Windows 7 bloatware

I just purchased 2 studio 16 XPS with windows 7.

I am trying to remove bloatware and put the notebook in XP mode.

I have not found, nor do I know, what bloatware to remove.
Can someone give me a list of items safe to remove from my notebook???
....and also directions on how to go into XP mode.

Thanks
-Laura

 

"One mans bloatware, is another mans useful programs."

It's only bloatware if it's something you don't want, or will never use.

In other words, it you don't immediately recognize it as such, then leave it alone. Those programs that are not important to you will become apparent in time. At that point, you can remove them.

 

I'm not so sure about Dell XPS but my Dell Latitude didn't come with any real bloatware. OTOH my daughter's Toshiba came with tons of stuff loaded in it.

It is common for consumer laptops to come with short term trials of things like Norton Antivirus, Microsoft Office, money management software, etc. They try to get you to run the software and then register it (pay for it!) online. Also the Toshiba had lots of their own software on it that links you to online shopping for Toshiba accessories, music, online storage, etc.

Most of this stuff you can ignore, at least until its time runs out and it starts bugging you to pay for it. One problem is that a lot of this stuff loads when you turn on the computer so it makes it take longer to boot. There may be more icons here and there that you aren't using. I do the same as was already suggested- I immediately delete Norton but some of the others I keep for awhile until I have time to check them out and see if they are useful or not. There's always a possibility that there is something on there I might like, or at least like to check out, before I just uninstall everything.

 

You don't put your system into "XP mode". XP mode is run just like any other program. Type "XP Mode" into start search, and it'll direct you to download the necessary files.

 

I got to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of bloatware, or rather the lack of it, on the Studio 17 i7 laptop. Just removed McAfee (if you don't have better AV, keep it, it's not bad) and couple odds and ends, cleaned it out with CCCleaner, and that was that. I would venture to guess XPS is same or better.