Terry Myerson, executive vice president of operating systems at Microsoft, speaks for new Windows 10 products at a media event in 2015. (Photo : Getty Images/Andrew Burton)
Microsoft wants to help people get rid of all the bloatware or crapware that are embedded in the Windows 10 systems that they bought through a free tool.
Most computer manufacturers pre-install their own brand of software for customers to use. The package Windows 10 desktops and laptops sometimes come with these bloatware and crapware that could be useless and it just takes up hard drive space and RAM allocation.
For the average user, uninstalling them could be a hassle. Most advanced users know how to delete them entirely from the system but it could take many steps.
Now, the new free tool from Microsoft aims to instantly search for bloatware on Windows 10 systems and remove them through an installation. The tool called Refresh Windows can be downloaded in their website but it only works on the preview builds of Windows 10, Computerworld has learned.
Nevertheless, the new toll will become available to the public when the Anniversary Update 1607 rolls out next month. For now, only the preview builds can make use of the said free tool from the Redmond-based company.
Another caveat is that the Microsoft Refresh Windows tool will perform a clean installation of Windows 10 on the user's system, PC Magazine reported. It means that the files and programs installed will all be wiped out once the reinstallation is conducted.
The tool can then be geared towards users who want to keep their installations clean. It can be used by systems that already have cluttered files and programs that do not work properly due to the incompatible settings and such.
Refresh Windows requires to download the 3GB Windows 10 installation file for it to work. It is not simply a small program that can instantly seek out the bloatware and crapware inside a system.
Another potential problem is that any OEM tools and drivers will also be removed. Users will have to manually re-install them to get some functions and features of their laptops to be enabled and this could be a problem if the user does not really know what to install in the first place.
Microsoft's free Refresh Windows tool is expected to be rolled out for the public next month. The company does not guarantee that the digital licenses and content will still be carried over after the tool has been used.
