwesomesauce, I think this is the link you are looking for.
This is the link

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I think he is referring to this one:

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Good catch, @Greedence. I didn’t know he had created one for Windows 11

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Research and learn Ntlite and never ever go back to a vanilla windows os

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Using Answer files (or Unattend files) along side the official installation image is a great way to install a debloated version. There are various autounattend.xml files around that can help. Don’t run code or script from random github repo if you don’t understand each line of it.

A preview of what can be achieved can found on this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUTdRZNqODY

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Worked as advertised - Thx again

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I gave up and use third party ISO’s such as Ghost Spectre and just accept the fact my identity will be stolen later.

I’m much happier. And you get a cute little toolbox.

Bloat gone, tweaks applied, stable, defender gone, I don’t even GIVE A CARE.

Currently running Windows 11 Insider 24H2 and it feels like a stable 7. (In a totally arbitrary kind of way).

Edit: Completely one-upped myself with a new install using different techniques. Hell, the component store is still there…

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I just tried to install Windows 11 on a guest VM. It didn’t work because my host machine isn’t compatible; I suspect my installation failed because of the new security features Microsoft is forcing down our throats.

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Yes those can be bypassed since I have it installed on my amd 8350

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See also:

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