How to Remove Bloatware from a New PC

You've just bought a brand new PC or laptop. You take it out of the box, set it up, and... it already feels slow. Programs you've never heard of are running in the background. Pop-ups are asking you to subscribe to things. The taskbar is cluttered with icons you didn't put there.

Welcome to bloatware. Every major manufacturer does it, and it's one of the first things I deal with on any new machine I set up for customers.

What Is Bloatware?

Bloatware is software that comes pre-installed on your PC by the manufacturer. You didn't ask for it, you probably don't need it, and it's running in the background eating up memory, CPU, and disk space from the moment you turn the machine on.

It falls into a few categories:

• Antivirus trials — McAfee and Norton 30-day trials are the most common. They nag you constantly to subscribe and conflict with Windows Defender, which is already built in and perfectly good
• Manufacturer "helper" apps — HP Support Assistant, Dell SupportAssist, Lenovo Vantage, Acer Care Center. Some of these have useful features (driver updates, warranty checks), but most duplicate what Windows already does and run heavy background processes
• Third-party offers — Spotify, Disney+, TikTok, Candy Crush, and other apps that the manufacturer gets paid to include. They're essentially adverts that take up space on your Start menu
• Duplicate tools — a manufacturer's own media player, photo viewer, or cloud backup tool when Windows already has these built in

Why Do Manufacturers Include It?

Money. It's that simple. Companies like McAfee pay manufacturers like HP and Dell to pre-install their trial software on every machine that ships. Same with Spotify, Dropbox, and the rest. It's a revenue stream that lets manufacturers keep hardware prices lower — but you pay for it in performance and annoyance.

How to Identify Bloatware

Open Settings → Apps → Installed apps (on Windows 11) or Settings → Apps → Apps & features (on Windows 10). Sort the list by size to see what's taking up the most space. If you see something you didn't install and don't recognise, it's probably bloatware.

Here's what a typical new PC's app list looks like — and what I'd recommend removing vs keeping:

* Remove unless you actually use it — reinstall later from the Microsoft Store if you want it.

Step-by-Step: Removing Bloatware

1. Uninstall via Settings

This is the main method and catches most bloatware:

1. Open Settings (press Win + I)
2. Go to Apps → Installed apps
3. Click the three dots (...) next to the app you want to remove
4. Click Uninstall, then confirm
5. Repeat for each app you want to remove

Some apps (like Candy Crush, TikTok, and Instagram) are actually just "pins" — placeholder links rather than full installs. These can be removed by right-clicking them in the Start menu and choosing Uninstall.

2. The Common Offenders List

Here's what I typically remove from new PCs. If you see any of these, they're safe to uninstall:

• McAfee LiveSafe / McAfee Total Protection — trial antivirus. Windows Defender is already doing the job. This is the single biggest performance drain on most new PCs
• Norton Security / Norton 360 — same deal. Trial that nags you to pay. Remove it
• HP Support Assistant / HP Smart / HP Audio Switch — heavy background processes. HP Smart is only useful if you have an HP printer
• Dell SupportAssist / Dell Digital Delivery — constantly running in the background checking for things. You can check for driver updates manually through Dell's website when needed
• Lenovo Vantage / Lenovo Now — useful for driver updates on Lenovo machines, but Lenovo Now is just advertising. If you keep Vantage, remove the rest
• Candy Crush, Bubble Witch, Disney Magic Kingdoms — games you didn't ask for
• Spotify, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook — pre-installed promotions. Reinstall from the Store if you actually want them
• ExpressVPN / any VPN trial — bundled VPN offers. If you want a VPN, choose one yourself
• WildTangent Games — a games platform nobody asked for, common on HP and Dell machines

What NOT to Remove

Not everything pre-installed is bloatware. Here's what you should leave alone:

• Windows Security — this is your built-in antivirus. It's the replacement for the McAfee trial you just removed
• Microsoft Store — you need this to install and update Store apps
• Drivers and firmware updaters — things like Intel Graphics Command Center, Realtek Audio Console, and your laptop's touchpad driver. These make your hardware work
• Microsoft Edge — you might not use it as your main browser, but Windows uses it internally and it can't be fully removed without causing issues
• .NET Framework / Visual C++ Redistributables — these look like junk but many programs depend on them. Leave them alone
• Xbox Game Bar — unless you're sure you'll never use it. It's lightweight and provides useful features like screen recording

Clean Up Startup Apps Too

Removing bloatware is only half the job. Many apps — including ones you actually want to keep — add themselves to your startup list, meaning they launch every time you turn the PC on. This is one of the biggest reasons PCs feel slow to boot.

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager
2. Click the Startup apps tab
3. Look at the Status column — anything showing Enabled runs at boot
4. Right-click anything you don't need at startup and choose Disable

Common startup items you can safely disable: OneDrive (if you don't use it), Spotify, Teams, Skype, Adobe updaters, manufacturer helper apps. This alone can knock 30 seconds or more off your boot time. I go into more detail on this in my guide to speeding up a slow Windows 11 PC.

The Result

On a typical new HP or Dell laptop, removing bloatware and cleaning up startup apps frees up 2–4 GB of disk space, reduces RAM usage by 500 MB or more, and makes the PC noticeably snappier — especially on budget machines with 8 GB of RAM where every megabyte counts.

It's one of the most satisfying fixes there is. The PC isn't broken — it was just being held back by software you never wanted in the first place. If your new PC already feels sluggish, bloatware is almost certainly the reason. And if it's been slow for a while and you haven't dealt with the bloatware yet, it's worth checking — along with the other tips in my common PC problems post.

Mark

Mark has been fixing computers since the late '90s and went self-employed in 2008. Based in St Helens since 2013, he works evenings and weekends from his home in Laffak — friendly, affordable repairs for PCs, laptops, and Macs. See reviews on Google