Asus Utility and Bloatware Guide

Just bought for my wife an Asus 1015PEM for Christmas
and also for myself.

Any info on the following programs:

Asus Vibe
Asus Update for Eee, listed separate form Live Update
Capshooks
Oober reg backup
Super Hybrid Engine

Thanks great guide.

 

What the heck is this? keep or delete?

 

What is wcourier.exe that wants to load on my Asus K50?
And, from an Asus and laptop newbie, thanks for this wonderful bloatware guide and thread!
(Sorry if I missed the answer to this on my search)?

 

Welcome to the forum.

For goodness' sake - just type this into google and get your answer. It's faster.

Asus wireless console.

 

I figure I should mention this in here in case no one else has.

On my system, uninstalling the Game Park trial games does a number on my registry. It removes a chunk of entries that have nothing to do with the games causing OS issues. After several cycles of recoveries and uninstalls, it seems specifically to be wiping out a lot of critical entries from HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software breaking things like chrome and various pieces of software. This doesn't happen removing the Game Park software itself, but does the moment I uninstall ANY of the Game Park games.

As this behavior seems to be part of the default image, I assume this affects other people with the G73JW or at least those with the XT1 model.

 

Asus Vibe came installed on my G73JW. Seems to be a crappy music and games store

 

Good question, was wondering that myself.

I think I'm going to just uninstall the bloatware for now, and see how it performs. I'm a little scared to reinstall Win7 myself at this point

 

Aside from the issue with the Game Park games, uninstalling the bloatware worked out pretty well for me. Pretty fast and stable.

 

I started uninstalling all the bloatware according to this very helpful guide.

I went ahead and uninstalled the Game Park Console and all the individual games, and didn't seem to have any problem.

I uninstalled the Google toolbar for IE. But when I went to uninstall Google Chrome it won't uninstall? Tried it with its uninstaller through the Start menu, and from the Add/Remove programs in Control panel. Chrome is still listed, but if I try to run it nothing happens.

Now I'm wondering if something with the Game Park uninstall partially uninstalled Chrome so now it won't fully uninstall?

I think I'm going to use the revovery DVDs I made and start over. Maybe some things need to be uninstalled in a certain sequence?

 

Yes, trying to uninstall Chrome is how I found out that there was an issue with the Game Park games uninstaller mucking up my registry.

The game park games uninstaller tries to remove all of the entries in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software which contains entries for things like Chrome and other programs.

When you restore your system, don't use the uninstaller while uninstalling the Oberon Media (Game Park) games. I just deleted the registry entries associated with the games and then threw them into the recycle bin.

 

Thanks, I'll have to try that.

I sure don't want to go through the 2 hour restore process again. But at least I know my restore DVDs work. Also during the restore, if you select "Recover Windows to first partition only", it left stuff on my D partition intact.

 

Thanks for this guide, I used it as benchmark when I fresh installed win 7 ultimate. One thing though isn't IP Switch switching your IP address from time to time? If so this might be useful in public networks, gonna try it in school since at home I used old school network cable!!!!!

EDIT:
my statement is not true tested it tonight, was working for 5 hours in library and my IP address has not changed .

 

Very helpful list! Thanks

 

Oh yeah my N73jq came with e-Driver which checks if all drivers are up to date and is all Asus bloatware installed.

 

Thanks for figuring out the Oberon Game Park uninstall problem. My N53JQ has the same problem with the Game Park uninstall and Chrome. Even installing and uninstalling Chrome didn't help if the Game Park was uninstallled from Control Panel > Uninstall a program. I guess I'll try out the recovery partition and clean up the Game Park programs by hand.

 

Additional bloatware added.

As for uninstalling Oberon Game Park that causes errors for Chrome installation, make sure to install Chrome first before uninstalling Oberon. If you've already uninstalled Oberon, then install a software that gives you the option to install Chrome as well. For example, by installing Avast anti-virus, it gives you the option to install Chrome as well. This is what I did since I needed a free and reliable anti-virus software anyways.

 

I have been reading through the above mentioned Guide. I have a brand new ASUS A52F which has a lot of this stuff pre-loaded. I read the manual that came with the laptop but didn't find any of this mentioned. There is an icon for E-Driver, which wants me to reinstall TrendMicro Internet Security 2009. I uninstalled because I'm trying to use Microsoft Security Essentials. Is there any reason to keep this E-Driver program?

Also, if the Control Deck is uninstalled, how do you then adjust the volume? I have the slider all the way to 100, and I know to use the FN key with F10, F11 and F12, but even with the slider all the way to 100, the volume is measly. When the F keys are used, it shows a circle but only one quarter of the circle is adjustable for the volume. Any suggestions on the volume issue would be appreciated, and whether I really need to keep the Control Deck installed.

 

Hey, little wary of the registry. I just reset to factory because of the Game Park games Reg error. I am planning on doing the manual delete, but where are the corresponding registry entries for the games exactly? Specific locations could help a noob like me.

 

The E-Driver utility gives a user-interface to automatically install all drivers of your choice. If you already have all the drivers/utilities installed, you don't really need this utility. It is a nice an convenient way to install all the drivers/utilities automatically, but keep in mind that it uses only stock drivers/utilities. If there is a newer version on the Asus website, you'll need to download and install them manually.

All Fn keys will still work even when you have Control Deck uninstalled.

 

Does anyone know what is the "System Monitor Utility" software for?
Is Intel Management Engine Interface needed for the laptop to run?

EDIT: I found out that the "System Monitor Utility" is really the NB Probe.

 

I have another issue I'm trying to solve. I am using Windows 7 as the OS and Microsoft Office 2007. I set up a Homegroup to link my laptop with my desktop. That works, I can open Word or Excel documents residing on my desktop from my laptop. Problem is, the docs open up as Read Only. I get an error message saying to click the Office button, click open, find the file you want to open, right click, then click Properties, and uncheck Read Only. When I attempt to do this, I get another error message saying I need to have administrator rights to make this change. If I right click on the individual program (Word or Excel) and select Properties, then Run as Administrator, at that point I cannot open the file from Documents, only from within the actual program, and even then it still opens as Read Only. Does anyone know how to fix this? One of the benefits of having the two computers linked via a Homegroup is to be able to make changes to a document that resides on the other computer.

 

As far as Bloat ware uninstall goes can it all be done effectively with the uninstall program? Neophyte here.

 

I had absolutely no problem at all. It does require a heck of a lot of restarts, though.

 

I also am nervous about changing the registry. Would a program with a more powerful uninstall feature allow the Oberon games to be uninstalled safely (CCleaner or something similar)?

 

Congrats on a great contribution!!
There is one point you might like to add:
The FastBoot utility doesn't seem to be entirely compatible with Adobe CS5 suite of products. It seems to generate a Microsoft Register Server has stopped working upon startup.
I witnessed this problem on a Asus G73JW w/windows 7 pro 64 bit
Thanks again!

 

Fantastic guide ! I find in to be very useful and appreciate all the work that the contributors did for us .

+rep well earned !

 

This was a very informative post, especially with this being my first windows 7 powered machine and my first new computer since shortly after xp came out. I owned a vista machine, but i got it used and the owner before took most of the bloatware off of it before I got it.

 

Can ATK Media be configured to run another media player?

{Aside: it's hilarious that on one of ASUS's own forums, it's recommended to come to this thread to determine what all these apps do. }

 

I found this thread, after having to restore my brand new N53SV-A1 ....

It's a major problem, it's really bad, i was something like midway into my huge installation process .... And it make me mad .... A lot off programs were affected .... ATK hotkey, G data Anti-virus, Malware Byte Pro, and a lot more ....

It's my third Asus notebook in 5 year, and i like it, but this is a huge problem, i don't really care about the bloatware, but if removing it, break Windows 7, now it's bad ....

I will manually remove it, but i'm mad about wasting 3-4 hour to restore and reinstall ....

Elmo_Is_Evil

 

I haven't seen this mentioned earlier in the thread (but on other ones people have asked the question)...

If you want to reinstall Office Starter Edition {OSE} (and also that Office 2010 upgrade option screen) after e.g. doing a clean win7 install, there's just one file needed to run: SetupConsumerC2ROLW.exe - it will launch the setup process for OSE.

There is no need for an activation key or call-in (that I know of).

On my machine the file was located in < drive_letter>:\ProgramData\Microsoft\OEMOffice14\OStarter\en-us, which may differ for you depending on where and who built your order. ( en-us will be a different name if you're using a different language and in a non-US locale.)

This is a totally LEGAL installation ( very similar to the Win7 clean install option) as you're already entitled to a license to have OSE on your laptop, even if you replace the hard drive.

From extra research I've done, I've discovered that:
- the folder en-us contains all the files you need to do a stand-alone installation - meaning, you can copy the folder to a external drive e.g. USB to do the installation from there.

- you only need the SetupConsumerC2ROLW.exe file (and an Internet connection) as it will download all necessary files for installation if they're missing from the folder.


When I bought the U43, I swapped the internal drive with a SSD. I put the internal into an enclosure, and now it is my external drive. From there, I ran SetupConsumerC2ROLW.exe, which completed installation in a minute or 2.

OSE also creates a locked Q: drive as part of the process. I'm not sure but I think it's created at the next reboot.

Note: you may have to keep the external drive attached during the reboot, probably so the install has access to other setup files.

I had removed mine and on the next reboot, my desktop looked as if win7 was in some type of Safe Mode. I reattached the external, rebooted, and luckily the install was complete with the Q: created.

Also: in folder \ProgramData\Microsoft\OEMOffice14\Office14 is the official Office 2010 upgrade setup files, so if you want that upgrade splash-screen, just run the Setup.exe in the folder.

 

That said, Office Starter Edition is a neutered program that includes advertising within the applications. It's primarily designed to be a marketing hook for new users, so MS sells it to OEM system builders at about $10 a pop. They're counting on computer buyers who actually need office software to buy the easy upgrade.

If you really need a productivity suite and aren't willing to pay for one of the full versions of Office, OpenOffice is an excellent, free alternative.

 

I was waiting--with amusement, in fact--for either an anti-Microsoft or an open source response. I didn't think it would come so fast.

OSE is what it is: a commendable replacement for MS Works' text & spreadsheet apps, and a poor-man's substitute for a serious collab suite. Nobody, even Microsoft, makes any claims that it's any more than that.

My post wasn't a promotion for Office -- and this thread isn't an advertisement for alternative products. Very simply: if your Asus laptop came with certain software, and you want to maintain it even if you switch hardware, here we share information on how to do that.

Personally I think that the flexibility of Asus' builds are a great selling point for ASUS, particularly to geeks like us who are their biggest customer segment.

 

It was neither....it was meant to be informative. Personally, I use MS Office, so I'm hardly "anti-Microsoft." But I do a lot of custom builds for other people, including ones that include OSE (I have a multi-license pack so I include for free for anyone who wants it). When somebody wants a full suite of office software at no cost, I install OpenOffice for them. When they want Office, I sell them a license or offer the option of OSE with self-upgrade.

These aren't knocks or promotions on any product, just my experience with them. And frankly, I no longer install OSE or Live Essentials by default because they always caused the most issues and customer complaints. I'll only install them on request.

You're absolutely right that someone should be able to still use their purchased software after a clean install, and your post was very helpful for those who want OSE. Now, if you could just figure out a way to do that with PowerDVD.....

 

For a casual user whom only needs a basic word-processor or perform simple spreadsheet tasks, the starter Office version is adequate. Many home users will fall in that category, especially for those whom have have gotten by with MS Works, Office Started would also be just fine.

 

My only paid desktop work is with non-profits (unfortunately) who are too 'broke' (i.e. cheap) to afford to upgrade their pcs to win7. Even if they did, I would give them the option to keep their Office 2003 license--they wouldn't need OSE.

The only thing I would want in Live Essentials is Silverlight (and Bing Bar ), which means...I have no use for Live Essentials , nor would I ever put it on a work computer, I'ld let the users decide & do it themselves.

Two laptops ago, the PowerDVD install CD came with my new purchase & the install key was on the CD sleeve. But learned during a BartPE creation that the key is also stored in the registry, not hashed or anything. So hopefully the same applies today. You probably already know this but try a keyreader, or maybe Belarc Advisor can report it.

 

Nice guide. Just one small problem. After removing some bloatware from my asus N53V the media hotkeys are no longer working (Fn + f8, f9, f10, f11, f12).
I did a bit of research and found that the ATK driver package controls these hotkeys, however i never touched them.

For reference I'll list some bloatware i uninstalled:
Virtual camera
Splendid
Asus game
smart logon
cyberlink programs
trend micro antivirus
asus webstorage
syncable desktop
nuance pdf

Edit: Reinstall of ATK package fixed it, don't know why i didn't try this before asking.

 

Beezma, Thanks for posting your fix, did you use version 1.0.0008?

 

I recently had to replace my 200gb hdd due to bad sectors and having booting up. I am now going to run Win 7 home premium 64bit on the G50V-X1. I want to know what utilities for Win 7 are available at Asus that is direct console 2 related so I can still use OC features as the P8700 does not have turbo boost..

 

Check this thread, form what i could gather, you'll need to install it in vista compatibility mode.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/382897-direct-console-2-0-windows-7-a.html

EDIT: Worst case scenario you'll have to get something like setfsb to OC

 

Yes, version 1.0.0008 was used.

 

Hi Laxidman, i wish i read your post before pulling my hair down! I decided to uninstall the games seperately by disgusting Oberon company of my brand-new G53JW, which destroyed my Windows 7, actually the things it destroyed are these:

- Hotkeys stopped working, no OSD information displayed when you press brightness buttons.
- My Wallpaper has changed and Aero theme has changed.
- Google Chrome crashed! It cannot be uninstalled and remains in "programs and features". I had to clean the registry keys manually, but Google toolbars still remains in IE.
- It destroyed my Asus NB Probe, it stopped working.
- IE and Windows Media Player 12 settings were reset. They asked me to configure initial settings What a relationship between bloatware.
- Destroyed Power2Go burning software of Cyberlink, needed to reinstall but cannot find it on driver's CD? Where to download and reinstall Power2Go?
- Destroyed Creative Alchemy which doesn't open when you double click.

Is there anybody had that kind of disaster because of uninstalling Oberon's games via "programs and features from control"?

 

I experienced nearly the same thing except my wallpaper and theme were unchanged. You can get the keyboard hotkey and Fn buttons working by uninstalling and installing the ATK Package.

I couldn't find Power2Go either and I'm having difficulty reinstalling Alchemy.

If I could get my hands on the people at Oberon I'd strangle them for the poor uninstall.

 

You're better off restoring from backup. The registry keys the uninstaller removed are fairly critical so even if you don't run into problems now, you will definitely see them later.

 

Laxidman, i think the same like you about performing a factory recovery however i'm hasitating about factory recovery because this disgusting Oberon bloatware will come up again as it's pre-installed. I contacted Oberon and they stated that they are unable to provide a healty uninstal tool, then how would i uninstall them after restore? Manually? How did you do that?..

 

I'm guessing the simple solution is to remove the shortcuts, delete the Oberon installation directories and remove the Oberon registry keys. The only reason Oberon doesn't want to supply a solution is because they don't want you to uninstall them. Producing this basic solution would be trivial. Maybe I'll document the process so I can produce a solution.

I really don't want to restore a backup and start all over again with configuration and cleanup. The only thing not working for me is PowerToGo and I can find alternative applications to for that functionality. Can anyone shed some more light on what the Oberon uninstall destroys.

 

+1. I'm not keen on performing recovery as it'll bring Oberon's games again. Trying to survive after Oberon's disaster. It'll be nice to present a registry uninstallation guide. Looping through registry with games names' seems dangerous. For the burning software, I prefer ImgBurn, give it a try! It's absolutely better than Cyberlink's. Power2Go.

 

A little hard for me to write a guide or tool unless I decide to do a recovery. I'm guessing you could simply remove the:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Oberon registry keys

the unistall keys (somewhere under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall)

the C:\Program Files (x86)\Oberon directory

the program shortcuts

There might be some system components that were used by the software left behind but they shouldn't hurt anything. Trying to remove them is asking for more problems than it is likely to solve.

If I do a recover, I'll at least document it in full.

 

Here's how I saw it:

The uninstaller tries to delete the entire HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software key.
Whatever remains are either things it couldn't delete or were recreated by the affected software.

One of the more criticial (and affected) subkeys is the Microsoft one which has a lot of the Windows-related settings.

What I ended up doing was the following:
Unhide the recovery partition.
Combine and mount the recovery image.
Delete all of the files relating to the Game Park+Oberon Media software (I think there is an install log which states all files relating to this).
Use the Load Hive option to load the registry from the recovery image.
Remove all references to the Oberon Media software from it. There's the obvious keys and the rest you can find by doing a search for Oberon or something. I can't remember.
Unload so the registry hive so the settings save.
Commit changes and unmount the recovery image.
Resplit the recovery image
Rehide the recovery partition.

That is a lot of work, but I only had to do it once and I could forget all about it next time I had to use the recovery. I also made a few other changes to the registry since in addition to that, I had moved the recovery partition to a secondary drive and set it up to recover to SSD.

I wrote a guide about modifying the recovery image last year so you could read that if you want more detail about the above steps.

 

Maybe the best solution is to write a batch (.bat) or .reg file that does all the stuff related to safe-removal of Oberon's trash. It'd be great if anybody did such effort. Every Asus user then would uninstall them using this batch script.

 

Oh-oh... yesterday I got an Asus Notebook K52JU and there was all this software installed as described in this thread here. Of course I uninstalled the game pack before reading the end of the thread...

How can I determine if it really has damaged my Windows? It seems to be working fine so far.

Thanks in advance,
esha