Toshiba shovelware remover, like the "Dell De-Crapifier"?

Is there any tool, similar in purpose to the "Dell De-Crapifier", that assists in removing the useless and system-slowing shovelware that comes on Toshibas?

I've never had a system with McAfee on it like our Toshiba came with, but if it's anything like Symantec/Norton, removing it will be like pulling bindweed out of the garden. Hopefully an automated tool or good set of instructions exists somewhere. Not just for the McAfee, but for the other shovelware too.

Does anybody here know of such a beast in existence?

 

From my experience with Toshiba (I had a Satellite about a year ago until it died), they don't have any "de-crapifier". I think you'll be best off with a good old fashioned re-install.

 

The problem is that if you reinstall from the Toshiba CD it installs all the crap automaticly

 

Can't you do a "selective" re-install of things you want and things you don't? If you don't have that option, I think you might have to manually un-install applications via Add/Remove programs or 3rd Party software, like CCleaner.

 

Yes you can, but only if you own your own copy of Microsoft Windows.

If you install Windows from the Toshiba disk it automaticlly installs the Crapware

 

OK, well if you can separate the bad from the good, I would just manually un-install applications with the above mentioned stuff. I know that this will be a big pain in the rear to do, but its probably the only way you're going to get rid of the crap in your laptop.

 

I don't plan on buying a seperate copy of WinXP just so I can install a clean system. I'm stuck with the restore DVD and all it's shovelware.

I am manually removing stuff. McAfee was dug in like a tick, but after finally getting it off, the computer's reboot speed was about 1/8 of what it originally was. Seconds vs. minutes. I've also gotten AO-hell off too. Many garbage programs don't show up in Add/Remove programs (MSN messenger for one). I can manually disable it from running, but can't easily remove it without hacking into the registry and manually searching/removing files.

There is a BUNCH of shovelware on this computer! You look at all the processes and services that run by default and you just shake your head. Why would Toshiba want to hobble the performance of their offerings with all this junk? It just defies reason. I called them and asked if they'd give (or sell) me just the base OEM version of the OS. No dice. Go buy it yourself at a retail outlet or live with our shovelware was the jist of their response.

Were it my computer, I'd clean it off and start from scratch with Linux. I booted a Linux LiveCD and loaded the entire OS into memory and this laptop ran like a scalded ape. But technically it belongs to the wife, and she wants Windows.

 

I hate to think how much rubbish there was on here when I got it! I managed to remove most of it or disable it without much problem. You can also msconfig them so they won't open on startup, that works like a treat!

 

How do you do this?

 

Start -> Run -> Type in msconfig -> Enter

 

for future reboots just manually delete all the crap then norton ghost the drive. presto

and about msconfig is it safe to deactivate all the start up processes? some of the start up files i have don't have a name (not spyware or anything it's just like that) and i'm afraid of the consequences.

 

Don't deactivate them all. What I did was google any process I did not fully understand, then selectively removed what was uneeded from the list. One of the big offenders was One Note. That thing hobbled my audio, and general ability to do anything smoothly.

 

Beware that some of those extra background processes are needed for things like the function and volume keys to work. If you disable everything, you will lose some functions. If you google each item, you can usually figure out what it does, and then you can decide if you want to disable it or uninstall it.