How to make Win 10 Pro usable?

AnIgnorantPerson

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 10, 2019
Messages
207
Any advice is hugely appreciated.

1) What do I need to make win 10 Pro useful
2) what are must have programs
3) What are must change mods
4) must change UI changes
5) Anything else?

So far I have learned:
Open Shell (this?)
ShutUp10 (this?)

Again thanks, I really loathe the "switching costs" and anyway you guys can help is amazing!
 
WIN+R, "gpedit.msc"

Make a backup, then disable/enable all the bloat and superfluous features you want.
 
First thing's first, Classic Startmenu + classic shell:

http://www.classicshell.net/

Then WinAero Tweaker:

https://winaero.com/index.php

That's actually about it.

Or just uninstall that heap o' shit and stick with the vastly superior UI that is Windows 7. ;)

I gave fucking Windows 10 way to much of my time, but too many bugs just led me back to Windows 7. The mouse getting stuck between multi monitors if they're not side by side is STILL there and makes my work environment straight up unusable. And that's WITH the 3rd party stickymouse fix installed!

So yeah, you might need that one too: :rolleyes:

http://www.jawfin.net/?page_id=143
 
First thing's first, Classic Startmenu + classic shell:

http://www.classicshell.net/

Then WinAero Tweaker:

https://winaero.com/index.php

That's actually about it.

Or just uninstall that heap o' shit and stick with the vastly superior UI that is Windows 7. ;)

I gave fucking Windows 10 way to much of my time, but too many bugs just led me back to Windows 7. The mouse getting stuck between multi monitors if they're not side by side is STILL there and makes my work environment straight up unusable. And that's WITH the 3rd party stickymouse fix installed!

So yeah, you might need that one too: :rolleyes:

http://www.jawfin.net/?page_id=143
thanks! i unfortunately cant use Win 7 on Z390 so i got no choice TT
 
I like Anti Beacon. Its made by the same company that developed spybot.
https://www.safer-networking.org/products/spybot-anti-beacon/

For apps, I do a specific set of steps that makes it so I never have to worry about apps again.
1 - Install windows. During the setup create a special account. This account is temporary and will not be your main account.
2 - Log into that account as soon as Windows 10 is finished installing. Create a permanent account. One that you want to use going forward. *Do not log into this account yet*.
3 - Open powershell as an admin on your temp account and run this command. When a new user logs in, Windows "provisions" apps for them. The powershell script below makes it so windows skips provisioning those apps.

Code:
Get-AppXProvisionedPackage -Online | Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online

4 - Log out of your temp account and log into your personal account. The one you created on your temp account. When you log in (and when any other new account logs in) all Windows apps will not even provision/install. Leaving you with a completely app free Windows 10.

Note - This also makes it so the Microsoft Store isn't provisioned. If you need that, you can find ways to add it individually.

Another cleaner but ethically gray-er solution is to buy an LTSC key off ebay. They go for about $10 and remove pretty much all of the stuff that makes Windows 10 annoying. Cortana, apps, etc.
 
I like Anti Beacon. Its made by the same company that developed spybot.
https://www.safer-networking.org/products/spybot-anti-beacon/

For apps, I do a specific set of steps that makes it so I never have to worry about apps again.
1 - Install windows. During the setup create a special account. This account is temporary and will not be your main account.
2 - Log into that account as soon as Windows 10 is finished installing. Create a permanent account. One that you want to use going forward. *Do not log into this account yet*.
3 - Open powershell as an admin on your temp account and run this command. When a new user logs in, Windows "provisions" apps for them. The powershell script below makes it so windows skips provisioning those apps.

Code:
Get-AppXProvisionedPackage -Online | Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online

4 - Log out of your temp account and log into your personal account. The one you created on your temp account. When you log in (and when any other new account logs in) all Windows apps will not even provision/install. Leaving you with a completely app free Windows 10.

Note - This also makes it so the Microsoft Store isn't provisioned. If you need that, you can find ways to add it individually.

Another cleaner but ethically gray-er solution is to buy an LTSC key off ebay. They go for about $10 and remove pretty much all of the stuff that makes Windows 10 annoying. Cortana, apps, etc.
why do you need to do all those steps to make a user account? I don't get why you are doing that.

What does doing all those hoops accomplish?
 
please note anti beacon only does windows telemtry stuff
You still need to remove intel and nvida telemetry
 
Any advice is hugely appreciated.

1) What do I need to make win 10 Pro useful
2) what are must have programs
3) What are must change mods
4) must change UI changes
5) Anything else?

So far I have learned:
Open Shell (this?)
ShutUp10 (this?)

Again thanks, I really loathe the "switching costs" and anyway you guys can help is amazing!

Install it, install all updates and drivers, install your programs, enjoy. Configure your telemetry settings to what you want, configure the start menu to your liking and that is all. Try the programs you listed and see if it is what you want, that is all.
 
First thing's first, Classic Startmenu + classic shell:

http://www.classicshell.net/

Then WinAero Tweaker:

https://winaero.com/index.php

That's actually about it.

Or just uninstall that heap o' shit and stick with the vastly superior UI that is Windows 7. ;)

I gave fucking Windows 10 way to much of my time, but too many bugs just led me back to Windows 7. The mouse getting stuck between multi monitors if they're not side by side is STILL there and makes my work environment straight up unusable. And that's WITH the 3rd party stickymouse fix installed!

So yeah, you might need that one too: :rolleyes:

http://www.jawfin.net/?page_id=143

Choose what you use, that is cool. However, I have to kind of wonder if you where looking at an Nvidia issue when it comes to the sticky mouse between monitors. Also, what do you mean side by side because, the monitors are side by side inside of Windows and cannot be separated, that I have seen.

Windows 7 UI being superior is subjective, I personally find it boring and limited. That said, whatever floats your boat.

For OP, try all these things that everyone is suggesting and see what you think, there is no wrong way to use Windows 10.
 
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why do you need to do all those steps to make a user account? I don't get why you are doing that.

What does doing all those hoops accomplish?

Because it doesn’t uninstall the apps. It just stops them from provisioning. So that temp account will have all the apps installed since they provision during the first login. If you run that command after an account has been logged into you will need to run scripts to remove the apps where the command I gave in my post stops them from existing in the first place.

It’s not as complicated as my post makes it seem. Just make a dummy account when you install. Run that command on the dummy account, log into your own account and you are set.

All those hoops makes it so there isn’t a single app installed with windows 10.
 
Why isn't Win10 useable as is? I've been suing Win10 since pre-release and have never felt the need for any mods.

The only thing I find annoying is getting to the old network stuff so I can watch the data transfer.

Different people like different things. I hate apps with every fiber of my being. I don’t think “apps” should be a part of a desktop or even a laptop experience. I don’t need neutered versions of programs that are intended for mobile phones and tables on my desktops and laptops. If I want software I’ll get the full powered version. I also don’t like that they come pre installed. 1903 makes it so you can remove more of them but I’d rather just nuke it all anyways. That’s why I’m so passionate about getting rid of them.
 
Different people like different things. I hate apps with every fiber of my being. I don’t think “apps” should be a part of a desktop or even a laptop experience. I don’t need neutered versions of programs that are intended for mobile phones and tables on my desktops and laptops. If I want software I’ll get the full powered version. I also don’t like that they come pre installed. 1903 makes it so you can remove more of them but I’d rather just nuke it all anyways. That’s why I’m so passionate about getting rid of them.

Ok, gotcha. I just never use the pre-installed apps. Guess I might as well not have them in the first place.

My only question would then be... when you make the permanent account, will that allow you to make an online account (login to MS account) or will it always be an offline account? I like having my Windows licenses tied to my MS account.. That way they are essentially floating licenses. If I get rid of a computer, I can then re-assign that old license to a new computer when I want to.
 
I like having my Windows licenses tied to my MS account.. That way they are essentially floating licenses. If I get rid of a computer, I can then re-assign that old license to a new computer when I want to.

Wish it worked that way! I had to buy a new license for the "upgraded" machine that I was going to replace the old machine with thinking I could do it that way with my Microsoft Account tied License from the Windows7 upgrade. As soon as I moved the SSD over from the old machine to the new one, Windows deactivated itself & the phone team wouldn't reactivate it for me due to too many hardware ID's changing (even though it was a retail version of Windows 7 that I upgraded!). As soon as I entered the new license key on the old installation, it was activated again straight away by the online activation servers. Even a wipe & reinstall to a new m.2 drive instead of the original SSD automatically activated on the new machine without even having to enter a license key. The old machine is still running the original installation from the Windows 7 upgrade with the same MS account login *as well as a new MS account for the wife who uses that machine now).
 
It has worked for me that way. I've even changed motherboards a couple times.

One of my Brother-in-laws even swapped an SSD with Windows 10 into a completely different computer and it re-activated just fine.
 
Ok, gotcha. I just never use the pre-installed apps. Guess I might as well not have them in the first place.

My only question would then be... when you make the permanent account, will that allow you to make an online account (login to MS account) or will it always be an offline account? I like having my Windows licenses tied to my MS account.. That way they are essentially floating licenses. If I get rid of a computer, I can then re-assign that old license to a new computer when I want to.

You can use either. Basically after that command is ran, any account (online or not) that logs in for the first time that will come app free.
 
It has worked for me that way. I've even changed motherboards a couple times.

One of my Brother-in-laws even swapped an SSD with Windows 10 into a completely different computer and it re-activated just fine.

I've gone through three entirely new computers with no activation issues. These computers didn't use any old parts at all. I just logged into my microsoft account and when I would check the activation it says its activated. This is a retail Windows 10 Pro though so it might be different than OEM keys.
 
It has worked for me that way. I've even changed motherboards a couple times.

One of my Brother-in-laws even swapped an SSD with Windows 10 into a completely different computer and it re-activated just fine.

I changed a bit more than a motherboard though (everything barring the SSD which in the end I did end up changing as well but that was purely down to having to purchase a new license) lol. It was still an Intel i7 platform though - just 4 Generations newer lol
 
The only thing i REALLY HATE is every search that isn't a real function...like you type disj manager or something and it open/searches that via I.E.....uuugh
 
The only thing i REALLY HATE is every search that isn't a real function...like you type disj manager or something and it open/searches that via I.E.....uuugh

Take a look at the 1903 update. They made it a lot better. Here's an example of me searching for ODBC. Before 1903 it would have given me Cortana and web results. Now it finds the file I want with the option to search on the web. It also has tabs for searching email and searching or documents specifically. Its actually really nice.

upload_2019-5-30_14-20-34.png
 
You may call it ignorance. Others and myself would call it basic knowledge or how to install and use an operating system that's designed to be user-friendly.
 
[QUOTE="cyclone3d, post: 1044212892, member: 88410"I like having my Windows licenses tied to my MS account.. That way they are essentially floating licenses. If I get rid of a computer, I can then re-assign that old license to a new computer when I want to.[/QUOTE]

Does that mean I could "trade in" a Windows 10 VM for a physical install on a different system? I have a VM I hardly ever use and with 1903, I can probably do OK with the new sandbox feature.

x509
 
Win10 is perfectly usable as it is. Just install any games you want and play them. Everything else you do with a better OS such as linux or MacOS.
 
1) Just press the windows key and type what you want, no other changes necessary other than disabling UAC.
2) ???
3) Profit.
 
Several querstions:
1: how do you turn off animations in Win10 so I dont deal with these time wasting fades?
2: I have installed:
Open Shell (this?)
ShutUp10 (this?)

3: does windows still auto restart after installing shupup10?

and it disabled my audio and fixed that issue but I also dont have selections for chrome and many other programs in task/window bar. How do I fix that?
 

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Several querstions:
1: how do you turn off animations in Win10 so I dont deal with these time wasting fades?
Start > Settings > Ease of Access > [o ] Show animations in Windows

If you're old school, Control Panel > Ease of access center > Make it easier to focus on tasks > [X] Turn off all unnecessary animations (when possible)
(this has been in Windows since.. Vista?)
 
Start > Settings > Ease of Access > [o ] Show animations in Windows

If you're old school, Control Panel > Ease of access center > Make it easier to focus on tasks > [X] Turn off all unnecessary animations (when possible)
(this has been in Windows since.. Vista?)
got it thanks. It was easier to find in Win 7 Pro. Win10 made control panel even more trash than Win 7 and I thought Win 7 control panel vs XP was bad o_O

Any idea on why I am missing the added options when you right click on icon in taskbar? (see picture above)
 
I've gone from extensive customizations to just using it as-is. About the only thing I notice is when MS adds an old control panel function to the Settings app.
 
I would recommend to use Windows only if you must play games or have a work computer. Not for anything private. There are far better OSes for private use.

All these 'tweaks' won't stop MS from eavesdropping and will most likely just bork your windows install.
 
I've gone from extensive customizations to just using it as-is. About the only thing I notice is when MS adds an old control panel function to the Settings app.
you used to be able to in win 7 individually select what animations you wanted. there were good and bad animations in 7. can you individually select which ones you want still? i only see the one option. every new windows somehow gets more retarded in your ability to tweak and customize:facepalm:
I would recommend to use Windows only if you must play games or have a work computer. Not for anything private. There are far better OSes for private use.

All these 'tweaks' won't stop MS from eavesdropping and will most likely just bork your windows install.
thats what people say but problem is many programs dont run on those then there is the switching costs and spending days to learn a whole new os is not worth while; while loosing access to many programs

this is why i also have tiered levels of security. different machines for different things
 
got it thanks. It was easier to find in Win 7 Pro. Win10 made control panel even more trash than Win 7 and I thought Win 7 control panel vs XP was bad o_O

Any idea on why I am missing the added options when you right click on icon in taskbar? (see picture above)
you can still use control panel to do pretty much everything. search for control panel and then create a shortcut or pin it. re taskbar issue, try right clicking on the program after you right click the icon.

upload_2019-7-3_11-19-8.png
 
we have about 50 Win 10 Pro Clients and i cant find a good way to permanently remove the App Store + apps on them since every new Feature brings it up again. And GPO is there it just doesnt work on Pro.

So Ent. is the only choice to remove this garbage ?
 
you used to be able to in win 7 individually select what animations you wanted. there were good and bad animations in 7. can you individually select which ones you want still? i only see the one option. every new windows somehow gets more retarded in your ability to tweak and customize:facepalm:

thats what people say but problem is many programs dont run on those then there is the switching costs and spending days to learn a whole new os is not worth while; while loosing access to many programs

this is why i also have tiered levels of security. different machines for different things

Animations/etc are still easily customized.

Press the windows key, type "appearance" hit enter.
 
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