How to Remove Bloatware and Preinstalled Apps from Windows

Fresh laptops sold at JB Hi-Fi or Harvey Norman often arrive packed with software most people never asked for. Trial versions of antivirus suites, weather widgets, games and "recommended" utilities crowd the Start menu before a user has even logged in for the first time. Within a few months, this extra baggage quietly consumes RAM, background CPU cycles and storage on small SSDs, which is why a brand-new machine can feel sluggish by the second arvo of ownership.

Removing these unwanted programs is usually straightforward, but the process varies depending on how stubborn the app is and whether it was installed through the Microsoft Store, a traditional installer or a deeper OEM image. The walkthrough below covers the built-in Windows tools, manual uninstallers, PowerShell commands and a few third-party options that make the job safer for Australian households.

What Counts as Bloatware on a Modern Windows Machine

Bloatware is any software pre-loaded on a Windows device without a clear, informed choice by the buyer. On machines sourced from Australian retailers, this usually means trial security suites from brands like Norton, McAfee or Trend Micro, OEM utilities such as HP Support Assistant, Dell Mobile Connect or Lenovo Vantage, plus promotional apps that appear after the first major update. Many of these are harmless, but several run persistent background services, scheduled scans and update checks that compete with real work.

Microsoft-bundled software can also count as bloatware. Apps like Cortana, the consumer edition of Teams, Xbox Game Bar and various promotional tiles install themselves after major Windows updates and reappear even after a manual uninstall. These differ from third-party bloatware because Microsoft pushes them rather than the hardware maker, but the performance cost on a low-spec laptop with only 8 GB of RAM can be just as noticeable, particularly during a hot Brisbane summer when cooling fans spin up faster than they should.

Why Preinstalled Software Slows Down Your PC

Each program added at startup reserves a slice of system memory and occasionally locks a portion of the CPU. Windows handles these background tasks gracefully when there are only a handful, but a laptop shipped with fifteen or more preinstalled utilities quickly loses headroom. Symptoms include slow boot times, a Start menu that takes several seconds to populate, browsers that stutter when opening attachments from Outlook and game launchers that hang on splash screens for far too long.

There is also a network cost. Many bloatware apps phone home for updates, telemetry or advertising metadata, which can interfere with the tight upload speeds common on FTTN NBN lines in suburbs from Campbellfield to Campbelltown. A household running multiple devices on a 50/20 plan will notice when three or four background services compete for upstream bandwidth during the evening peak. Trimming these processes is often the single biggest performance gain a home user can achieve without spending money on new hardware.

Built-In Tools for Removing Bloatware

Windows 11 and Windows 10 both ship with a Settings interface that handles most standard uninstalls. Open Settings, choose Apps, then Installed apps, scroll through the list, click the three-dot menu next to an unwanted entry and select Uninstall. This route works for Store apps, trial antivirus products and most OEM utilities. Some entries refuse to uninstall and display a greyed-out button — these are usually protected by a custom installer that needs a separate removal routine.

For stubborn entries, the legacy Control Panel still helps. Open Control Panel, switch to Category view, choose Programs, then Programs and Features. The list here sometimes shows additional items that do not appear in the modern Settings view, especially older OEM drivers and bundled software. Right-clicking and selecting Uninstall still works for any program that appears, though Windows 11 hides the option inside a small context menu that catches many users off guard.

Using Third-Party Removal Software Safely

When a program refuses to disappear through the normal channels, a dedicated removal tool can finish the job. Utilities such as Revo Uninstaller, Geek Uninstaller and the portable BCUninstaller scan the system for leftover registry entries, scheduled tasks and folder remnants after the standard uninstall completes. This is especially helpful for trial security software that drops multiple services, scheduled tasks and browser extensions during installation.

Before running any third-party cleaner, create a restore point. Open Start, search for Create a restore point, open the System Properties dialog, select the system drive and click Create. If a removal goes wrong, the restore point lets you roll the machine back to a known-good state within a few minutes. For users who would rather hand the job to a technician, PC tune-up options cover bloatware removal alongside broader system optimisation for households across Sydney, Melbourne and regional centres.

Removing Apps Through PowerShell for Stubborn Programs

PowerShell offers the most direct route for apps that resist both Settings and Control Panel. Right-click the Start button, choose Terminal (Admin) or PowerShell (Admin) on older builds, and accept the User Account Control prompt. From here, list every installed package with Get-AppxPackage, search for a specific entry and pipe it into Remove-AppxPackage to strip it from the current user profile. Common targets include Microsoft.BingNews, Microsoft.GetHelp, Microsoft.Todos and the various Xbox companion apps that ship with new installations.

For OEM-branded bloatware installed for all users, run Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers followed by the package name and pipe it to Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers. Australian users on metered NBN satellite connections in remote parts of the country will appreciate the bandwidth saved when the offending updaters are disabled at the source. After each removal, restart the machine to confirm the change has taken effect and that no missing dependency is causing the Start menu or Settings app to misbehave.

Comparing Removal Methods

Different approaches suit different levels of stubbornness, from a quick app removal to a full system rebuild.

Method	Difficulty	Best For	Leaves Residuals	Requires Restart
Settings > Installed apps	Easy	Store apps, basic trial software	Sometimes	No
Control Panel > Programs	Easy	Legacy OEM utilities, older drivers	Sometimes	No
Revo / Geek / BCUninstaller	Moderate	Stubborn third-party suites with background services	Minimal	No
PowerShell AppxPackage	Moderate to Hard	Microsoft-bundled apps, OEM packages for all users	Minimal	Yes
Clean install of Windows	Hard	Wholesale reset of a heavily polluted machine	None	Yes

PowerShell gives the most control but only suits people comfortable typing commands. A clean Windows install removes everything in one stroke but requires reinstalling applications, drivers and licences, so reserve it for machines that feel permanently clogged or for second-hand purchases that came loaded with software the previous owner installed themselves.

What to Do After the Cleanup

Once the unwanted software is gone, take a few minutes to stop the same programs from coming back. Disable unnecessary startup items through Task Manager, switch the power plan to Balanced or High Performance on a desktop and check Windows Update to make sure optional promotional software has been turned off under the "Choose how updates are delivered" screen. These small adjustments lock in the performance gains and keep the machine responsive through the next round of Patch Tuesday updates.

Finally, back up before the next big change. Use File History on a portable USB HDD, set OneDrive to mirror the Documents folder, or schedule a regular image-based backup with a tool such as Macrium Reflect. A solid backup means future cleanup attempts can be reversed quickly if something does not behave as expected. The end result is a leaner Windows machine that boots in seconds rather than minutes and gives back the storage that bloatware quietly ate during the first year of ownership.