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Optimizing Windows 10 for a clutter-free experience


Image Courtesy: Wallpaperhub

Whenever you get a new PC, you expect the system to be very fluid and responsive so you can work without any complaints. Windows 10 has evolved really well and has achieved a really great market share as compared to the more criticized Windows 8/8.1 OS. But despite its market share, Windows devices (also Android, when talking about mobile OS) has one very critical flaw and that is fragmentation. The problem with having a single Operating System that works on millions of devices which vary with each other on many grounds, demands a very optimized OS that fits every device's requirements. This is very difficult to achieve at such a large scale. Unlike Apple, whose macOS and iOS also have a large number of users and various hardware that runs it, and it manufactures its own hardware which enables them to tinker and optimize software on each device accordingly.
As Windows 10 does not have that privilege for optimization, we users do have that ability to do so and we know for a fact that Windows is very user-friendly in terms of customization. The basic approach to optimize the OS is to cut down the clutter that slows the performance on the low-end, budget PCs as well as on the high-end too! Since the high-end PCs work well without optimization, they are free to keep certain functions if they feel they need them.
Remember, Optimization is not a one time process. Every OS needs to be optimized from time to time to keep it healthy.
So, I have mentioned the steps for the first thing I do when I get a fresh new PC or on a clean install of Windows 10:
  • Disable Cortana
  • Uninstall bloatware
  • Install optimization apps
  • Disable Indexing
  • Change default apps
  • Change Start-up options.
  • Turn OFF Hibernation
So to do these things, we need some software tools. You first need to download the tools and then read this whole thing and then proceed on doing it:
  • Windows10Debloater by Sycnex. Download the zip from the "Clone" menu.
  • IOBit Uninstaller. Download the free version.
  • CCleaner by Piriform. Download the free version.
After you download the above tools, just unzip the Windows10Debloater-master(zip) file. You will see these files in the folder,

Uninstalling Bloatware

We need to use the Windows10DebloaterGUI file. As these are Windows PowerShell scripts, they require codes to interact with. Fortunately, the developer has provided an easy way, by using the GUI, to interact.
Right-click the Windows10DebloaterGUI file and select Run with PowerShell option. A new window along with the PowerShell app will open.
Before going further, we need to understand that if you want certain functions working you can choose to keep them and this is not a mandatory process. Like, if you want to keep Cortana working, then just don't disable it.
  1. First, we need to remove the bloatware. You can choose to remove all bloatware but its good to check what you are going to remove (in case if you need them). So, select Customize Blacklist. 
  2. You will see something like this window from above. They greyed-out objects as not removable as clearly stated. But as you scroll down, you will see more.
     
  3. The rule is simple. Ticked are Blacklists which you mean to remove and Unticked are Whitelists which will not be removed. There are certain things which you might want to keep. So just untick them. Just look for the below apps in the name. For instance, the \.NET files maybe like 'Microsoft.NET.Native.Framework.2.1', you just find the keyword NET and untick them.
    • Calculator
    • Store
    • Sticky Notes
    • The \.NET files
    • Image and Media Extensions
    • OneNote
    • Skype
    • FeedbackHub
    • Xbox
    • ZuneMusic and ZuneVideo are the default apps for image viewer and video player on Windows 10. They are pretty heavy on the system. Keep them if you like.
    • VCLibs
    • Microsoft.UI
  4. After you are done with it, scroll up and select Save Custom Blacklist and Whitelist to custom-list and close the window. Then in the main window, select Remove Bloatware with Customized Blacklist.
    You will notice some operations happening on the Blue coloured PowerShell window. Once the text reaches the bottom, wait for it to say "done" then go to the next operation.
  5. Now in the Optional Changes/Fixes select the following one by one check in the PowerShell menu if it says "done" in it.
    • Disable Cortana
    • Stop Edge PDF Takeover
    • Disable Telemetry/Tasks
    • Unpin Tiles from Start Menu
    • Remove Bloatware Regkeys
    • Install .NET v3.5
    • Uninstalling OneDrive is up to you. I would recommend you to keep it.
  6. Once it all is done, close the Debloater window and you are done with it.

Install Optimization Apps

Now that you have done with the cleanup, you can now install the IObit Uninstaller as well as the CCleaner app which you had downloaded earlier.
Whenever you install such third-party applications or software, pay attention to the process. They usually come with bundled software from other developers like an Antivirus software, a Browser or a toolbar and likewise. Sometimes, they hide it in a way that you may see it but fail to recognise if it is a bundleware. Just find a keyword such as SKIP THIS and you are good to go!

Additional Tips for File installations

Never go for 'Complete Install' directly and look for any other options such as 'Customize' or 'Modify' in the window.

You may find more customizations in such options and its up to you how you want the software to run.

Always use the Start Menu to access you installed applications and keep the Desktop as clean as possible because the Desktop location is basically your C:\ Drive and if this drive fills up, you will experience noticeable lag on your device. Proceed if you are OK with your selections.

QUICK TIP FOR WINDOWS DESKTOP
If you want some files or folder on your desktop for quickly accessing it, then keep the file inside other drives which are not C:\ drive and make a shortcut for it on the desktop. This can be done by,
Right click on file → Send to → Desktop (create shortcut)
which actually saves disk space on C:\ drive.

When you play a new game, you first go to the Options and settings and do the tinkering for a smooth gameplay which suits you. Optimizing the OS is the same thing.

Disable Indexing

Windows has a feature called Indexing that helps to search for files, email messages and other content on your PC in a faster way. It creates an index of each file and catalogues their information. When you search for something, it searches the indexes for faster operation.
This is a very handy operation but the whole process of indexing is lengthy and takes time and space on you PC. Also, the indexing needs to be running with your computer to register any changes with the files and update the indexes accordingly which demands CPU resources and memory.
You can either remove some locations from indexing or completely stop the indexing. You can work normally if the indexing is turned OFF and would also result in a faster PC. Follow the following steps.
  • If you are on a slow computer or running a Hard Disk, I would recommend to fully disable Indexing. To do so, Start Run (Windows key ⊞ + R) and type services.msc in it and then press Enter or click on OK.
  • Then Find Windows Search in it and double-click on it. A new window will open. Look for Startup Type: and select Disabled in the dropdown menu. Then Click OK and Close the window.
  • After that, save any pending work and Restart your Computer from the Start Menu. You will have a faster boot time than before.
  • If you want to keep the Search function running but limit the indexing, you can do the following: Press the Start button/Windows key (⊞) on your keyboard and start typing Indexing Options. This will display the searched item in the search menu. Press Enter when you find it.
  • It will open the settings window for Indexing. By default, Windows 10 indexes the Start Menu, Users folder, My Documents, My Music, My Pictures and maybe the C:\ drive's contents. You need to remove the locations which you don't want to be indexed.
  • Click on Modify, then on Show all Locations, Then deselect all ticked locations that you don't want to be indexed. Then click on OK.
  • Sometimes the indexing may get some errors which might also slow down the whole search process. But we have a fix for that. Click on Advanced in the Indexing Options window. In the newly opened Advanced Options window, under Troubleshooting, click on Rebuild. Once it is done, click on Ok and then Close.

Change default apps

Windows 10 gives you the access to change the default applications you use for tasks such as a Browser, Photo Viewer, Video Player, Music Player etc. which you should consider doing because the default apps in Windows 10 are very resource-heavy and may eat up RAM and system memory.
Here are my personal favourite alternatives for them.
  • Browser - New Microsoft Edge, Opera, Mozilla Firefox.
    The reason for not including Chrome is that it is also resource-heavy. Besides, Opera and the new Edge are Chromium based that means you get more features over the vanilla Chrome browser and are very low on memory.
  • Music Player - MusicBee
    This is a really great and lightweight music player which is available in the Microsoft Store.
  • Video Player - MPC-BE, VLC
    Both of them are really great. MPC-BE is based on the original "Media Player Classic Home Cinema (MPC-HC)" which was discontinued in 2017. Both VLC and MPC-BE are free and open-source and are available on the Microsoft Store but I encourage you to download them from the official website as the Store version are lacking some features.
  • Photo Viewer - IrfanView, XnView
    These are extremely lightweight applications. They both offer the same functionality as well as is free and open-source software. The default Microsoft Photos app has a great built-in editor and other nice features but it is slow and heavy. These apps fulfil the criteria of a simple photo viewer application.
You can change the default apps by going to:
Start Menu → Settings (or press Win + I) → Apps →Default Apps

Now just select what you need to change and change to your preferred application.
Another noteworthy alternative:
  • PDF Viewer - Xodo, Sumatra PDF,
    Xodo is a very underrated piece of software which offers many functionalities like a desktop app like editing PDFs and signing them. This is available on Microsoft Store and can easily replace Adobe's Acrobat Reader. Everyone knows how heavy that application is on memory. Acrobat Reader is sure feature-rich but Xodo outperforms in terms of speed.
    Sumatra PDF is also a good alternative but it is not available on Microsoft store.
There is another way to change default apps. Select a PDF file or any other file whose default app you want to change. Then, Right-click → Properties → Change (in General Tab). This will change the default app for all files that have a .pdf file extension.

Change Start-up options.

When you start a Windows PC, there are certain applications that start as soon as the PC boots up (or starts). This puts a load on the computer and may result in a slow start-up. To fix this, open Task manager Ctrl + Shift + Esc or Right-click on Taskbar → Task Manager → More details.
Now select those applications that you think you might not need as soon as the PC boots up and click Disable. There is one column labelled as Start-up impact which tells us which application affects the computer by how much which is very crucial. Disabling those apps that have a 'High' or 'Medium' impact is recommended.

Turn OFF Hibernation

This is the final step we are going to do with optimization. Hibernation is a state which is like shutting down your computer but when you boot it again, you get your files and apps in the same state as they were before shutting down. When you shut down normally, your files are closed and apps are terminated but in hibernation, the computer takes a snapshot of its current state so you can get to work faster after booting up.
But this takes space in the system for storing those snapshots and it is quite unnecessary when you have a dedicated Sleep option on your computer which doesn't fill up your disk space.
So, to disable Hibernation, open Powershell or Command prompt whichever you prefer with Admin privileges. There are many ways of doing it but my favourite one is by pressing Ctrl + X on the keyboard and selecting the preferred option.
In the console window, type the following to disable hibernation and press Enter:
powercfg /hibernate off
If you need to enable it in future, then just change the 'off' to 'on' in the above line and press Enter.

Conclusion

I hope you found something better out of these instructions you have read today and I have helped you in some way or other. This is my setup and my preferences for an ideal laptop. If you know some more optimizations and customizations then feel free to mention them so I can also try them out.

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