List Of Bloatware

Do you think we should create a list of all bloatware included with our HP laptops? There are some obvious ones, but many, including myself, are sure about certain HP programs which are unnecessary.

 

That'd be a nice 'lil guide. Maybe how to remove them all too, or as much as possible without reformatting.

 

Either post a list of all the software you see under the Control Panel, or PM me with the information. I nice little anti-bloatware guide would be very nice.

When you post any info, please also list the model that you have so I know if it is a consumer or business notebook.

 

Here's some:
HP Connections
HP Wireless Assistant
WildTangent Games
HP TotalCare (make sure you burn recovery discs first)
HP Network Assistant
HP Health Check
HP Help and Support

there's probably other stuff too that I forgot to mention becase I reformatted a while ago and forgot about a lot of those processes. Usually you can turn everything off in msconfig and it won't start and slow down your computer.

-J.B.

 

If it is unnecessary, why do you need to burn a recovery disk?

 

I uninstalled some of the bloatware such as Internet ISP deals and HP Games. I have not reinstall Windows Vista yet, so I can't compare the difference in the number/types of bloatware that had come preinstalled and reinstalled after reformatting. But here I some I remember or still have:

Vonage (or something related to it)
HP Customer Experience Enhancements
HP Easy Setup - Frontend
HP Help & Support (I guess if you really don't know what you're doing?)
HP Photosmart Essential 2.0
HP Quick Launch Buttons
HP Quickplay 3.2 (I didn't find a purpose for it)
HP Update (I heard it was just like MS Updates)
HP Network/Wireless Assistant
Norton AV/Internet Security

 

Because when removing that program it will destroy the recovery partition in order to merge that space with your OS partition. Without burning the discs, you will not be able to recover your laptop if ever needed.

 

I don't recall that HP program being related to the recovery partitions, but I might be wrong. Anyone else who wants to add to this list, feel free!

 

I left some of those previously listed applications. See this thread for the details.

 

Can HP Update go too or is that needed to get important updates? I was hesitant to nuke the Total Care Advisor but then saw that you can signup on HP's site to be emailed when new drivers come out.

Also, I see a folder in Program Files named Hewlett-Packard. In the folder are these sub-folders:

Documentation
ESU for Microsoft Vista
HP Active Support
HP Battery Check
HP Customer Feedback
HP Health Check
HP Info Center
HP Modem Check
HP Software UI
HP System Information
MSCU for Microsoft Vista
SDP
Shared

Are any of these unnecessary bloatware that can be deleted? Thanks in advance.

 

I also deleted the directories/programs under Program Files.

And Norton, too!

 

So if it so easy to remove the 3rd party software why doesn't HP offer instructions or the uninstall feature that Dell is now offering. This forum should start a campaign like the one which was successful against Dell's bloatware.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20070621/tc_pcworld/133297;_ylt=AuEMrhRgwQnT5HrmXsV0.ZVU.3QA

"HP offers third-party software with its consumer PCs in order to provide customers with programs that will enhance their computing experience," Stone said. "Not all users will have the same preferences, therefore each user has the ability to keep or remove the programs he or she finds most valuable. Current products offer a very carefully chosen set of HP, Microsoft and third-party software and services that HP believes will bring the most value to the customer."

 

Can someone help me with these questions? Thanks

 

So what exactly can/should I take off my new dv6500 notebook?

 

i am curious about deleting some of these things. What does the wireless and network assistant programs do?? I know you can still use wireless but what exactly do they help with? What is the quicklauch buttons that everyone talks about and even the quickplay?? I know its alot of explaining but please help out on what these do...

 

Quicklaunch buttons supports the little lit up buttons above the function keys.

The Wireless Assistant enables turning BT and WiFi on and off independently.

I haven't got back to it to decide if SDP is needed or not.

I also deleted all the language directories/files other than the one I needed everywhere I found them.

Anyway, this is what is currently remaining on my dv6000t with Vista Home Premium:

 

I uninstalled the HP Games, and I deleted the SDP directory as well as the entire HP directory in the root of C:\ as well as all the HP directories under \Program Data\.

This is all that remains, and as previously stated, I do not believe that the HP Core is really still there, I believe Vista is erroneously reporting that it is still installed.

That SHARED directory has a module that runs as a service, HPQWMIEX.EXE, so more research is needed there.
UPDATE: HPQ=HP + Compaq, WMIEX=Windows Management Instrumentation Extension

 

A couple of registry tree entries deleted and a directory under the InstallShield directory deleted and the HP Setup - Core entry is now gone from the installed programs list as it should be.

 

Buddy17 -

You can always get the Wireless Assistant (and everything else) back. It is on the recovery partition and available for download here.

 

lol John, you're really going deep into the registry to get these programs removed! I'm going to reinstall once as I get home and have my DVDs handy, so hopefully I won't have to deal with the registry entries... I usually use CCleaner for regitry stuff.

 

Not so deep, nor difficult. I just did a "Find" in REGEDIT for "HP EASY SETUP", it found one, which I deleted the tree, not just the key, I pressed F3 to find the next and did the same. One of the registry entries referred to \Program Files\Installshield\..., so I manually deleted that directory as well.

 

You can remove the following icons off the desktop if you don't want any of the online services.
AOL
VONAGE
EBAY
MSN
Easy Internet Services
High Speed Services

Now these are just the url links, then remove "online services" directory in the program files directory.

 

I just got the Compaq f572us. I'm burning the recovery disc (Just in case), but I had a question. Instead of going through and removing all bloatware, could one use the packaged Vista disc (or even XP 64)? The sales person was saying that a clean install of any os wouldn't work, as it wouldn't have the drivers properly configured. Sounded like a sales pitch to me, but I decided I better ask people in the know.

Also, the packaged Vista disc doesn't include any codes from what I can see. Is it even usable as a standalone, or do I need to use the system restore I'm burning right now?

 

Is there a difference between the recovery disk that you can buy from HP and the one you burn yourself? Thanks.

 

You can do a clean install, just be prepared to install the necessary drivers afterward. Burn your SWSetup folder to dvd, as you can use that to get the drivers from.

Follow the steps in Orev's guide here http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=120228

Nope. If you have the factory ones, there is no need to burn your own.

 

Indeed, there may be a difference between the ones you buy and the ones you burn. HP sometimes updates the disk images for the machines in production, and the ones you buy (hard pressed) come out of inventory.

That being said, you can see that (for example) if you bought your laptop recently, the restore disks you burn may be newer than the ones you buy. These images will almost always be newer than the hard pressed versions that you buy.

One a related note to this thread, you can try to delete the bloatware, however, many of the bloatware installs are included (even multiple times), buried way down deep in the system (in an almost virus like way). Last night, I found an incredible amount of wasted space by these multiple installs, and I am very sure I did not even find them all.

Joe

 

Aren't you guys going just a bit too far with all this deleting?

Okay, so Norton Anti-Virus should be uninstalled right away, I agree. But honestly, how much slower do your notebooks run because of the HP software such as the Wireless Assistant and the rest of 'em?

I'm looking to buy the HP DV6565ca so I'm just trying to get an idea of what I should be deleting once I bring home my new notebook.

 

It is not a question of "slowness" for me; rather, the bloatware issues revolve around functionality and security. I generally remove any software I am never going to use. Further, any software that my firewall detects attempting to establish an outgoing connection becomes highly suspect immediately. If I determine that I might use that software, but not as internet-aware software, I simply block the connection in my firewall. If I determine that the software is not worth blocking, I remove the software.

 

honestly, once i deleted most of the bloatware, my computer was waaay faster.... trust me.

then i installed XP and never looked back

 

I think there are few issues:

1) Some HP Software doesnt have an "uninstall" feature so icons and program files will remain that are taking up space and adding to the clutter
2) Even the uninstalls for some of the software like Norton Antivirus doesnt remove all its files leaving behind remnants.

With a clean install you are in control of what is on your machine, not HP.

 

As a Notebook Guru, I would think you would want as much hard drive space as possible. I mean, do you really want a trial verison of office hanging around (even though you "removed" it, and tried to delete it from all the obvious places)? Works? Norton? Tangent Games? Hooks? Drivers? Services? Advertisments?

Go ahead, try to remove them. Try to delete them. Try to clean your registery. Try to look for this stuff with process explorer (noting that just because it does not show up now does not mean it wont activate in the future, probably when you are not looking, and probably will go back to sleep so you wont see it next time). I did all this just for fun over the past couple of days, then I drilled way down into the Windows system, and I found exactly what I expected... msi installs, databanks, bla bla, hidden all over the place. A bunch of big fat bloat still hogging the system.

I do not think anyone is saying you should delete all the HP stuff, however, if you really value your hard disk space, ram, CPU cycles, security, a clean install is the only way to go.

Clearly, there are two camps here. In one camp, you have the folks that want to defend the removal of the programs as a way to get rid of the bloat, and the other camp who says that a clean install is the only way to truly accomplish that goal.

I really do not see where either camp should question the others decision. Truthfully, the "Clean Install" camp could care less what anyone does, however, they do want to provide a honest assessment for the others that frequent here. I do get the feeling that the "removal camp" wants to feel good about the choice of taking the easy road, thus the posts about "going too far".

I cant wait to do the clean install, since I refuse to use the notebook untill it is clean (aside from playing around with it). I must admit, I have tore the HP factory version apart (probably restored 20+ times so far from an array of mirrored hard drives). That factory install when from 27.6 down to 20.9 gb just deleting what I could find (and that did not include the HP stuff). I will be posting what a clean install weighs (with and without the HP stuff), unless I can find where somone else posted the results.

This is gonna be fun!

Joe

 

Which is why I manually delete the directories/files/shortcuts and registry entries

There is an uninstall for Norton on the Symantec website that does remove it

 

.. is always preferable; however, with an OEM copy of the OS it is less straightforward than with a retail copy. I have a retail copy of XP/Pro and the CD of SP2, so I would not hesitate to reinstall XP.

When I obtain a retail copy of Vista Home Premium, and I will eventually, I will without a doubt do a fresh install of Vista as well.

 

Is there any way I can get a clean install CD of Vista with my purchase of a new HP laptop? That would be AMAZING if they gave you the option to get one.

 

There's a thread around here about doing a clean install, but it is a bit convoluted ...

 

Here is the thread for the clean install . . . crystal clear step-by-step for even a noob . . . and worked simply and easily for me on my dv9550t and has worked for others!

Check out the poll and the postings @

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=120228&page=12

 

the truth. and i agree.

 

I have an HP business laptop (6910p). I am running Vista Business.

Here is a list of programs that I am not sure that I need:

HP Backup and Recovery Manager Installer (my laptop came with recovery disk)
HP Easy Setup - Core
HP Easy Setup - Frontend
HP Update

Thats about it (business laptops are great). The rest looks pretty important. I will remove Roxio too I think.

Anyone know if I can safely remove the above programs?

 

Most of those have already been discussed in this thread. Have you read the thread yet?

 

I thought most of them were discussed in the context of Vista Home.

 

You are correct; however, there is virtually no difference in Vista versions when one is discussing bloatware.

 

I uninstalled the HP Wireless Assistant today. No real point to it on my PC as all it really provides is separate controls for the wireless devices (e.g.: WLAN and BT), and my laptop does not have BT.

 

yeah, and if you never turn off your wireless and bluetooth it is useless. I can think of only one instance where you'd need control over wireless and that is on an airplane. this is bloatware that should go.

The Vonage and other shortcut looking things are actual pointers to an executable that in turn launches something else....I think that something else has to be uninstalled.

and WTF is HPtoaster service?

 

Since I have no BT hardware and there is a hardware switch on the front to turn off WiFi it is completely useless to me.

The Vonage and all that other stuff is related to those trials and offers and such. I deleted the underlying directories where they were and then the shortcuts to them. They be gone now.

HPToaster. Now that is a question. I've not found a satisfactory answer, but suspect it is in some way related to CD or DVD burning; perhaps the HP hook into the LightScribe functionality? Dunno for sure.

 

what steps did you take to get rid of the SDP app? It periodically pops up godaddy pop ups. The running app matches the Easy Internet Signup icon. There is no uninstaller for this that I can find. If I had a guid I could try msiexec on it.

 

"SDP"? Sorry, I have not had my afternoon espresso yet, so I am at a loss as to what that might be.

In any case, there's multiple places to look for automatically initiating bloatware on Vista:

• StartUp Menu
• Task Scheduler There is a lot of stuff in here
• Services

I also physically delete the programs and directories that contain the items like the "Easy Internet SignUp" and also eliminated all of the HP Health stuff, too.

 

here is a strange one. I killed the hpq_toaster process and now it doesn't start back up when I reboot. That shouldnt happen. Typically you have to do something more drastic like remove it from Startup

 

After cleaning up the bloatware, the registry, and all the rest, the STARTUP list on my HP notebook is down to this:

 

I changed my hard drive to a 7200x, it has Win.ME. on it my dv9500 came with Vista Home Pre., made restore disks, can't get the disks to restore, if I reinstall the old drive with Vista H.P. and delete the system created restore partition will I be able to create another set of restore disks that will restore this other drive ?

ctops.legal

 

i should probably do this for my computer..