Solved New HP laptop - Fresh Install Win11 vs Trying to Remove Crapware

Just received a brand new HP 15t-eg200 laptop to replace an ancient Asus laptop. My question is am I better off trying to remove all the bloatware and HP crapware or doing a clean install with Win11 downloaded to a flash drive? If clean install is best way to go should I first activate the factory install with my MS account? Also I recall Brink telling someone to first export the drivers and add them to the Win11 flash drive and also create an image of the factory drive using Macrium Reflect. Please advise best steps to take. Thanks in advance

bfunke said:

Just received a brand new HP 15t-eg200 laptop to replace an ancient Asus laptop. My question is am I better off trying to remove all the bloatware and HP crapware or doing a clean install with Win11 downloaded to a flash drive? If clean install is best way to go should I first activate the factory install with my MS account? Also I recall Brink telling someone to first export the drivers and add them to the Win11 flash drive and also create an image of the factory drive using Macrium Reflect. Please advise best steps to take. Thanks in advance

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You seem to have the right idea. The main thing is the drivers.
Occasionally a laptop will have a weird, uncommon driver that's hard to find.
So having them accessible on the flash drive... is a good thing.

As for the bloatware... that's up to you. The clean install is probably the quickest solution IF you export the drivers, first.

YES. Activate Windows 11 first... then worry about all the other stuff.

Yes... always make a backup of the existing install, before attempting something BIG like this.
It's never very smart to "work without a net".

First thing I would do is to make sure your Windows 11 system is activated. That can be done by going through the OOOB setup when you first turn on the PC. It will run and install Windows updates. You'll need to install Macrium Reflect, then create a disk image and if not already done, rescue media.

Once your system is activated, you can do as many clean installs as you like. It's really up to you whether you just want to delete some of the bloatware or just do a clean reinstall. I would play around with the new system a bit before deciding to do a clean install.

See the part number and the serial number at the bottom of your laptop. If there is not any sticker, you can find these using a utility such as Aida64. In Aida64, go to Computer -> DMI -> System section. Then visit www.hp.com and click on Support and type the P/N or S/N to find your exact model. Download all the available drivers and utilities (if you want any). Many times a few Windows 11 or 10 drivers are offered, assuming Windows Setup will take care of the rest. If you want the complete list, try an earlier Windows version, such as Windows 10 64-bit, Windows 8 64-bit or even Windows 7 64-bit (if applicable) to download the rest drivers. Gather all the drivers in a folder and copy them to a USB flash drive. Now you can just format and reinstall Windows 11. While at Windows Setup, delete all partitions, including the recovery partition to gain more disk space, then proceed. After installation, install all drivers from the USB flash drive starting with the chipset (platform) drivers and then the graphics. Just in case there is a newer graphics driver, I would then visit the manufacturer's site (Intel, nVidia, AMD) and check there. A newer graphics driver should fix some bugs and improve compatibility and performance. Also I prefer the full package (with Control Panel), not only the basic driver that some laptop manufacturers or Windows Update gives.

spapakons said:

See the part number and the serial number at the bottom of your laptop. If there is not any sticker, you can find these using a utility such as Aida64. In Aida64, go to Computer -> DMI -> System section. Then visit www.hp.com and click on Support and type the P/N or S/N to find your exact model. Download all the available drivers and utilities (if you want any).

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The problem with this is that nearly all drivers from manufacturers come in .exe file format and require Windows to already be installed. Some computers require drivers to access the disks during windows setup, especially the Intel IRST driver, which you cannot use an .exe file for. Plus, instead of looking through all the available files on a website, one simple command will export the drivers to the USB flash drive:
dism /online /export-driver /destination:E:\Drivers <-Change E:\Drivers to match USB folder you created to hold the drivers.

When I get a new off-the-shelf computer, I enter Audit Mode from the OOBE screen that it first boots up to. I'll do all Windows Updates, including optional driver updates. Then run the dism command to export the drivers. Then I will reboot the computer from a Macrium Reflect rescue drive and create an image of the factory software. I'll play with factory software load for a couple of days and then wipe it completely and do a clean install with Microsoft downloaded vanilla Windows and any needed drivers I exported earlier.

Another option is to use a program such as Revo Uninstaller free version and uninstall any programs you don't want.

I use IObit Uninstaller or Your Uninstaller to remove all remaining traces of the application after the standard uninstall.